(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Santosh Maknikar leads yoga class at Salt Lake's Krishna Temple, Monday, July 16, 2012.

Health Classes are structured for those new to yoga and advanced practitioners alike.

The word seva means giving selflessly to help other living beings. Its more than just a word to Santosh Maknikar, founder of Yoga For People, who built the Great Salt Lake Yoga Fest around the concept.

"We wanted to make it available for everyone," Maknikar said, "affordable for everyone to explore all types of yoga."

Helping people yoga style

The Utah-based Yoga For People teaches yoga free in homeless shelters, prisons, schools and libraries in Salt Lake City and Park City. Santosh Maknikar founded the nonprofit in 2011 with the goal of making the healthful benefits of yoga accessible.

When I moved to the United States, I was surprised to see how many more people go to yoga classes in the U.S. than in India, said Maknikar, who is from Latur, India. But I was also surprised at the high cost of these classes.

Thats when he decided to make yoga available to people who had financial or health limitations.

In June, Yoga For People provided its 300th free class in just eight months. The nonprofit is always seeking to expand its volunteer base.

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Great Salt Lake Yoga Fest wants to make you feel good