Students and teachers at Elevate Yoga made their Friday evening class mean more than ever in February.
In partnership with Ottawa’s eating disorder clinic Hopewell, Elevate Yoga’s Elevate Your Charity classes donated all proceeds towards the mental health disorder throughout the entire month of February.
February is National Eating Disorder Awareness Month. The yogis raised roughly $400 for the cause.
This is the second year the communities have taken part in the initiative, and everyone re-connected again and created a really great turn out, one of Elevate Yoga’s founders, Lizl Fleury, says.
“Supporting their cause was a natural thing for us to do because we have a lot of female yogis who come to the studio, who volunteer for Hopewell as well,” Fleury says.
Though fundraising is important, this isn’t what the partnership is all about, says Hopewell program co-ordinator Lindsey MacIsaac.
“It’s wonderful to receive a donation (from Elevate Yoga) but more importantly they do a lot of raising awareness for us,” MacIsaac says.
“Yoga plays such a big part in a lot of people’s recovery,” she says. “There’s the whole mind, body connection and being present and breathing and that kind of thing.”
MacIsaac says along with treatment, therapy and medical support, yoga is an individual experience for those in recovery and it’s important for them to find activities they enjoy.
“Yoga is important because it’s about connecting with your body and learning to trust your body and that when your body is full, to trust that and when it’s hungry to trust that too and so yoga really helps maintain that connection for people,” MacIsaac says.
Brittany Stephens, a student at Elevate Yoga, says for someone who is trying to heal, having a practice that encourages growth at your own pace is a great way to support anyone.
“The fact that a business takes on a charity, especially during an awareness month not only spreads an awareness to others but helps support the community that we are in,” Stephens says. “By having these classes it allows anyone to come, enjoy a class and also donate to a charity.”