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PoliticalPosturingA scion of Americanroyalty opensa yoga studio in L.A.BY DEBORAH SCHOENEMAN

eaghan Kennedy Townsendlikes to kick off teaching her

yoga class by blasting somerock-and-roll.

"I'm going to play some

church music for you now," she says on a

recent Saturday morning, cranking up the

song "Faith" by George Michael.

The irony may have been lost on the

sweaty group of about 20, since they're garn-

ered for a yoga class more focused on burn-

ing calories than chanting om. Only a few

students know that Townsend was raised

Catholic—in America's most famous family.

Yes, there's a Kennedy among the

Lululemonites of Southern California.

The yoga instructor is the oldest daugh-

ter of Kathleen Kennedy—former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland

and eldest of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Skakel's 11 children.

Townsend's father is David Townsend, a professor at St. John'sCollege and the Aspen Institute's Senior Advisor on Seminars.

At 32, Townsend has come into her own as one of the city's

most successful yoga teachers with a steady base of private

clients, including Drew Barrymore, Bob Saget and screenwriter

Mike White (School of Rock). Having earned her chops teaching for

about a decade at various studios and gyms around town, Townsend

finally opened her dream studio, Up Dog Fitness, in February. The

classes are already full—if not totally packed—with passionate fol-

lowers who can't get enough of her high-intensity, flow-style yoga.

"It's about giving back in a different way," says Townsend.

Yogini MeaghanKennedy Townsend

"People say to me on a daily basis, 'You

changed my life,' and 'Look at this com-

munity you're creating.'"

Townsend, for one, certainly improved

her life with yoga. The legendary Kennedy

curse didn't exactly pass her over. In 10thgrade—after taking an educational test,

being developed by a family friend, on a

whim—Townsend found out that she wasseverely dyslexic with a kindergarten read-

ing level (though she did have math skills of

a college student). She was also diagnosed

with A.D.H.D. These discoveries helped

ease the pressure she had felt her whole

life. After all, her birth announcement in

the newspaper said she would usher in a

more peaceful time for her family as the

first of a new generation of Kennedys, go to Harvard and follow in

her clan's presidential footsteps. (She did attend the Ivy League

university, but her college experience was anything but easy.)

"I was a bit of an outcast," says Townsend, who also had

major food allergies. "I never learned a good skill-set for

having relationships. Maybe it was because I was dyslexic, or

maybe because I was a Kennedy, or maybe because I moved

around a lot as a kid, but I didn't know how to interact withpeople very well. I had a hard time."

She discovered yoga while visiting relatives in L.A. during

a college break and checked out flow-style vinyasa classes

taught by now-yogalebrities Steve Ross, Bryan Kest, Shiva

Rea and Seane Corn. When Townsend C O N T I N U E D ON PAGE 174

C108 SEPTEMBER 2011

POLITICAL POSTURINGCONTINUED FROM PAGE 78

returned to the East Coast, she went to yoga

every day with her aunt, Rory Kennedy.

Back at Harvard, she found the only yoga

studio in town.

Before long, Townsend helped create

a program at the university where stu-

dents practiced on thick wrestling mats.

She never thought she could actually be-

come an instructor. "I was going to be a

lawyer or a doctor," she says, "but I knew

I would probably fail organic chemistry."

After college, Townsend moved to LA.

and started working as a business analyst,

telling companies what they were doing

wrong. Her only happy moments were

during weekend yoga classes. Over time,

she took a teacher training workshop, stud-

ied with Erich Schiffmann and assisted on

a retreat in Tahiti. It wasn't long before she

quit her day job to teach full time.

"My parents thought I was totally cra-

zy," says Townsend. "They were like,

'When are you going to get a real job?'"

Lately, the only things slowing her

down have been injuries. Townsend un-

derwent three incredibly painful knee

surgeries last year, though the recovery

time gave her the opportunity to use her

"business brain," as she calls it, to open

Up Dog Fitness.

"I'm happier now more than ever,"

Townsend says, smiling. "There's something

stable and wholesome about connecting

with yourself in a yoga studio that helps

you get through the joys and sufferings of

life. It's definitely part of my family's legacy

to better the lives of people." 8599 Santa

Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, 310-360-

7200; updogfitness.com. •

ARTFUL ABODECONTINUED FROM PAGE 148

with Gabrielle, and Ariana, 15, Govan's

daughter from his previous marriage.

Each room blends personal objects and

classic design—offset with eye-catching

artwork. Walk into the foyer and you'll spy

a Korean moon jar next to a dreamy photo-

graph by Catherine Opie, or a perky sunset

print by Andy Warhol hanging above a

white Eero Saarinen table surrounded by

office chairs in vivid, sun-burnt orange.

"The idea is that it's timeless, not

some '60s minimalism," says Govan. "If

you pare things down in a certain way,

you often see more, not less."

In particular, the public rooms feature

a compendium of such classic furnish-

ings with thoughtful color-bursts of art.

An iconic Castiglioni Arco lamp drapes

over a Charles sofa by B&B Italia in the liv-

ing room—next to a Brody Condon modi-

fied computer game of Elvis gyrating

against a hot-pink background. Another

Saarinen table rests in front of a WarholCamouflage print in the breakfast nook. In

the library, two soft-purple Arne Jacobsen

egg chairs face each other, next to another

Condon creation—this time, of Timothy

Leary's pal Baba Ram Dass.

Of all the home's art, Govan seemspartial to the digital pieces. "People don't

realize how powerful it is to live with," he

says. "It's the way of the world now. Ari-

ana makes videos with her friends for fun.

And, like David Hockney, Gabrielle is

drawing on her iPad."

The family initially vowed to hang

only one artist in each room. "It's about

being minimal and specific," says Govan.

"It's not using art as decoration—that's the

key for us. For example, I would never

put flowers in front of a work."

Citing a strong point of view, the cou-

ple doesn't use decorators, preferring in-

stead to buy multiples of their favorites.

"We like what we like," says Ross. They

estimate that they own something like 12

Saarinen tables and five Charles sofas

among their three homes. (The family has

an apartment in N.Y. that they now rent

out and a house in the Hamptons.)

Other objects Ross simply purchased

on the spot. "I saw it, and I said, Til take

it,'" she says, smiling at the "very James

Bond" Willy Rizzo coffee table she discov-

ered at Blackman Cruz. The circular disc

opens to form a bar, and a bucket-shaped

hole is filled with ice and Champagne.

Entertaining is key. At LACMA, mu-

seum directors have a long history of

wooing and socializing from Hancock

Park. Whether cocktails for 100, an artist's

lecture or a quiet dinner for 18, Govan and

Ross needed a large, open kitchen that

could accommodate caterers, plenty of

storage and a backyard that could be tent-

ed. Before he passed away, New York

event kingpin Robert Isabell even drew afloor plan for Ross to help her figure out

how many people she could actually fit in

the house for a dinner party.

The word on the street is that Govan-

Ross soirees are as unfussy as their home.

"It was artistic but low-key," recalls one

guest who attended the LACMA holiday

party. "It felt very neighborhood-y. There

were people draped over the armchairs of

the sofa—drinking, chatting. You could tell

that everyone was there because they liked

them, not just to do business."

"It's not so much about the art on the

walls," LACMA and MOCA trustee Jane

Nathanson adds. "They always have stun-

ning flowers, a fun mix of people, and a

relaxed atmosphere. They live artfully." •

MANHATTAN TRANSFERCONTINUED FROM PAGE 171

the Boom Boom Room by those in theknow—for a night of star gazing. 848

Washington St., 212-645-4646; standard

hotels.com. • Bringing British boutique-

hotel charm to a quiet cobblestone

street between Soho and Nolita, The

Crosby is every bit as charming as it is

chic. Bedecked with pleasantly mixed

printed fabrics and copious pillows,

the hotel's 86 rooms and suites over

11 floors each feel like a posh studio

apartment. 79 Crosby St., 212-226-6400;

firmdale.com. • The Cooper Square

Hotel's sleek glass tower offers a serene

Modernist oasis on the edge of Manhat-

tan's East Village. The minimally luxe

rooms provide an eagle's-eye view on

the coursing streets below. Secret treat:

the outdoor terrace adjacent to the

second floor lounge on Indian summer

evenings. 25 Cooper Square, 212-475-

5700; thecoopersquarehotel.com. • Forthose who'd like to sample life in a

rarefied slice of downtown, look no

further than the Gramercy Park Hotel.

The classic (if not always sparkling)

destination was transformed in 2006

by master hotelier Ian Schrager and

Julian Schnabel into an art-filled

aerie. Two Lexington Ave., 212-920-3300;

gramercyparkhotel.com. •

C174 SEPTEMBER 2010