P O S E F O R A C A U S E

YOGItimes magazine for the modern yogi
YOGItimes Launches “Pose for a Cause” at
Step Up for Yoga & Health
The Los Angeles yoga community came out in support of an important cause last month, at the third annual Step Up for Yoga & Health weekend, a charity festival dedicated to raising awareness and funds for ovarian/breast cancer and Peace 4 Kids. Close to 1000 people attended the event, held April 17-18 at Writers Boot Camp at Bergamot Station in Santa Monica. The fun and festive weekend featured classes, workshops, wellness offerings, vendors, shopping, food, music and fun for the entire family.
YOGItimes supported the festival as an event sponsor for the second consecutive year and further promoted the effort by debuting “Pose for a Cause,” the magazine’s new campaign to raise awareness of charitable causes and to generate more kindness in the world in which we live. “Step Up for Yoga was the perfect launching pad for ‘Pose for a Cause’,” said YOGItimes editor Sophie Parienti. “We are committed to bringing attention to important issues we so often fail to notice in our daily lives.”
Forty of LA’s most respected instructors in the areas of yoga, pilates, healing and wellness donated their time by leading classes at the festival. Steve Ross, Vinnie Marino, Rod Stryker, Michele Bohbot, Hala Khouri, Mark Blanchard, Arun Deva, Anthony Benenati, Mark Stephens, Jodi Guber and many others joined in the fun and offered their favorite asanas for our cameras! Celebrity yoginis also came out to strike a pose in support of this important cause including Marg Helgenberger, Sheila Kelley and Kelly Rutherford – hosts of the event.

Classes and workshops were only the beginning for festival participants, who were also treated to a variety of wellness offerings including massage therapy, chiropractic, acupuncture and facials at Whole Foods’ Whole Body wellness center.
250 guests attended Saturday night’s Bhakti Groove, presented by Natural High Lifestyle and AJNA Music which featured live performances by Donna DeLory as well as Zen Dancing with Micheline Berry and Shaman’s Dream, Moksha and Govin Das.
“This weekend would not have been possible without the generosity of our amazing sponsors, particularly Supreme Soul (supremesoulstyle.com) and Whole Foods Markets (wholefoods.com), ” said Step Up’s Los Angeles President Traci Fleming. Additional festival sponsors included Vitamin Water, Lululemon, Daily Candy, LA.com, Energy Muse, absolution, Holistic Living and Daily Candy.

Step Up Women’s Network, parent organization of Step Up for Yoga, is a nonprofit, membership alliance dedicated to strengthening community resources for women and girls. Through hands-on community service, mentoring and fund-raising for women’s health and critical issues, they work to ensure that women and girls have the tools they need to create a better future. $40,000 was raised for Step Up Women's Network and its 2004 beneficiaries, USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center & Peace4Kids.

If you missed the event and want to support the cause, you can still purchase Step Up’s festival gear including Supreme Soul’s yoga mat/bag as well as adorable “Namaste” tees. E-mail stepupforyoga@pacbell.net for more details. For more information on Step Up Women’s Network and membership, please visit stepupwomensnetwork.org.