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Central Alberta Yogathon raising funds for Smiles Thru Lindsey Foundation

Jul 5, 2017 | 6:27 AM

For the third year, Central Alberta yogi’s are being invited out to City Hall Park to take part in the Stantec Central Alberta Yogathon.

The event, raising funds for the Smiles Thru Lindsey Foundation, is a four hour yoga challenge open to all levels of expertise.

New this year is a $500 cash prize sponsored by Nexus Energy Technologies.

Committee Chairs Erin Payne and Shannon Van Parys spoke to the connection between yoga and mental health and explained that it seemed like a natural fit for the Yogathon and Smiles Thru Lindsey.

“Yoga is a great way to just kind of ease stress and anxiety in our everyday lives and it’s a different option for therapy for people who might suffer from some mental health illness,” said Payne.

Smiles Thru Lindsey is a local foundation started in honor of Lindsey More that focuses on mental health initiatives in the community.

“(Mental health) is very top of mind and we all have connections to it. Maybe it’s not as easy to talk about but we need to talk about it and provide the supports for people who need it,” said Van Parys.

The Yogathon takes place August 19 at City Hall Park from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. and people are invited to come out and enjoy the day. Van Parys said the event is more about camaraderie and community connection than anything.

Since attendees are being challenged to four straight hours of yoga, Van Parys said perhaps they can challenge their friends, family and support systems to help them collect some pledges.

“We want to not only have people enjoy yoga and the sense of community, but help us raise some real money to make a difference in our community,” said Van Parys.

Registration is open now and the fee is $35. Participants raising more than $200 in pledges will have the fee waived.

Pledge forms are available via email and also at participating businesses and yoga studios around the City. For more information people can phone 403-352-2774 or email cayogathon@gmail.com.