Ballarat Yoga and Yogaville
Is there anything that embodies the concept of balance more succinctly than yoga’s iconic tree pose (Vrksasana)? How fitting then that one of our most recent tree plantings happened courtesy of two beautiful yoga studios – Yogaville in Melbourne’s inner north, and Ballarat Iyengar Yoga.
Both studios practice Iyengar yoga. Iyengar is a form of Hatha yoga with an emphasis on alignment, precision and harmony. Its practitioners seek balance in all things. The underlying philosophy is broader than simply maintaining a physical pose – it includes an awareness of how our actions affect the world around us. By planting trees, Ballarat Yoga and Yogaville are countering the environmental costs of running their small businesses. Even service-based enterprises cannot operate without some environmental impact. This includes incidentals associated with maintaining a physical space for practice, with the journeys to and fro that students take, with all the varied parts of the small business puzzle that each take their incremental toll on the earth’s resources.
The hard working volunteers from the Murrindindi Shire of Victoria.
In this case, 190 trees were planted on a frosty June morning in the Murrindindi shire as part of a broader project to link the Mount Disappointment State Forest to King Parrot Creek. As a result of this planting the Strath Creek Biodiversity Project is now complete. Observers have already noted long-nosed bandicoot activity around the creek and anticipate that the native vegetation corridor will allow the creatures to expand their habitat. With more safe room to move the local fauna have a greater chance of surviving and thriving.
Trees have been well protected with tree guards.
This project wouldn’t have happened without the hard work of local Landcare groups, the enthusiasm and experience of the landowners, the careful nurturing of the tree nurseries, the coordinating efforts of organisations like Fifteen Trees and the conscious decision to make changes for the better by businesses like Ballarat Yoga and Yogaville. A whole chain of intentions perfectly aligned to bring some balance back to our natural environment.
Namaste Bron Rust (Yogaville) and Shayna Odgen (Ballarat Yoga).
Article by Sarah Hart.
Sarah is an emerging self-taught artist whose passions include the stories and experiences of women and narrative driven creative work. Her aim is to delight, to reveal glimpses of everyday beauty, and to celebrate flights of the ordinary. Sarah works across a range of media, with an abiding interest in pen and ink, mixed media and the human form. Facebook – Sarah Hart Creative.
If you are interested in sponsoring one of our tree planting projects please contact Colleen on 0400 040 650 or [email protected]
According to Sustainability Victoria, the average Australian lifestyle produces 15,000kg of carbon per year. If that sounds like a lot, it is! Over its lifetime, a tree can collect and store 268kg. This means, we each need to plant 58 trees per year to bring our individual carbon production down to zero. A little tricky for most of us to do in our own backyards, and this is where ‘A Subscription for the Planet’ comes in. (Feature image from Mt Worth Landcare).
Individual actions really do matter! Individually we can really only make small differences to the world around us, but collectively our numbers add up. And if enough individuals are involved then forests can be grown!
Both studios practice Iyengar yoga. Iyengar is a form of Hatha yoga with an emphasis on alignment, precision and harmony. Its practitioners seek balance in all things. The underlying philosophy is broader than simply maintaining a physical pose – it includes an awareness of how our actions affect the world around us. By planting trees, Ballarat Yoga and Yogaville are countering the environmental costs of running their small businesses. Even service-based enterprises cannot operate without some environmental impact. This includes incidentals associated with maintaining a physical space for practice, with the journeys to and fro that students take, with all the varied parts of the small business puzzle that each take their incremental toll on the earth’s resources.
