Local Yoga Studio Featured in National Brand Campaign for Helping Children With Down Syndrome

– Photo courtesy Local Yoga Studio

Rose City Yoga is thrilled to announce that it is being featured in the 2017 Athleta The Power of She campaign for the studio’s work with Club 21 in Pasadena, California.

Rose City Yoga is a local yoga collective and soon to be open studio founded by Melanie Colbrunn and Kimi Cantrell. The two women provide yoga classes to Pasadena residents, groups, and organizations of all shapes and sizes, but were discovered and chosen for the 2017 Athleta campaign through their work with Club 21, a Pasadena-based nonprofit resource center for parents of and children with Down syndrome.

Rose City Yoga partnered with Club 21 in the fall of 2015 in order to provide children with Down syndrome the opportunity to practice yoga in a social setting with other children just like them. Club 21 co-founder Audrey is an avid “yogi,” and one day realized that the body and mind benefits that yoga offered her could do exactly the same for her daughter, Estelle, and other children with Down syndrome and disabilities. She approached Rose City Yoga about teaching classes for children with special needs, and Melanie and Kimi jumped at the chance.

“When Audrey asked us about partnering with Club 21, we were thrilled,” said Rose City Yoga co-founder Melanie Colbrunn. “Our vision for Rose City Yoga has always been to bring yoga into the lives of our community and to give people the ability to practice mindfulness, foster creative energy, and connect with one another in a way that’s rare in the crazy, chaotic world we live in. The kids at club 21 are no different than anyone else, they face the same challenges that we all do — stress, fatigue, anxiety. And they too, need a space where they can find a sense of peace and calm.”

That peace comes naturally through yoga, where children can practice poses, learn breathing techniques, and work on their inner calmness and focus. It also gives the kids an opportunity to be themselves, have fun, and learn something new with their friends.

“We all know how it feels to be overwhelmed, and the most rewarding part of teaching yoga through Club 21 is that we are giving the kids the tools to breathe, relax, and refocus, which can really help when things get tough,” said Rose City Yoga co-founder Kimi Cantrell. “It’s amazing to watch each child progress in their practice and to see the confidence it gives them when they can hold their favorite pose. Being different is hard, but in the studio, everyone is the same. Each individual student is on his or her own path, which is what makes yoga such a perfect outlet for these amazing kids.”

In addition to their work with Club 21, Rose City Yoga also offers yoga to women who are living with cancer and also in remission. Mel and Kimi work with Foundation for Living Beauty, a Pasadena-based nonprofit organization that provides resources and support for women living with cancer, to teach the power of yoga practice to women who know what it’s like to fight. Bringing yoga into their lives allows them to put their diagnosis to the side for a little while and enables them to reconnect with their body, mind, and spirit.

Over the past two years, Rose City Yoga founders Mel and Kimi have brought their teaching to groups all over Pasadena, but they are now looking to open a studio of their own where a portion of their membership fees will go towards providing regular classes to women and children who are living with an illness or disability. Rose City Yoga has launched an Indiegogo campaign to help people learn more about their commitment to yoga practice with purpose and how current and future yogis can donate to help Rose City Yoga build a studio to bring the Pasadena community together through the power of yoga.

To find out more about Rose City Yoga, their work with Club 21, and their plans for a new studio in 2017, visit their website.

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