Bending and Breathing to Fashionable Wills

Erin Baiano for The New York Times

Guests at tables at the gala at Christie’s perform an opening breath exercise. More Photos »

“50 Cent,” said Mr. Chopra, the holistic health guru, who was dressed in a black Nehru-collar jacket and black eyeglass frames, bedazzled with rows of sparkling crystals that one could imagine the rapper would approve of. “It’s my look,” Mr. Chopra added. In any case, Mr. Chopra has been seeing a lot of 50 Cent. “I’ve been teaching him how to meditate.”

While 50 Cent did not attend, other meditating celebrities took top billing at Tuesday night’s gala for Bent on Learning, a nonprofit that brings yoga to public schools. Boldface names in this crowd included Eddie Stern, an Ashtanga yogi known for teaching Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow and Willem Dafoe, among others.

Not surprisingly, there was also a heavy fashion contingent, including the designers Donna Karan, Misha Nonoo and Bibhu Mohapatra, along with yoga-minded socialites like Lily Kwong, Zani Gugelmann and Charlotte Sarkozy.

During the cocktail hour at Christie’s, a trio played a wooden flute, hand drums and what looked like a wooden salad bowl, while guests browsed a silent auction. Lots included 200 hours of yoga training and an appointment with Dr. Renee Wild, a k a the “baby whisperer.” There was also a photo station for capturing yoga poses. The word of the night? Namaste.

If it was all very new age-y, the waiters also seemed to buy into it. One server approached with a tray of green rolls. “It’s vegetarian and gluten-free,” he said soberly.

Guests compared notes on their stage of enlightenment. “I’m on the second series,” said Julie Macklowe, a beauty entrepreneur, referring to one of the six levels of Ashtanga yoga. Stacey Bendet Eisner, the designer of Alice & Olivia, said she was on the almost-unheard-of fourth series, under the stewardship of Mr. Stern. “I’ve been doing yoga for so long, it’s just part of my life now,” Ms. Eisner said. “I’m not really thinking if it’s trendy or not.”

About 7:30 p.m., the chatty crowd gathered for dinner on the second floor, where tables were dotted with lotus-flower-like succulents, along with plates of heirloom tomato gratin and, later, day boat cod. (There were also vegan options, naturally.)

After a short introduction by Elena Brower, a yoga celebrity in her own right, Fred DeVito, a founder of Core Fusion at Exhale spa, held a group “opening breath” exercise, which required patrons — decked out in cocktail attire — to place both hands across the heart, close their eyes and inhale deeply. The room fell into total silence. After Mr. Stern accepted his award for “inspirational activism,” Ms. Karan came onstage, taking a break from Fashion Week preparations to tell the audience how much yoga had changed her life. Having practiced Ashtanga and Iyengar for decades, she was ahead of the Lululemon curve.

“You know the bodysuit that I built my line on?” she said. “That was about me being able to go directly from work to yoga class. It just wasn’t as accepted to talk about then.”