Watching friends struggle with breast cancer prompted a Priddis woman to encourage others to take deep, cleansing breaths this next weekend. Lori Colwell implemented the Yogis R Warriors of Hope fundraiser June 23 at the Priddis Greens Golf and Country Club to lift the financial burden of breast cancer patients by getting her community together to raise money for the Wings of Hope Breast Cancer Foundation. The event features a morning of yoga, music, hand massages, silent auction and food. Participants pay $30 and register at brownpapertickets.com before June 17. “I want to help women cope with their symptoms and give them some help with their recovery,” said Colwell, a former board member with the Wings of Hope Breast Cancer Foundation in Calgary, which helps Tom Baker Cancer Centre patients pay for groceries, rent, utilities, transportation and medical costs. “It’s a really good cause that helps lower-income women get through a really tough time.” Colwell established Warriors of Hope, a registered charitable organization run by community-minded yoga enthusiasts, to support people living with breast cancer in the area. Calgary yoga instructor and breast cancer survivor Michelle Mann-Donegan, formerly of Okotoks, will lead the group in a 90-minute gentle yoga sequence. She said yoga offers health benefits both emotionally and physically. “Yoga is about connecting with your breath and back with your body,” she said. “Connecting with your body is going to go a long way with preventing disease. If I can teach people to breathe and connect and stop being stressed out all the time then that’s only going to improve their health.” Mann-Donegan was luckier than others. Her breast cancer was caught early and she didn’t have to undergo invasive treatment. “It’s awful,” she said. “If you’re a single woman, even making good money, and go on disability sometimes you’re off for six months or more. The after effects of chemotherapy and hormone drugs is awful.” Mann-Donegan implemented Yoga Thrive, a program developed for cancer survivors focusing on improving health. “We connect with the breath and the breath, I believe, is key to all good health,” she said. “It’s not about the poses - that’s one little limb of yoga. Breath is more important.” This weekend’s environment will only make the experience that much more full-filling – with five experienced yoga teachers helping out, she said. “Being outside doing yoga is a very cool experience and doing it in a huge group of people has a whole other level attached to it,” she said. “So come on out and have some fun.”
