Reasons to visit the courthouse: You’re being sued, you broke the law, you’re getting a divorce, you’re going to yoga class. Wait. Yoga class? Yep. Madison County residents will soon have the chance to practice yoga on the courthouse lawn.
The free classes are being offered the last Saturday of each month from May through October by Exhale Studios, a Richmond yoga and Pilates studio. “The goal is to bring yoga into the lives of people in the community,” studio owner Megan Ridgway said. “It’s an opportunity for everybody to take part and become one community.”
Richmond isn’t the first city to have yoga classes at the courthouse. As detailed in an article on the Chicago Tribune’s website, thousands attended a yoga class last September at the Jefferson County Courthouse in Fairfield, Iowa, in hopes of breaking the world record for largest yoga class. The Albany, N.Y., courthouse featured a class last August.
And it’s not just courthouses. Yoga made its way to the White House two years ago, when instructors from a Sacramento, Calif., studio taught yoga on the lawn during the 2009 Easter festivities, according to a 2009 article in Capitol Weekly. And more than 10,000 practitioners gathered in Central Park in New York City in June 2010, according to getnycd.com.
While not expecting quite so many at her classes, Ridgway said she hopes to attract a good crowd. Ridgway, a Lexington native who has lived in Madison County for two years, began practicing yoga in high school as a way to relieve stress.
“I just fell in love with it,” she said. She said it was particularly helpful in college, when she suffered test anxiety. Yoga has many health benefits, she said. But what sets it apart from other types of exercise is the mind/body connection.
“It helps raise your self-confidence and relieve stress,” she said. “And it really helps you relax.”The classes will feature gentle yoga, and are open to all ages and fitness levels, Ridgway said. They are scheduled for 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. There’s no need to sign up, and participants can attend any or all the classes. No equipment is needed, but those wanting to bring mats are welcome to.
Exhale Studios’ official ribbon-cutting ceremony is planned for June 3 at noon. Six instructors are set to join the studio staff in June. For more details about the free classes or the studio, call Ridgway at 1-859-312-7047.