Yoga Classes Set for CMC, Gerry Building

Friday, December 6, 2002

Yoga is coming to the fashion district.

Workers and residents of the fashion district in Los Angeles will soon have their choice of two yoga classes to be held downtown after regular work hours.

Urban Mystics, a new yoga studio, is set to begin classes Dec. 10 in the Gerry Building and the California Market Center (CMC) will begin offering yoga classes in January.

Urban Mystics will be offered in Suite 508 of the Gerry Building and will be taught by Cynthia Michel, who attended the Maha Yoga school in Santa Monica, Calif. The mixed-level classes will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Classes will cost $15 per session with 20 percent discounts for Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, Otis College of Art & Design and University of Southern California students. The studio will sell yoga mats, blocks and straps and will eventually expand class offerings. Michel will offer mixed-level Hatha-style classes, which are focused on yoga’s spiritual nature as well as the workout aspect.

For information on the Urban Mystics classes, call (310) 712-2523.

The CMC yoga classes will be taught by Tatiana Urquiza, an instructor with over 20 years of experience, who currently teaches at the Yoga House in Pasadena, Calif. and the Center for Yoga in Los Angeles. Urquiza also teaches special workshops in the U.S., Mexico and Israel. She holds yoga classes for students with special physical conditions including multiple sclerosis, arthritis and cancer, and teaches workshops for yoga instructors.

The CMC yoga classes will be held on Monday and Wednesday from 6 to 7:30 p.m.. The location of the studio has not yet been determined. A free introductory class will be held on Jan. 8 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. and regular classes will begin on January 27. The cost will be $15 per session and $13 per session for CMC tenants and employees.

The sessions will be based on classical yoga and will include teachings in philosophy, meditation, pranayama (or breathing techniques) and asana (or postures).

CMC executives said flyers with more information on the yoga classes will be sent to tenants and will be posted in the building lobby.

For more information on the CMC classes, call (213) 630-3600. —Robert McAllister