I participated in Yoga Bear's "Yogapalooza," the annual multi-city fundraising event, which is basically all-day yoga. Now, I'm not a yoga person. I think I MAY have taken a class once, but I don't really remember. But I know Halle and how dedicated she is to this great organizations, and I figured if I'm going to step outside my comfort zone, why not make it for a good cause? I attended the last session of the day, and it was extremely mellow, consisting mostly of meditation, reflection, and some fun partner exercises. Definitely unlike anything I'd done before. But through out it all was an unmistakable aura of support- not once did I forget that I was part of a group, that while not all of us were cancer survivors, we were all there to help each other in some way, and to help Yoga Bear. I'm thrilled at the success of Yogapalooza, and while I probably still won't do much yoga, I'm now a staunch supporter of Yoga Bear.

Yoga Bear offers an excellent service to cancer patients, survivors, and the community. By providing FREE yoga classes to cancer patients and survivors, Yoga Bear is allowing these people to experience a valueable form of complemetary therapy that is normally expensive and not often covered by insurance. Yoga Bear also creates a community within its participants and volunteers by putting on frequent events that bring everyone together. I recently volunteered at Yogapalooza where there were yoga classes all day in Golden Gate Park benefitting different cancer organizations. It was so beautiful to see survivors and family members and volunteers all practicing together and sharing that experience.