Ever have a yen to practice your downward dog and sun salutations in a garden? The Cloisters, the medieval-style mansion on Falls Road, has set aside the Sundays of June for yoga aficionados to stretch and pose among the mansion's posies at 4 p.m.
Amy Genevieve Kozak, a certified yoga instructor, teaches the hour-long sessions Yoga in the Garden on Sundays, including Father's Day. The first was held June 7 but there's still room to sign up for the one or the rest of the remaining sessions.
In addition to the yoga instruction, participants are offered refreshments and an opportunity to tour the Lutherville mansion.
The Cloisters, located on Falls Road, was originally the home Sumner A. Parker and G. Dudrea Parker. The medieval style of their 1932 summer home was inspired by the couple's European travels. The mansion features a chapel, cloistered garden, elaborate stained glass, murals, ornamental ironwork and a four-story spiral stair tower. It was bequeathed to the City of Baltimore and is operated by the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts.
The house once served as a children's museum, which closed in 1997, according to Applegarth. It is now used for as many as 200 special events a year, including about 110 weddings, she said.
In addition to the yoga sessions, an open house is offered once a month, except for August. Applegarth said she instituted the open houses when she arrived in 2007.
Visitors are welcome to tour the house and meet with special events vendors who attend. These include caterers, florists, photographers and disc jockeys.
Open houses are scheduled for Wednesday, June 17 and Wednesday, July 1. Both will be held 5-8 p.m. Although the audience is those planning special events, anyone is welcome to attend. "We take people around who are just interested in the house," Applegarth said.
"We were talking about different ways to get people to the castle who wouldn't otherwise come for the open houses," said Annie Applegarth, general manager of The Cloisters.
With a yoga instructor working on the staff part-time, yoga seemed a natural, according to Applegarth. Kozak, a Waverly resident who works part-time with the Baltimore Office of Promotion and The Arts, is certified.
The first session attracted five students, according to Kozak. "It turned out rather well," she said, noting she was a bit concerned about the possibility of bad weather.
Kozak said the sessions are designed for all levels. "Really anyone can do it," she said.
Although all of the participants were familiar with the poses on June 7, she is ready to lead newcomers through the session and help them enter into the poses that make up a yoga session.
Holding a yoga session in a garden is a little different from the usual studio. Kozak said she encourages participants to find a comfortable place that will help them maintain their balance. And while participants focus on their breath and their poses, Kozak said she suggested they look around at their surroundings, too. "I encourage my students to do whatever they feel," she said.
Kozak also teaches at downtown's International Capoeira Angola Foundation school and at Ojas Wellness Center in Mount Washington. She said she trained to be a yoga instructor after the death of her mother. "I can't think of a better way to honor her," she said.
The yoga sessions are offered Sundays in June at 4 p.m., followed by light refreshments and an opportunity to tour the house.
Classes cost $14 a session. Tickets can be purchased online at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/1677672.
Guests are encouraged to bring their own yoga mats and wear comfortable clothes. For other information, contact Margaret Blake at mblake@promotionandarts.org or 410-821-7448.