You may not subscribe to the yogi lifestyle, but you can’t deny there is such a thing as good karma. Lululemon Athletica, a Vancouver-based company, recently doubled the size of its shop at 322 E. Water St. and it’s spreading some love in the community by offering free classes and workshops for both the beginner and seasoned yogi.
I checked out the Zumba dance party workshop a couple of weeks ago and was blown away by the amount of raw energy in the room. World-renowned Zumba teacher and Lululemon ambassador Kelly Bullard led the sweaty, jam-packed class. The class even spilled out to the sidewalk! Passersby sure didn’t know what to make of women gyrating on Water St. while facing a storefront. Classes actually take place in the store, with the wheeled racks lining the parameter. They can stuff about 80 people in the store once all the racks are moved.
Even better – Lululemon offers free yoga classes every Saturday morning at 8:30 featuring a rotating mix of some of Milwaukee’s best instructors. In March, Yama Yoga was the featured studio of the month. There is still time to practice your poses with Ali Szarzynksi on the 24th and Laura Corstvet on the 31st. April will feature Core Essence and Shayne Broadwell, Marty Tribble, Ali Szarzynski and Melanie Kazel will lead a variety of classes.
The next special event called “Om Sweet Om” will be a yoga class/housewarming party with instructor Anne Harding on Thursday, April 26 at 7:15 p.m. The class with will take place outside in Catalano Square (around the corner from the store) if the weather cooperates or at Lululemon.
Buyer beware – once you wear Lululemon clothes you won’t want to wear anything else. Luckily, the fashionable and flattering gear transitions from gym to out-and-about as smoothly as a vinyasa sequence. Now that’s good karma.
