MANKATO — As Molly Ndjarakana stretched into her first downward dog of the evening, her 4-week-old daughter, Maya, settled in with grandma back at home. And although Maya was on her mind, Ndjarkana had more pressing demands to attend to at the moment.

“Now draw your left foot up between your hands,” said Carly Hopper, one of the two instructors teaching the New Moms’ Night Out yoga classes at Sun Moon Studio. “Whether it takes one step or seven, just get it up there.”

Although Hopper spent the better part of an hour leading the dozen mothers in this studio through one yoga pose after another, from cobra to downward dog and warrior to tree, she emphasized the relaxing elements of the class more than the exercise.

For most of the participants, the hour-long, four-week class, offered free through Mankato Community Education and Sun Moon Yoga, is less about getting a great workout than it is about getting away.

“My mom found out about the class and told me to do it,” Ndjarakana said. “She thought it would be good for me to get away.”

“The classes aren’t even meant to be progressive,” said Mona Ceniceros, owner of Sun Moon Studio. “We aren’t even trying to make it more difficult for them as they go. We have them switching between different teachers and different studios just to mix it up, but it’s really about getting a good experience and having a good night out.”

Ceniceros hopes a night out without clamoring kids will invigorate the 37 new moms who signed up during what can be one of the darkest times of year. She also hopes the classes can show them how helpful yoga can be when it comes to fighting depression or even the mid-winter blues.

“I have used yoga for years to help treat my own depression,” she said. “That’s one of the reasons I put these classes out there, so that they can see how much it helps.”

New moms aren’t the only ones at risk of depression in the dead of winter. Ceniceros also worries about people who spend their days and often their nights taking care of ailing spouses, parents or others. That’s why she also this month scheduled the Yoga for Caregivers class, a free four-week session for full-time, unpaid caregivers.

“In the winter, it seems like there are two groups of people who are at greater risk of developing depression,” Ceniceros says. “Those are post-partum moms and caregivers, both of whom are often stuck at home for long periods of time.”

Both classes are offered as collaborations between Sun Moon Yoga and Community Education. “It’s good for both of us,” said Community Education Coordinator Joan Eisenreich. “We get some great classes to put in our program and some involvement with the community. And Mona gets to introduce a new group of people to her studio.”

Although Ceniceros appreciates the opportunity to meet new people, she says offering free classes through Community Education is part of a bigger business plan that also includes a food drive and a coat drive.

“People say, ‘Oh, it’s amazing that a small business does this,’” she said. “I say it’s amazing that every business doesn’t do this.”

Meanwhile, Ndjarakana says her hour away has been refreshing and invigorating. But after all those downward dogs and sun salutations, she’s looking forward to seeing Maya again.

“When I go back to her, I’m so much happier to see her,” she said.