What could be better than Yoga? Yoga that supports your favorite cause.
We take health pretty seriously at Invisible Children…IC Running Club, the Health and Wellness Committee…they’re actual things, people. But the work hard, play hard mentality prevails and we know how to throw a good party (example: Global Dance Night. Am I right, or am I right?) But health and partying simultaneously? Music to our ears. The University of Central Florida’s Invisible Children Club became trailblazers when they hosted a wildly successful Yoga Rave that raised funds for our programs in northern Uganda.
Yoga = meditation, stress reduction, and warrior poses
Rave = stimulating music, energetic crowd, and a bunch of neon
Yoga + Rave = look at the pictures
This wasn’t UCF’s first rodeo, err, yoga rave. Inspired by a yoga series currently touring the U.S. (tours clearly aren’t just for bands anymore), UCF’s IC Club has already hosted two other Yoga Raves. The Club’s Vice President, Amanda Brody, assured us that in planning for Spring 2013’s event they were sure to pull out all the stops. The preparation paid off and word of the event spread like wildfire. On campus, one of the University’s yoga instructors volunteered to lead the event and Vitamin Water got on board to to sponsor the event.
Amanda Brody (in KONY 2012 T-shirt) with other UCF IC Clubbers including Club President Tiffany Hsieh (bottom left)
On the big night, participants purchased glow sticks with the proceeds going towards IC. The facility quickly reached capacity, causing some wannabe yoga-goers to be turned away but they were gracious about it…and still got Vitamin Water. #success
“This was a great unique event to bring to our campus that [drew] a large audience and opened up a platform for conversation about Invisible Children and the LRA conflict.”
Trikonasana. That’s triangle pose for yoga newbies.
While it may seem ironic to ask people to party while doing yoga, we at Invisible Children applaud those with the courage to think outside of the box. The IC Club at UCF is a clear testament of originality, boldness, and ingenuity.
The human connection extends across around the world, but starts across the street. Or, in this case, to the student next to you in the same mountain pose.
Yoga Rave was a party like none other; an innovative way to build community. The only disappointing part of this story…that I couldn’t attend the event in person. You can make me feel better though by telling me a story of how your high school or college club sparked conversation about IC in a unique way…or by inviting me to your next Yoga Rave. Either one. E-mail me at [email protected].
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