Charm City Yoga Poised for March 5 Opening

Charm City Yoga will call Pikesville home next month as the locally-owned chain opens its newest studio.

Kim Manfredi and her husband, Chris Blades, already own five studios locally: in Federal Hill, Fells Point, Midtown, Severna Park and Towson.

But they wanted to open one in Pikesville because it's a good location for many of their current students.

"Our aim has always been to serve the teachers' and our students' needs," Manfredi said.

"We know that a lot of our students commute to either Towson or Midtown from the Pikesville and Owings Mills area ... so many of the students would have a much easier time getting to the (Pikesville studio) and getting home," she said.

The Pikesville studio, located in the CommerceCenter at 1777 Reisterstown Road, is set to open with a 9:30 a.m. Hot Yoga class on March 5, followed by a variety of other classes, according to the studio website.

However, if construction is complete before that time, there might be a class and grand opening the weekend before, she said. Check the Charm City website for updates.

Manfredi said that 20 different teachers, including a lot of Charm City Yoga's top teachers, will lead classes in Pikesville.

Among them is a Saturday Morning Beginners Series, taught by Manfredi.

It will meet once a week for six weeks. Each week students will learn a selection of postures, Manfredi said.

Students will also learn the underlying philosophy and physiology of the postures, she said.

"It's for people who really want to understand (yoga)," she said.

The series costs $65, she said, and for new students there's also an unlimited month of classes available for $30.

The unlimited month offer "is a great way to try different teachers, try different classes, to see what really suits you and your personal goals for the class," Manfredi said.

Like at other Charm City Yoga studios, there will also be a community yoga class at 8 p.m. every night in Pikesville. That class costs $6, and usually attracts a large group, including younger students, she said.

Manfredi urges Pikesville residents to try yoga for a variety of reasons.

For example, "Some people are coming for the physical aspects, where they find they need more strength, flexibility," she said.

It's also a pathway to healthy living, healthy eating "and taking care of the body as a whole unit."

For example, someone who comes to lose 10 pounds might lose that weight, and later come for the relaxation of the practice of yoga, said Manfredi, who has been practicing yoga since 1988, and has been teaching since 1996.

Yoga is also a way to ease stress, she said.

"It turns off the flight-or-fight response which so many of us are keyed into all the time."