This past Thursday on Jan. 26, 55 people set up their mats in Junction West’s event space to do asana flow karma yoga with 10 different rescue pugs joining in the fun. The event was organized by Grace Izzo, a third-year studying business administration.
Izzo said the spiritual motivation behind the practice of karma yoga is just doing kind, unselfish acts for others, and that she wanted to raise money for a good cause.
“A lot of people think of yoga as the Western yoga asana of doing all of these contortion poses, but that’s only one part of yoga,” Izzo said. “So, tonight, even before we moved, I said you’re welcome to just rest, pet the pugs because we’re still doing Karma Yoga.”
All of the proceeds from the event went to Pawsitively Pugs, a local pug rescue that helps place abandoned, neglected and abused pugs into loving forever homes.
With the funds gathered from entrance fees supplemented by a generous donation, Izzo raised enough money to completely pay for one of the pugs’ knee surgeries.
Founder Renee Clarke started Pawsitively Pugs back in 2018 out of her love for the breed. She has eight dogs herself, six of which are rescue pugs. She operates entirely out of her own home and does not collect a salary — instead, all of the donations to Pawsitively Pugs go directly to the animals.
Izzo met Clarke back in 2013 when her family started fostering for the organization. She adopted her own pug, Carl, from them.
“I fostered about four or five pugs for her and then we found one that we cannot let go of. So I wanted to do this to try to give back to the rescue,” Izzo said. “The reason I put this together is I can’t make a big monetary contribution myself on a college kid budget. But I knew that with my skills [as a yoga teacher], I could create that by bringing in more people.”
After the yoga class, Junction West opened up their bar and brought out a DJ for a pug dance party. Pop up stands from Shakti Market, Canyon Moon Company and Pawsitively Pugs sold pug paraphernalia and other home-made goods, with 10% of all profits directed to Pawsitively Pugs.
The Canyon Moon Company is run by Emma Romick, a third-year student studying textile management. She brought an array of hand-knit and hand-crocheted hats inspired by nature.
“I’ve done yoga with Grace before at Carmichael,” Romick said. “I love the environment and she’s so welcoming it makes it feel very easy to get started with something new.”
She likened yoga to knitting in that both are forms of meditation and mindfulness for her.
“It’s so enjoyable,” Romick said. “Just kind of being here and seeing everybody relax and enjoy themselves. [Knitting] is a big way I do that. And [the pugs] are so sweet.”
Izzo and Clarke want people to know that any contribution they can make helps the rescue.
“[Pawsitively Pugs] is always looking for fosters, people to adopt, but also for people to volunteer and plan things,” Izzo said. “It doesn’t have to be a huge monetary contribution. You can always donate your time. I would love to work with more spaces or businesses that are willing to help us.”
If you’re a business interested in participating in the next Pug Yoga, you can reach out to her via Instagram at @yoga.with.grace.
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If you’d like to adopt, foster or volunteer with Pawsitively Pugs, you can reach them at their website. You can check out Shakti Market on Etsy. Canyon Moon Co. can be reached via their shopify or Instagram.
