Bedford Post Inn Yoga Classes - Manhattan, New York

At the Bedford Post Inn’s Yoga Loft, Martha Stewart and Christina Ricci have stopped by for some downward-facing dog.

The inn’s co-owner, former "Law & Order" star Carey Lowell, sometimes works a vinyasa class into her busy schedule.

But that doesn’t mean the area’s most high-profile yoga studio is an elite club, banned to all but A-listers and celebrity owners.

"The whole center was built for the locals," says Yoga Loft manager Fahmida Molla. "You don’t have to be someone special or famous to come here."

Although one must pay at least $400 to spend the night at one of the inn’s eight ultra-luxurious rooms (where the linens are Frette and all fixtures are from Waterworks), a stay isn’t required to visit the Yoga Loft.

There’s no exclusive membership, walk-ins are encouraged, and a single class costs a moderate $20, a fee that’s on par with other nearby studios. Not to mention, the Loft is a place where one can do a lot more than sun salutations.

Gere, Lowell and a third owner, Russell Hernandez, opened the Yoga Loft in May 2008, months before the inn and its upscale Farmhouse restaurant welcomed their first guests.

(A casual cafe, the Barn, was first to debut at the site, in January 2008.)

Since its launch, the Loft has progressed nicely toward the trio’s vision of the space as a gathering spot for high-minded residents.

Free two-hour meditation sessions held every Wednesday night, run by John and Natalie Baker from the Shambhala Meditation Center of New York, now draw as many as 50 people.

Workshops are offered each month with experts on such topics as Kabbalah and ayurvedic, or alternative medicine. Over the summer, attendees packed the room to hear two Tibetan monks, who are among the world’s most venerated Buddhism teachers, talk about joyful wisdom and the key to happiness. (It probably helped to have Gere’s connections in booking those particular guests; the actor is a longtime Buddhist and friend of the Dalai Lama.) And next month, the Yoga Loft will host an invitation-only fundraiser to benefit the Lineage Project, one of Gere’s favorite charities, which provides yoga and mediation to at-risk and incarcerated New York City teenagers.

"Richard is kind of a dreamer, but he hopes people from all walks of life put their heads together and try to make the world a better place," says Molla.

It doesn’t hurt that visitors are helping to effect change in a richly rustic setting.

Some of Bedford’s popular horse trails run through the 15-acre property, where the inn, yoga studio and two eateries nestle together. Lowell spearheaded the design and décor in all of the fully renovated buildings, but Molla says that the Yoga Loft is "definitely Carey’s project, Carey’s baby."

The actress personally purchased every mat, blanket, strap and block used by the studio’s students, and Lowell describes the spare yet pastoral style as "sort of a Japanese, simplistic, earthy expanse of space."

The Loft boasts a vaulted ceiling, burnished hardwood floors and trim (in chestnut recycled from a dismantled Bedford barn) and three walls of multipaned windows that lend a sunny air on even the grayest day. One entryway gives a clever nod to the area’s equestrian history, with thick, sliding oak doors that look like those found in a stable.

It’s unusually beautiful for a yoga studio: So much so, one couple insisted on having their wedding there.

The Loft also made an impression on Manhattan architect David Salazar, who stayed at the inn recently with his girlfriend and made use of a complimentary yoga session. After gracefully flowing his way through an integrated vinyasa class, Salazar had compliments for both his instructor and the studio’s vibe.

(Not so convenient is the babble from the Barn’s wildly popular Sunday brunches; no yoga classes are offered on that day because of the noise.)

"I come here and I’m in Paris," says Kunhardt. "I smell the croissants, I smell the fire, and I smell the coffee and I’m in another world. So it’s not just the yoga."

Those words are music to Lowell’s ears.

"I’m thrilled that the community is embracing it," she says. "That’s what the goal was from the beginning."

Lowell, who lives in nearby Pound Ridge with Gere and their young son, Homer, explains that she and her husband got their idea after riding their horses past the once-derelict site, back then home to a crumbling, 18th-century house and barn. Gere, especially, lamented the fact that the area didn’t have a real hangout, or — to use the couple’s word for it — a "clubhouse."

Since then, it seems that the place has become exactly that.

Neighborhood pals meet up regularly at the Loft for mid-morning yoga classes after dropping their children at the bus stop. The Tuesday evening ashtanga class is a popular one for mothers and their teenage daughters. Families get together for lunch at the Barn after weekend Little League games. Area residents discuss what they’ve learned from the Loft’s renowned speakers over organic cappuccinos.

As a newcomer to the hospitality industry, Lowell says she was charmed to discover that cooking professionals have an attitude toward food that perfectly parallels the inn’s concept.

"Chefs ... think of food as communion in a way. It’s the breaking of bread and the sharing of a meal," she says. "At the Yoga Loft, and the property in general, there is a sharing of meals and minds. There are no limitations."

Credit : lohud.com