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Breathing deeply and moving with purpose, a dozen men and women moved through yoga postures in a class Sunday held as part of a nationwide Yogathon at the Hare Krishna Temple in Potomac.

The event, at more than 106 temples, ashrams and meditation centers across the country, was organized by Anju Bhargava, co-founder of Hindu American Seva Charities and an Advisory Council member of President Obama's Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnership. The partnership, a continuation of an initiative by former President George W. Bush, is a council of religious and secular advisers responsible for guiding decisions on faith-based programs for a variety of domestic and foreign policy issues.

"We looked at six topics that were important to the president and from our study of community, identified the need for interfaith bridges. Connected with that recommendation, we invited our neighbors to come to the Yogathon and also get educational material on what yoga means to us," Bhargava said.

Bhargava said the event helped advance interfaith collaboration and bridge cultural gaps, two values promoted by the partnership.

"Yoga helps [people] get in touch with their own inner selves and what's healthy for them. Through the Yogathon we hope to share the Hindu philosophy and practice on health and peace and make it accessible for all Americans," Bhargava said.

Yoga instructor Suresh Purthy of Montgomery Village led the group. Following his directions, the 12 participants relaxed and stretched, bending and twisting all parts of their bodies during the two-hour session. They also did a series of breathing exercises: deep breathing, loud breathing and quick in-and-out breathing.

"Breath and sound clears the inner organs," he explained to the class after one round of breathing exercises.

Every move — or posture, as they are called in yoga — has a purpose, said Rukmini Walker, temple member and Yogathon participant.

"Stretching is to open the stuck places in our body where we hold tension. Spiritually, we are quieting the mind to connect with the Divine," she said.

Jonquil Katyl of Silver Spring and Cindy Hustead of Potomac are not members of the temple community, but attended the Yogathon after Hustead saw a flier for the event posted in a Potomac grocery store.

The friends have been doing yoga for years, Katyl said.

"I learned it first in India. They teach it as a way to sit for meditation, not for itself, but so you can sit for a long time," she said.

Katyl and Hustead agreed they enjoyed Sunday's class and would try to come back for the free Saturday class offered each week at the temple.

"I enjoyed that [Purthy] was gentle with us. I think of yoga as pushing yourself, but he didn't push," Hustead said.

Bhargava estimates that "quite a few thousand" people participated in the Yogathon across the country.

"It is a huge success, this will grow. We plan to continue it and offer yoga to people. It's interfaith work that is being done, it reduces fears," she said.

Hare Krishna is one group within the Hindu tradition, brought to the U.S. in 1965. The Potomac temple was established in the early 1970s on Oaklyn Drive, said temple spokeswoman Anuttama Dasa. About 400 people attend weekly services, with 5,000 people for services at high holidays, she said.

"The mission of the Krishna Conscious Movement is to help awaken people's dormant spiritual awareness and help them develop a love of God."

pmcewan@gazette.net