The University of Alabama Museums hosted a “Movement in the Museum” yoga event on Tuesday in collaboration with University Recreation. The event featured candlelit yoga in the Alabama Museum of Natural History’s Grand Gallery inside Smith Hall and was open to all UA students, faculty and staff.
Registration rates varied from $5 for UA Museum Members to $15 for non-members and participants had the option to explore an exhibit with a museum education team member. The yoga class was held under the museum’s exhibit of an ancient whale skeleton, which has been the state fossil of Alabama since 1984.
The plan for the session was simply to “let go, to bring out minds and our bodies together, let the day slip away, be present, listen and be respectful to ourselves,” said Amanda Mulkey, University Recreation instructor.
Mulkey, an attorney who instructs at University Recreation on Thursdays, said she loves yoga because it provides her with a much needed mental break when her mind is overwhelmed.
“All of our instructors are nationally certified, so we just wanted to hop on board and try to get our classes outside of our walls and get them into spaces as beautiful as this and get people up, active and moving,” said Jacob Tatta, assistant director for fitness programs with University Recreation.
The event featured calming instrumental music for attendees along with encouraging and relaxing commentary from Mulkey. She advised them to “listen to your body” and “let your body be your teacher.”
Kristin Harrell, education outreach coordinator for the Alabama Museum of Natural History, coordinates all public engagement events for the museum.
The “Movement in the Museum” event quickly sold out with 30 participants, and Harrell deemed it a success, saying the museum plans to hold it monthly or even bimonthly if the demand is strong.
Madeline Burkhardt, research outreach coordinator for the museum, said the event was part of a larger plan to draw interest to the site.
“We’re really trying to find ways for people who may not have been to the museum before to find it as a less intimidating space, rather than just coming to look at specimens,” Burkhardt said.