Kula For Karma’s Successful 4th Annual Gala
The Kula Gala Team
On Friday, November 4th, 2011 Kula for Karma hosted its fourth annual fundraising Gala. I decided to try and help out a bit this year. I headed over to Preakness Hills Country Club.
Preakness Hills CC
I had never been to the club before and was impressed with its beauty right when I walked in the door. The club is not only beautiful but very spacious, plenty of room for all the generous Kula supporters and team members to celebrate a great charity. When I arrived at the club that morning the preparations were well under way. There was a very organized group of women placing the prizes, setting up the giving trees and pulling together all the loose ends that bring an event like this together. It was very exciting particularly as I glanced at the baskets and the wonderful stuff in each package! Prizes from yoga sessions, beautiful jewelry, wine, gift certificates to fabulous restaurants from the surrounding towns and Manhattan. There were live and silent auction packages that included trips to Ireland or exotic islands. Broadway shows, electronics and some sports memorabilia were also among the amazing offerings.
I returned to the venue freshened up with my big girl shoes on and ready for a night of fun fundraising! As the guests started to arrive the team was in place and the air was full of anticipation. The venue came alive from the candles and the aroma of the delicious food to warm greetings from friends and guests, hugs and smiles filled the rooms. As guest wandered admiring and bidding on all the great auction items they were treated to yummy passed hors ‘d oeuvres and a buffet dinner.
As the night progressed the guests moved to the ballroom. The space was aglow with candlelight that reflected off of the beautiful crystal covered ‘giving trees’ in the center of the tables. It was warm and inviting and as Geri and Penni spoke with eloquence and contagious enthusiasm the room truly was aglow with love. They each expressed their heartfelt gratitude for all present and those not in the room that have helped to make Kula the triumph that it is, growing with each year. The
Geri Topfer, Joan Bronman, Dr. Andre Goy, Penni Feiner
Kula Angel Award was given to Dr. Andre Goy, Chairman and Director of the John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center. Dr. Goy is a proponent of a holistic approach to health and a strong advocate for patient care. The Award was presented to him by Joan Bronman, a survivor of breast cancer and a patient of Dr. Goy’s. Both Dr. Goy and Ms. Bronman spoke of their experiences with Kula and the gift of mind and body connections to bring about positive results for health and welfare. They were true inspirations whose joy vibrated throughout the room. The night continued to fly with an exciting live auction led by the hilarious and talented Robert Wuhl. And that wasn’t it, the crowd was then entertained with beloved hits sung by the spectacular Unexpected Boys.
By the end of the night Kula for Karma had raised over $125,000.00 to put toward their programs and continue to serve the public with the gift of yoga and all it’s powerful facets. I was honored to be a part of the event and thrilled at it’s success! I am already looking forward to next year’s gala! See you there!!
Here are some great pictures from the Gala taken by our friends at mybergen.com.
Global Mala NJ ~ Peace is Powerful
On September 18th, my daughter Madelyn and I headed to the New Jersey Global Mala. I wanted to attend this event for a few years and because of schedules I wasn’t able to go until this year, I didn’t know what to expect and was very excited to see what it was all about. So, on a crisp and sunny Sunday morning in mid September we headed to another public school in another historic city in New Jersey. This fifth Global Mala was held in a big, beautiful public school, Central High School. As we entered the doors we were welcomed with a friendly smile and a goody bag we received for signing up early! As we swept through the lobby filled with vendors selling all sorts of fantastic looking stuff we headed down the stairs to what neither Maddie or I were very sure. I set her up in the ‘kid’s’ room where there was art projects, drums, yoga mats and energy you could feel in the air. She seemed hesitant at first but Madelyn isn’t a shy kid and I know the yoga community is fun and friendly so I wasn’t very concerned. I ran out to fill up our water bottles (free from Gaiam in the goody bag!) and when I brought it back in to Madelyn she was already in the midst of things and smiling. Satisfied that she was going to be fine I slid across the hall to find a spot in the gym for the ‘adult’ portion of the Mala. The room was wall to wall mats but a volunteer quickly squeezed me in between two kind yogi’s in the last row at the back of the room. There I sat just taking in the sheer number of people in rows and rows in front of me, too many for me to count. With all the colorful clothes and mats and the sun streaming in the gymnasium windows the room was magnificently bright.
In the front of the room was a row of teachers who volunteered their time to lead us in our Mala. The event, which was organized by Debby Kaminsky, begain with inspirational talks from Tao Porchon-Lynch and Honorable Cory A. Booker, Mayor of Newark. In my earnest to assure Madelyn was comfortable I happened to miss the first speaker but I found Mayor
Booker particularly amazing. He spoke about seeing things and the world around us in a positive light, ‘what we see on the outside is what is within.’ He spoke with such ease and comfort I forgot there was a forest of bodies between us. I felt as if he was speaking right to me.I found his remarks about making a difference in the world to be extremely inspiring and as these days have passed by I can’t seem to get his talk out of my head. One phrase that keeps floating in my mind is his recommendation that we ‘leave a small imprint of energy’ wherever we go. I found this very powerful way to look at how we effect the world we are in intimately and at large. I swear I could have listened to Mayor Booker for hours!
We were there for yoga so when the Mayor was finished speaking we began our session with a blissful round of 108 om‘s started off by Mayor Booker himself. It took quite a few minutes to get through but the wonderful vibration was palpable and if you didn’t feel centered after that you would need to see a medical professional! It was at this point that Debby instructed us about how the asana would proceed and thus it began …
The 108 sun salutations were lead a series at a time by the instructors at the front of the room. First up were some local students whose youth was heard in their voices and reminded me about my theory of a yoga session; I always feel that we start out any sessions as children or newbies (even if we have practiced for ages) and finish the session an expert, or very close to it! We were up and down and up again, breathing in and out and in and out. I found it interesting to hear how each of the teachers called out the moves in the salutation. Each was distinctive and that was really cool, no two lead the same way. While the live music played along with our movement I found myself drenched in sweat and smiling, ready to keep going one after another! Toward the end of course they kicked things up a bit, Dalien aka 13 Hands took a break from playing the music to lead us in a ‘juicy round‘, that were taken in with pure passion because at that point there was little energy left! I did take a break as I noticed the time was drawing near to the what was to be the end of the children’s mala. I went to the room across the hall and spied my mini me yogi in a beautiful partner backbend and a smile from ear to ear. When she wrapped up I grabbed her and brought her into where I had spent my past two or so hours. She had the same awed reaction as I first did when entering the sea of mats and bodies. I was so happy to have Madelyn in the room with me at that point because she could see with me what was pure yoga magic. We were rewarded the chance to witness some awe inspiring poses taken by the young yoga rock star Tara Stiles and older, yogi legend Tao. Maddie knew how excited I was to be in the very room with Tara so when she lead us through some of the asana we both darted back onto our mats to take part.
At that point I was wiped out and knew Madelyn probably was too. We rolled up our mats, grabbed our goodies and headed back upstairs. We spent some time and money wandering the vendors in the lobby that we had whisked by earlier in the day, each vendor gave a portion of their profits to charity that day so I wanted to meet them all. They were all fantastic and unique from clothes to jewelry to chai and supplements.
On the ride home Madelyn filled me in on what went on in the kids mala. They were joined by the Mayor who helped paint a giant banner for peace, they danced, they played instruments, played games and of course did some yoga. Madelyn was most excited about mastering her headstand! By the end of the day I had taken in so much, I made new friends and ran into an old one or two, heard an inspirational speaker, took part in a monumental gathering, savored flavors and sights that engaged and energized me and shared it all with my super cool daughter who also spent the day being engaged and motivated. We were both exhausted but already looking forward to next year’s event!!
As I drove while Maddie dozed a bit after the long day I thought about how I felt, how I truly felt at that moment, that is after all so much of what yoga is really about, being mindful and being present. I realized that what I felt was peaceful and it was a very powerful feeling … and as this dawned on me I giggled a bit … did I mention the theme of the event … Peace is Powerful! That it is!!
Yoga at P.S. No. 5
I cannot believe a week has gone by and I am just now finding the time to get this post up!! But it is better late than never because before this new weekend is upon us I have to tell you about last weekend! It was wonderful!! It was yoga filled and I haven’t had one of those in so very long! It started in Paterson at Public School No. 5 where my fellow Kula angel Lois Metter and I spent the day teaching yoga at a health fair. It was a big, beautiful, public school where we were set up outside within the gated playground area along with a moon jump, zumba lessons, a DJ and tables of information provided by local professionals including an optometrist, respiratory specialist, and dentist. There was also a yummy food truck, arts and crafts and fresh, local produce for sale from City Green. The free, family event was to kick off the installation of a health center within the school, part of the Full Service Community School Program. The health center will provide the students with much need medical assistance by the way of check ups, eye exams, or asthma treatments on the school premises. Denise Hajjar is the Nutrition Educator for this center and organized the fair to introduce the parents to this wonderful new aspect of their childrens school.
Prior to the day Lois and I, who had only met virtually at that point, didn’t know what to expect so we sort of made a plan not to plan! There were sessions of Zumba and Lois and I did some sessions of yoga in between. Lois, who is also a puppeteer brought some of her ‘friends’ to talk to the children and some marionettes for the kids to play with. It was so much fun to watch the children master making the puppets walk mindfully as yogis do. I was also thrilled to see that every mat we set down was filled. There was absolutely no hesitation when the DJ announced that yoga was starting. With MC Yogi playing in the background and the blue, sunny skies above we stretched and moved and breathed and laughed with kids, parents and fellow volunteers. It wasn’t your typical yoga class but it was a glimpse of yoga in the middle of a small city on a September day that I hope everyone who attended will remember as fondly as I know I will for years to come!
September is National Yoga Month
Check information on the site National Yoga Month.
There is no better time to grab your mat and go! In case you need some convincing take a look at this article from Yoganonymous, ‘8 Great Reasons to Love Yoga.’
Be sure to check back to hear how I am celebrating National Yoga month and challenging myself to do more and let me hear how you will be yoga~ing this month!
Yoga helps deal with depression
I am always amazed at the many, many, many different benefits found as a result of practicing yoga. From the basic muscle toning and strength development that the poses can provide to the mental clarity that the deep and controlled breathing or centered asanas can bring forth. It can be as simple as better posture or as complex as finding relaxation in our harried and stressful lives. At Kula for Karma we have seen the abundant benefits reaped by yoga in our work dealing with Cancer patients or Special Olympians, Veterans or foster children and so many more. The rewards of yoga are so vast and we in the west seem to be just now learning new ones everyday. One area where there is strong evidence of the power yoga has to improve our lives is with depression and anxiety. There is no one better to speak to this point than Amy Weintraub. Amy Weintraub, is the author of Yoga For Depression, and the founding director of the LifeForce Yoga Healing Institute. We at Kula want to thank her for giving us a shout out in the latest LFY Practitioner newsletter. If you aren’t familiar with Amy or LifeForce Yoga you have to visit the site!
And to learn more about yoga and depression I have found some great articles on the topic. The first one is from our old reliable source for all things yoga, Yoga Journal, with their piece titled Yoga For Depression. The Harvard Health Publications also has a very informative piece on the topic of Yoga for Depression and Anxiety.
Please take a look and let me know what you think? Has yoga lifted your spirits?
Time with the Special Olympics
