BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, MI – Yoga by Design Foundation will host an all-day YOGATHON at Karma Yoga in Bloomfield Township on Sunday, September 8, 2019. All proceeds from the event will support yoga, mindfulness and meditation programs for underserved populations in Michigan. Space for the event has been generously donated by Katherine and Mike Wooley and Karma Yoga. The day’s festivities include seven back-to-back classes led by master yoga instructors, local vendors, a HUGE raffle, a free yoga/meditation book exchange, prizes and giveaways, and music. Attendees are requested to donate $25 per class, at minimum. Participants should register at ybdf.org/yogathon to reserve a space in class.
The unique Yoga by Design Foundation, founded in 2011, sponsors yoga programs for diverse populations through established nonprofits, schools and health care institutions. The Foundation currently funds eleven programs throughout Michigan, from Flint to Detroit, supporting veterans with PTSD, cancer thrivers, at-risk youth, adults with developmental disabilities, incarcerated young men as well as indigent survivors of persecution and human trafficking from around the world.
Lynn Medow, founder and president of Yoga by Design Foundation, is recognized as an expert in the practice of yoga and is a leader in the yoga community. In April of 2019, Lynn & YBDF partnered with the Prison Yoga Project (PYP) to bring the first ever Prison Yoga Training to Michigan. PYP trains instructors on trauma-informed therapeutic yoga for incarcerated individuals and works with prisons to develop yoga programs.
“I recognize the humanness and opportunity of every person, in spite of challenging circumstances,” Medow says, “people under stress due to poverty, illness and other life circumstances benefit from using yoga, mindfulness and meditation techniques for coping, healing and ultimately empowerment. The practice of yoga empowers individuals to implement and utilize their inner resources to bring them back to their strongest and most balanced self.”
Through the Prison Yoga Project, participants learned many skills and techniques, including teaching trauma-informed mindfulness practice for anxiety, addiction and mental illness. YBDF currently serves young men at two detention centers in Highland Park.
YBDF also provides yoga at schools in Madison Heights and Flint, Michigan. Testimony from a teacher whose students participate in a YBDF-sponsored class at Madison Elementary School in Madison Heights:
"I was amazed by the decrease in number of angry outbursts displayed by one of my students who attends the YBDF-funded yoga classes. I actually witnessed her using calming breaths & focused counting when confronted by another student. Thank you, YBDF, for making my classroom a more peaceful place!"
- Katherine, Madison Elementary School Teacher
Students at Wilkinson Middle School find balance in airplane pose, led by instructor Taylor Beardsall, pictured at right, March 2019.
Students at Wilkinson Middle School build self-esteem through crafting Valentines for themselves, March 2019.
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EVENT DETAILS:
Yogathon 2019 will take place on Sunday, September 8, 2019 at:
Karma Yoga (karma-yoga.net)
3683 W. Maple Rd, Bloomfield Township, MI 48301
Purchase tickets online: ybdf.org/yogathon
Tickets may also be obtained at the door.
Class Schedule:
6:30 AM - 8:00 AM
Ashtanga Yoga in the trad. of K. Pattabhi Jois with Matthew Darling
www.ami.yoga
8:30 AM - 9:30 AM
Yoga for All with Diana Milne
www.karma-yoga.net
9:45 AM - 11:15 AM
Kundalini Yoga & Meditation with Katherine Austin Wooley
www.karma-yoga.net
11:30 AM - 12:45 PM
Yin Yoga & the Power of Gratitude with Lynne Baum
www.yogawithlynne.com
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Sowing the Seeds of Love with Natalie Piet & Sara Davidson
www.fullradiance.com
2:45 PM - 4:00 PM
Strength & Grace with Megan Slattery
monkeymindyoga@gmail.com
4:30 PM - 6:00 PM
Meditation & Gong Immersion with Dale Prentiss & Valerie Weir
www.yogasounds.org
Ticket Prices:
$25 - Minimum Donation per Class
$25 – Raffle Ticket; 5 for $100. Buy raffle tickets at ybdf.org/raffle
Yogathon 2019 Sponsors: Live in Woodbridge; Karma Yoga; Logan @ Indulge. Property Group; Yoga by Design; Buddy’s Pizza; Studio 4 Bodywork; Lakeview Plumbing Heating, Cooling & Electrical; Murray’s; The Students of Yoga; and Julie & Larry August
For more information visit www.yogabydesignfoundation.org or contact Lynn Medow at info@yogabydesignfoundation.org or 248.939.1367.
Please note: YBDF updates a listing of all free and donation-based yoga/meditation classes in Michigan so individuals can join their local mindful community! www.ybdf.org/yoga4all
YBDF 2019 Highlights:
YBDF’s sponsored its first program in Flint, Michigan at Mott Middle College in the Genesee Intermediate School District.
YBDF Instructor Taylor Kamen Beardsall shares about the benefits of mindfulness practice at a school assembly about youth stress and anxiety, March 12, 2019.
YBDF Instructor Matthew Darling presents a Calumet Detention Center participant with a Certificate for his successful completion of the yoga program.
