MJ Macdonald is the co-owner of Decanter PEC in Wellington and has been a yoga teacher for 23 years.

Over the last three years, she’s taught a small private group at Decanter on Sunday mornings and developed a loyal following.

When the session ended in June and a break was planned, many practitioners asked how/if she could continue for summer.

“I hesitated as I wanted to allow myself some much-needed free time!” she says with a laugh.

From this request, a “Yoga in the Park” series was created. With four other newly minted yoga instructors (one a regular in my Sunday class) who live in or near the Wellington community, the group shared the teaching responsibilities, each taking on two classes over an 8-week session ending August 31.

The students all live locally and were all too eager to support a good cause. 

“We all agreed we wanted it to be a Pay What You Can class and we would donate funds to a local cause,” Ms. Macdonald said. theROC Youth Services is the charity of choice the yogis landed on.

In total, $1,500 was raised for the youth centred advocacy and support organization.

“We felt a strong connection between our practice and the need for youth to build resilience and mental health in different ways,” Ms. Macdonald said, adding she hopes to teach classes at the centre this fall and into the Spring.