“It’s a weeklong celebration designed to give newcomers an opportunity to try yoga when they may not have tried it before out of fear, cost, or otherwise,” says Theo Adamstein, owner of SomaFit, a Georgetown yoga studio.

Free or discounted yoga and meditation classes for all skill levels, lectures, and meditation sessions will be held by participating studios. Discounts on class packages and yoga gear will also be offered. In addition, there are plans (weather permitting) for Yoga on the National Mall on Sunday, April 13, from 1 to 4 PM. The outdoor event, at the northeast corner of the Washington Monument grounds, will be open to the public and taught by volunteer teachers from local studios.

“This is a chance for DC to practice yoga together and to experience some of the amazing teachers we have in this city,” says Annie Mahon, a yoga instructor and owner of Circle Yoga in Chevy Chase. “Yoga on the Mall seems like a beautiful way to show the rest of country how the yoga community here is thriving. Maybe it will influence the rest of country.”

Yoga Week, the brainchild of Adamstein and Mahon, has been expanding each year. Among the studios involved are Unity Woods Yoga Center, Bikram Yoga Capitol Hill, and Flow Yoga Center, founded by Debra Perlson-Mishalove, who helped Adamstein and Mahon start Yoga Week.

Instead of competing against one another, Adamstein says, DC Yoga Week is a way for local studios to work together to introduce Washingtonians to the art of yoga.

For more information, go to dcyogaweek.com.

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