IU Art Museum offers free yoga class

The yoga participants took deep breaths as they folded forward into their child’s pose.

The group of 23 people gathered Saturday morning in the IU Art Museum Atrium for a free yoga class.

Brian Taverner and Ben Forster, two performers in the Blue Man Group, were among the class participants.

The performers had arrived in Bloomington on their tour bus early Saturday morning for the weekend’s Blue Man Group production at the IU Auditorium. Carrying their yoga mats and leaving behind their characters’ signature blue make-up and bald caps, they decided to attend the class.

Forster said before coming to town he searched for Bloomington attractions on Google and came across the free yoga class.

He said he enjoyed the space offered at the IU Art Museum and was glad to have a chance to unwind before his performance.

This is the second year the IU Art Museum has offered the free class, which takes place at 11:30 a.m. every Saturday from April to October.

The classes are led by volunteer instructors from Vibe Yoga Studio in Bloomington, said Allyson Gergely, a member of the Art Musuem Special Events Support Staff.

The classes began last year through a partnership with Orthopedics of Southern Indiana and IU Health Southern Indiana Physicians.

“People just loved it so much that we said we had to do it again,” Gergely said. “It’s a free yoga class. If you like yoga, that’s like gold.”

The class usually takes place outside and can draw 30 to 50 participants.

However, when the temperature drops below 65 degrees, the class must take place indoors — with a capacity of 23 participants.

Due to the limit, the instructor had to turn away about a dozen people Saturday, Gergely said.

The last class offered for this season will take place Oct. 26, she said.

Taverner said Saturday’s class was the first time he had participated in a group yoga class, as opposed to a video instruction or personal trainer.

“I needed a good, convenient excuse to do it again,” Taverner said.

He said he appreciates yoga because of the body awareness it provides.

“A lot of it is injury prevention,” Taverner said. “It keeps you flexible, which is crucial.”

Follow reporter Samantha Schmidt on Twitter @schmidtsam7.