Bikram Yoga instructors Jill Holden, Schuyler Ferguson and Ammie Ferguson.

A Bikram Yoga studio is opening this Wednesday (Aug. 29) at 42nd and Chestnut and offering free classes through Tuesday, September 4. The brand new 5,000-square-foot studio space was built this year as a second level of the one-story building housing West Philadelphia Locksmith Co. The studio includes a 1,500-square-foot yoga room and space for a planned juice bar and organic foods store.

Bikram Yoga is the original form of “hot” yoga practiced in a heated room, so the studio has a custom built heating system, allowing it to maintain a 105-degree temperature and 40 percent humidity for every class. Although conditions like that may seem daunting, we hear that Bikram is the world’s fastest growing form of yoga. People of all ages and skill levels are welcome in the studio, local residents and students alike. A staff of eight Bikram certified instructors with extensive training and in-class experience will guide you through classes.

For more information on classes at Bikram Yoga University City, visit their homepage bikramyogaucp.com or Facebook page.

Choreographer and educator Anne-Marie Mulgrew presents The Keepers Project, a series of free movement workshops for people of 65 years of age and older. Workshops begin on Thursday, July 19 at the University City Arts League (4226 Spruce St) and registration is open now.

Workshops will include a series of guided movement and theater exercises exploring the group’s stories about family, roots or life-changing moments. People of all ethnic backgrounds are encouraged to participate. No experience is necessary, just a willingness to share, connect and be involved in the process taking place monthly through March 2013. Participants will keep a journal and leave with a workshop portfolio. It is recommended to attend all 10 sessions. Additional sessions will meet August 16, September 19, October 24, November 28, December 19, January 23, February 20, March 20, and the final culminating workshop TBD. Sessions run 10-11:30 a.m.

To register and for more information, please call 215.462.7720, email ammdco2000@att.net, or visit www.annemariemulgrewdancersco.org or www.ucartsleague.org.

Dear Department of Parks and Recreation,

So it has been seriously hot over the last couple of weeks. You already know this. We hear it is going to be just as hot for another week. Here’s the problem: We have a great drinking fountain in Clark Park that is right next to the basketball courts and playground. We would love to use it because, as you probably know, playing basketball when it is 95 degrees out makes you very thirsty. But the fountain doesn’t work. Could you please, please fix it?

Sincerely,

The Kids of Clark Park

(This letter represents views we heard expressed in Clark Park by kids young and old who want their fountain fixed.)

Salena Alberti, a meditation teacher with over 10 years experience in practicing and studying Buddhism, is teaching “Healing the Mind Through Meditation,” a series of new Buddhist meditation classes at Studio 34 (4522 Baltimore Ave). This series runs from July 2 to July 23 and classes are taught every Monday from 7 – 8 p.m. in the studio’s conference room. The cost is $8 per class.

Here are the topics of each class:

July 2 – The Nature of the Mind
July 9 – The Mind/Body Connection
July 16 – The Medicine of Forgiveness: Learning to Let Go
July 23 – Taking and Giving Meditation: The Power of a Superior Intention

These classes are great for beginners. Each class begins with a relaxation meditation, a brief teaching on Buddhist topics, and ends with another energizing meditation. It is not necessary to attend all 4 classes to benefit from this practice.

This 4-week series is being offered by Amitayus Kadampa Buddhist Center. For more information, visit www.meditationinphiladelphia.org or call 267-702-4083.

If you want to learn the basics of riding your bike in the city, come to The Coffee Ride this Saturday, June 23. The event is hosted by Keswick Cycle and Green Line Cafe and will start at 10:15 a.m. at Keswick Cycle (4040 Locust) with a skills clinic. You will learn everything from hand signals to how to properly lock a bike and everything in between. After the skills clinic you will go on a short ride (about 6 miles) through the city to practice the skills you went over in the clinic. The ride will end at Green Line Cafe at 43rd and Baltimore with a relaxing cup of coffee and sweet treats.

Here’s the event’s flyer.

The Porch, the outdoor space at 30th Street Station, is adding a few new things for the summer.

The University City District (UCD) recently received a $375,000 grant from ArtPlace to fund a permanent art piece at The Porch. Prema Katari Gupta, UCD’s Director of Planning and Economic Development said: “We will invite exceptional artists to engage creatively with our site, with our audience, and within our neighborhood context. Art will bring beauty, reflection, and delight to The Porch, as the site continues its evolution.”

One new fun activity to look out for at The Porch is a free nine hole mini golf course open every day in July from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. All you need to bring is a photo ID. A second new project is the opening of a beer garden with German and craft beers, bratwurst, sauerkraut, and Italian sausage sandwiches by Bridgewater’s Pub. The beer garden will include live music and is open July 12 (4-8pm), July 13 (noon-8pm), and July 14 (noon-5pm).

The Porch will exhibit two new visual art works. The first is a representational and experiential exhibit by Pew Fellow Nami Yamamoto. She is installing a Hakoniwa, Japanese for miniature garden as well as a form of psychotherapy called “sandplay therapy.” The therapy method involves subjects who order and design items within a sandbox. Nami’s art will recreate this form of therapy across the concrete of the porch.

Also, Justin Duerr’s Anaesthasia Emeralda Lucian piano, designed for UCD’s Heart and Soul piano project will be on display and ready for play at The Porch.

– Erica Kimmel