Bloomfield Township Woman Kicks Off Foundation with Yogathon

Bloomfield yoga instructor Lynn Medow will host an all-day yogathon Sunday to commemorate the start of her Yoga By Design Foundation at Karma Yoga.

From 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., classes for anyone of any age and level of yoga expertise will be open for $15 per person in the large studio. All proceeds will go toward the foundation, which is aimed to help bring the benefits of yoga to people that aren’t regularly exposed to it.

That not only includes people from disadvantaged communities, but also patients with multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and cancer.

Medow said the funds collected Sunday and donations thereafter will go to instructors eager and interested in working with people that could benefit from yoga’s holistic health approach, but have neither the resources or opportunities to experience it. She hopes to make this an annual event, and “create a community of accredited programs and teachers who apply for funding for the classes they seek to teach.”

“So many yoga teachers desire to reach populations who need to learn coping mechanisms to handle situations in their daily lives,” Medow said. “The biggest obstacle is lack of funding for such meaningful programs.”

Medow discovered her passion for yoga at age 40 and turned it into a new career path after 20 years as a social worker with a non-profit. She started her company, Yoga By Design, in 2001, and shares her expertise through workshops, one-on-one therapy sessions and her own instructional video. 

She studied yoga therapy at the Ananda Seva Mission in Santa Rosa, CA, and became a certified yoga instructor in 2001. She became a certified yoga therapist in 2007, and said she found a niche in using yoga to enrich the lives of baby boomers and others through a heightened awareness of safe practices and balanced body alignment.

“Yoga is empowerment,” she said. “I feel driven to empower each student and guide them back to their strongest, balanced self.”

Katherine Austin, owner of Karma Yoga, said she didn’t hesitate to donate her studio for the entire day.

“I am honored to offer Karma Yoga to the support the YDB Foundation's birth day, and I’m excited for our community,” she said.

Ausin said she and Medow will also work together this fall on a new line of therapeutic yoga classes at the studio. 

Walk-ins are welcome and reservations are still available by calling 248-939-1367 or e-mailing Medow at lymedow@aol.com.