Vicksburg National Military Park will start hosting Yoga in the Park beginning this Monday, June 19.

Yoga instructor Maya Morris will lead yoga classes on Monday mornings next to the park’s Visitor Center, 3201 Clay St., at 9 am. Attendees are asked to bring a yoga mat if they have one; there will be a limited number of mats to borrow.

The program is free. The sessions will continue through the summer on Mondays. Sessions will be weather dependent.

Maya Morris believes in changing lives one yoga class at a time. By opening the first Black-owned yoga studio in Jackson, she has been able to introduce diverse groups of people to a more positive and healthier way of living.

Morris was introduced to yoga at 8 years old by her dance teacher in Jackson. After graduating high school, Morris moved to Atlanta and started her career as a successful entrepreneur, and later gaining her certification to become a yoga instructor.

After gaining her certification to teach yoga, her mission soon became creating a safe space and giving the Black community, specifically in Jackson, the proper access to yoga, mental health resources and a foundation for protecting their peace.