Heartsong offers unique challenge 'Give Back Yoga Day'

Date: 6/15/2009

By Courtney Llewellyn, Reminder Assistant Editor

EAST LONGMEADOW Sheila Magalhaes, owner of Heartsong Yoga on North Main Street, wants to share the benefits of yoga with everyone, no matter what their background. That is why she and Heartsong Yoga are participating in the first ever Give Back Yoga Day on June 20.

Yoga centers around the country will be taking part in this fundraiser, which is described as "a Solstice Celebration for 'giving back' yoga to the community." Heartsong Yoga and Yoga Center Amherst are the only centers in Massachusetts that will be participating in what the Give Back Yoga Foundation hopes will become an annual event.

The Give Back Yoga Foundation (GBYF) was founded by Beryl Bender Birch (Magalhaes' teacher), Rob Schware and Lori Klein in April 2007. GBYF aims to support and fund certified yoga teachers to develop and "give back" yoga to the underserved and under-resourced areas of their communities.

To raise funds to support these projects, yoga beginners through masters are invited to go through 108 Sun Salutations at Heartsong Yoga on the day of the summer solstice from 7 to 9:30 a.m.

"I thought about starting it at sunrise, but then I thought that might be a little early," Magalhaes joked. "This is a celebration of life and the sun, and I think 7 a.m. is close enough to sunrise."

There is a $15 suggested donation for those who wish to participate in Give Back Yoga Day with Heartsong Yoga, and 100 percent of those donations will go to the GBYF. Magalhaes is also encouraging both participants and those who may wish to just stop by to bring generous, non-perishable food donations for the Open Pantry in Springfield.

"I'd love to collect at least 100 pounds of food," Magalhaes said, "and I'd love to fill a room with people doing the Sun Salutations." She explained that the Sun Salutation is a sequence of movements that stretch and strengthen the whole body.

"It's more than just exercise," Magalhaes told Reminder Publications. "Yoga is a philosophy, where people are truly practicing loving and kindness for one's self and other people, and love for the natural world and our environment. Yoga means 'unison' in Sanskrit, and to me it means community."

Magalhaes has a long term vision for how yoga will fit into her community. She plans on getting involved with local veterans' organizations and offering yoga to those who have served and the families of those who are currently serving away from home. She would apply for a grant from the GBYF to help fund her project.

Another place she would like to give yoga to is the Gray House in Springfield. "Last summer I volunteered there to teach yoga to the refugee women ... it was probably one of the most beautiful classes I ever taught, and they just asked me to come back this summer too," Magalhaes said. "If we had a grant we could have a crew of teachers who could take turns doing this community service."

"We at the Give Back Yoga Foundation have seen an incredible outpouring of positive response to our invitation to studios across the country to participate in Give Back Yoga Day," Schware said. "Without these studios helping us to raise money for this important cause, none of our dreams to bring yoga to all regardless of socio-economic status or location, could be possible ... There are a lot of certified yoga teachers with great ideas and passions whom we want to support."

Projects that have already been funded by the GBYF include healthy goodie bags that are given to senior citizens, providing them access to fresh fruits and vegetables they would not normally be able to afford. Once a week, a Give Back Yoga volunteer picks up boxes of donated produce from the supermarket, separates it into recycled bags and delivers it to the nutrition programs at two senior centers in Upstate New York.

Another funds recipient is the Africa Yoga Project, which teaches yoga and other forms of movement to street children and youths in Kenya. The donation of clothing from the GBYF impacts these children and young adults hugely by offering them appropriate clothing in which to practice, the potential to look smart if performing movement arts, and most importantly, pride in their appearance and reward for their dedication to their practice.

"It's exciting to be a part of this vision," Magalhaes said. "It's exciting to be a part of the puzzle."

All are welcome to attend Give Back Yoga Day at Heartsong Yoga. For more information visit www.heartsongyoga.com or www.givebackyoga.org.