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Yoga Fix EventsWow! Our second annual Yoga in the Park has already come and gone. It was a cool overcast morning; the threat of rain hung over the event. We got lucky though and the rain held out. People began to stroll down to the registration table dogs trotting along at their owner’s side. Some people staked out their spots on the damp grounds of the park while others walked their dogs. Soon it was time for the instructor to take the stage. Stephanie Whittler, who teaches Doga at the Dog’s Spot Training Center in Gladstone, took the stage with her eleven year old dog. It was amazing to watch this diverse mix of dogs and their owners all stretching and doing yoga in harmony. We had German Shepards, Boxers, Terriers and many other mixes, small and large. All of the dogs seemed quite happy to be just a few feet away from each other as they flopped over on their backs for belly rubs, stretched into down dogs and generally let their owners manipulate them into various positions. Stephanie has been instructing Doga sessions for over a year now and was quite at home leading this motley crew through a series of movements. By the end of the session all the dogs seemed quite blissed-out. Once the Doga was done, people began to gather on the south side of the stage for a session of people yoga. These were some hearty souls who came out on a 60 some degree morning to lay their yoga mats on a damp ground and do some yoga for fun and charity. Kate Reece led the yogis through a one-hour yoga session. It is always an awesome energy to watch a gathering of people out in nature doing yoga. A photographer from the Sun Publications wandered the crowd snapping shots and getting quotes. The Sun Publications was very generous in doing a pre-event news article and hopefully we will see a post-event article as well. Also taking photos was our own Kathy Disney, who was kind enough to come out for the event and once again get lots of great photos. And what great photo opportunities this event provides – with our fury friends and people alike. A big thanks to all of our sponsors who came out in support of this cause. We had Doggie Style Bowtique, Kate’s Canine Resort, Picasso Grooming, Pooches Paradise and ReGap. This was a great group of sponsors who agreed to participate in this event based purely on a desire to help out the Humane Society and do something to help the needy dogs and cats in the Kansas City area. These are sponsors with a heart and I encourage you to patronize their businesses – not just because they have good hearts – they also have great businesses that I’m quite sure you will want to support. For those of you who don’t know ReGap is a Grey Hound rescue group that works all year round to place retired racing Grey Hounds in good homes. The recent closing of the Woodland’s Race Track has increased this need dramatically. In Fact, the representatives from ReGap informed me that there are currently 200 Grey Hounds in need of homes – no that is not a typo – that’s two-hundred Grey Hounds looking for a warm, friendly home. Please be sure to spread the word. We raised $800 for the Humane Society of Kansas City thanks to your generous donations. Robin Rowland, a Humane Society representative, was present that morning with 2 very cute little pooches up for adoption. Yoga Fix attendee Kim Williams applied to take home Gizmo an adorable Pekinese. All-in-all this turned out to be a great event. I look forward to doing our third annual event next year and thank all of you who braved the cold temperatures and threat of rain to make this year a success. > top
Fellow Yogis, We would like to extend a sincere thank you to all the yogis who helped make our first annual Yoga in the Park such a success! Saturday morning in the hot humid weather of Kansas City, approximately 130 people turned out to help us raise awareness of the benefits of yoga and of the need to be heart smart. There were the familiar faces of friends from the studio and brand new friends who joined us for the first time, some of which had never done yoga before that morning. We set out to create an event that would raise public awareness of the many benefits of yoga and benefit a good cause. Yoga has long been touted as an elixir of stress relief; however, the benefits reach far beyond stress reduction to include, toning, flexibility, strength, connectedness and mental clarity, and cardiovascular and so many more. It seemed a natural fit to team up with the American Heart Association and its Go Red Campaign. All the money raised at the event went directly to the American Heart Association. We raised $1,000 for the heart Association and with your help, we hope to see this event continue to grow it the upcoming years. For those of you not familiar with the Go Red Campaign, it is an effort to educate women nationwide about the increasing risk of heart disease and how to combat this growing killer. Too few people are aware that heart disease has become the number 1 killer of women in America. What was once considered a man’s disease has become everyone’s disease. Since this is a relatively new phenomenon among women, the American Heart Association through its Go Red Campaign has been making a concerted effort to bring tips and information on healthy eating, exercise and risk reduction to the public. We are happy that Yoga Fix Studio could be a part of that effort. Again, we would like to thank all you came out to support this worthy cause. We hope you all had a good time doing yoga in the outdoors and truly connecting to the earth. What a great feeling to stand with the grass between your toes as you practiced your yoga poses. There was such energy to see a sea of yogis moving in an out of poses in the morning breeze. We truly hope to make this an event you look forward to doing again. Namaste, PS: In each of your bags was a card for a FREE yoga class. If you are new to our studio, we hope you come try Hot Yoga, and if not we hope you pass that card along to someone who wants to try Hot Yoga. We believe strongly in the benefits of a Hot Yoga routine and would like to encourage you see for yourself. Winners:Go red Yoga Mat: Cati Wolfe Thanks for your generous donations! > top
Sponsored by RED Development, this is a fun family event designed to increase funds and awareness for Children's TLC, which serves over 550 children with developmental disabilities and special healthcare needs in seven area counties, including WyandotteCounty. No child is denied services regardless of their ability to pay. Funds raised through the RED Development Duck Derby will help make the difference in the life of a child.
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