Leigh Anne Neal always felt empathy for the homeless. She volunteered to work with them and would always talk to them, so years after she began practicing yoga in college, it seemed natural to share the practice with others in need.

In 2006, she opened Nirvana Yoga in Grant Park, but recognized she was catering to a select group. Because you are a business, you realize only a certain segment of the population can come, Neal said. How do you make it accessible?

Neal began taking yoga on the road to homeless shelters and a womens safe house in town. At the studio, she offered $5 classes each weekday at noon (drop-in rates are normally $12) and on Saturdays at 11 a.m., the class is donation based. You can put in a quarter or a dollar and we give 100 percent of the proceeds [to charity], Neal said.

From yoga studios to retail stores to poolside at luxury hotels, free or donation-based yoga classes are popping up everywhere. In some cases, the trend marks an effort to capitalize on the popularity of the practice. But it has also been driven by the desire of some practitioners to democratize the benefits of yoga.

Its about making yoga accessible to people, said Neda Honarvar of Tough Love Yoga, which is located inside Youngblood Gallery and Boutique. I wanted people who wouldnt normally do yoga, to do yoga. That is why we do weird stuff at our studio.

Metal yoga (yoga performed to heavy metal) and a yoga bikini boot camp are some examples. Last year, they held free classes in the park until the instructors were mugged, Honarvar said. Despite a market that would allow higher rates, Honarvar keeps fees at $10 per class and will barter with anyone who can offer a needed service.

In April, Free People, a womens clothing boutique in White Provision launched a free monthly yoga class, in part, to promote their new line of yoga gear. One Sunday a month, Tough Love instructors guide 15 to 20 people through poses right in the middle of the store.

The event is meant as a way to give our customers a unique experience to come and enjoy the store, said Beth Wehagen, director of stores. Most attendees are interested in yoga as well as Free People.

Lululemon, the yoga and running apparel store with two metro area locations, offers free in-store classes every weekend and while the traffic no doubt helps encourage shopping, the company has a reputation of supporting yoga-related causes even when there is no apparent financial gain.

Scott Feinberg, runs a 100-percent donation-based yoga studio in Jupiter, Fla. Feinberg, who trained at Peachtree Yoga Center in Sandy Springs, believes the increase in free and donation-based classes is partly the result of a higher consciousness among the growing number of yoga practitioners.

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Free yoga comes with higher consciousness