Team Karma Police

First we suffered shock that it was already March then amazement set in when we realized that the fundraiser we’d built our team to attend was happening this past weekend.

Two thirds of Team Karma Police

As I’ve mentioned countless times to every social media connection, Power of Movement is a yoga fundraiser that took place on Sunday at thirteen different locations across Canada. The beneficiary of the event is the Arthritis Research Foundation and in turn, those who suffer from arthritis and other autoimmune conditions are the people who really win.

This was the second time that my mom and I took part and this year we brought a special friend with us. According to her most recent diagnosis, Renee suffers from something vague that combines the terms Undifferentiated Autoimmune Condition and Lupus. There’s some connector in there, but I can’t remember what it is. She’s spent years with doctors, rheumatologists and naturopaths trying to balance treatments, medications and lifestyle to get back to her former, healthy life. Renee is a perfect example of how one day everything can just go really wrong. It came on out of the blue and hasn’t completely rectified itself since then. Over the past few years, it’s cost her time with her young son, her husband, her family and friends. Thankfully, she has a great support system that is no doubt responsible for getting her back on the mend.

Though we’d participated in my grandmother’s name in the past, adding Renee to our team brought it even closer to home.

Honestly, even as a yoga lover, I can’t remember the last time I showed up and laid down my mat at a class. My mom’s only yoga experience was last year’s Power of Movement awesome dance off version and Renee was a Bikram girl back before things went sideways with her health. Our Sunday class was a pretty traditional Hatha class and we all, side by side by side, enjoyed every minute. It challenged us, it pushed us to grow and we stretched until we couldn’t stretch any more.

The greatest reward was in being part of the event, sharing a room and spirit with determined and community minded people. At the end of the day, we were also kind of paid in…

Luna bars – bags and bags of them!

A million heartfelt thank yous to my most thoughtful friends who made donations and supported our campaign! We’ll be back next year (with t-shirts!) and we’d love for you to join us! xo