Rock Your Body Carnival- Yoga and Health Celebration
When I have the opportunity to combine my love of photography, yoga, and working with my students, I am one very happy Philanthropist!
This year, at our second annual Carnival, the focus is on Yoga. It wasn't merely my love of yoga that sparked the carnival focus but the love of this athletic and soulful practice by my students at Animo Jackie Robinson and our other Green Dot Schools. I had no idea that when I offered yoga as a fitness option for our AJR football team last year and as a breathing and calming activity for our drama club that students would begin asking for a yoga club over and over until the Monarchs After School Program and I gave in. We gave in easily, as we love yoga, health, and the opportunity to make our kids happier and healthier!
Thank you to the amazing teachers participating such as our guest speaker, Desi Bartlett (desibartlett.com) as well as Elise Gulan (elisegulan.com) and Stephanie Paul (Laughter Yoga- www.stephaniepaul.net. We have an exciting line up of workshops and inspirational words! In addition, we will offer many of the Carnival must haves such as games, bounce house, a fabulous raffle, flower pot painting, face painting, great food and tons of local families!
Supporting vendors include: Chakras By Didi (chakrasbydidi.com), Yogahitch (yogahitch.com), Big Sunday (bigsunday.org) and more.
Photos by Natiya Guin Photography (photos with teachers and students coming soon)
Carnival brought to you by the Monarchs After School Program, the AJR Senior Action Projects, AJR Football and Pep Squad, and Big Sunday!
Namaste and have fun at the Carnival!
This year, at our second annual Carnival, the focus is on Yoga. It wasn't merely my love of yoga that sparked the carnival focus but the love of this athletic and soulful practice by my students at Animo Jackie Robinson and our other Green Dot Schools. I had no idea that when I offered yoga as a fitness option for our AJR football team last year and as a breathing and calming activity for our drama club that students would begin asking for a yoga club over and over until the Monarchs After School Program and I gave in. We gave in easily, as we love yoga, health, and the opportunity to make our kids happier and healthier!
Carnival brought to you by the Monarchs After School Program, the AJR Senior Action Projects, AJR Football and Pep Squad, and Big Sunday!
Namaste and have fun at the Carnival!
Hey Natiya,
ReplyDeleteI love that you are implementing Yoga into your program, and the students and staff around you should know that they are very lucky to have someone like you to create and expose them to beneficial activities such as Yoga. In the event that they have not yet experienced Yoga, and it is likely that the majority of the children in your demographic have not experienced it yet- The fact that you are bringing Yoga directly to them is just awesome, what else can I say?? Awesome.
It is amazing to me that you were able to put this event together in the capacity that you have, especially regarding the external participation (community service/for FREE). Multiple individuals and companies will be donating their free time and resources to you and the Students at this event, in addition to the media coverage that you have arranged of the event is going so far above and beyond what is expected of you as an Administrator, which means that this event was created with real love, from your heart, for the Students. Amazing. A positive response of this magnitude, and by so many people/organizations, really speaks to your character and reputation within the community, both as a person and a professional- Only a select few people that I have met in my life are both loved and respected to the level that is necessary in order to pull this event off. In order to garner this much free participation by top Yoga Professionals requires a great deal of trust in the person that is running the event, in addition to being motivated by the target demographic in order to pull off an event of this magnitude. I know you pretty well, so I am not as surprised by your exemplary work, I find myself just feeling so amazingly impressed by the level that you were able to operate at regarding the overall scope and quality of the event, magnitude is probably the best adjective to describe this event that you have created..
Well done, Natiya. You are truly an inspiration to all of us who teach the Youth of today in any and all capacities- thank you for setting the bar so high for the rest of us, you are directly and indirectly making a lot of people better both personally and professionally, by motivating us to think bigger and to expect more from ourselves, and all we have to do is follow the example that you have given to us- Ms. Guin is always changing lives, which is the personification of what a Teacher is, or what one should be striving to become- anyone that is/was a Teacher knows that operating on the level that you are on is one of the most challenging tasks one could take on, but you seem to do it with ease, and in style- Ms. Guin is the coolest Teacher I know..
You Rock, Ms. Guin!
-Mr. Bobby Buoncristiano