Northpinellas: Stressed? Yogathon 2002 may help

So the 26-year-old occupational therapist from Ozona has organized today's Yogathon 2002 -- a daylong event at Dunedin's Edgewater Park that she hopes will allow people curious about and experienced in yoga to find inner peace.

Scheduled to start 8 a.m. and go until sundown, the event will feature 11 yoga instructors from around Tampa Bay teaching different techniques including kundalini, iyengar, hatha, power yoga, yoga therapy and chair yoga.

"What's great about yoga is there are all different parts to it," Tiernan said. "It's a way of life that teaches you how to love yourself, how to treat others and how to breathe."

"It also teaches your mind where your body is in space," she added.

The word yoga means "discipline" in Sanskrit -- the classical language of India -- and also is a school of thought in the Hindu religion and a system of mental and physical exercise developed by that school.

Followers of the yoga school, who are called yogis or yogins, use yoga exercise to achieve their goal of isolation of the soul from the body and mind. According to World Book, many non-Hindus in Western countries practice some form of yoga exercise in hope of improving their health and achieving peace of mind.

Tiernan said that seven years ago she found yoga to be a way to relieve the stress associated with her hectic course load as a student at the University of Florida.

Then in 1998, when she began her graduate studies at the university's occupational therapy program, she and 18 other students and therapists started Find Ease, Inc.

Find Ease is a non-profit advocacy organization that works toward helping sick and disabled people and their families find support and relief from their ailments.

Through the organization's Web site, findease.org, those who need help can find resources, links and contact information for experts at various health agencies. Tiernan is the director.

"We help people dealing with disability and disease get back to the activities of daily life by teaching them techniques to adapt," Tiernan said. "I try to get them to realize that they can empower themselves."

But that wasn't enough.

"I realized that humanity as a whole needed some ease," she said, referring to the millions of people who suffer from illnesses -- like heart disease -- related to stress. "If they didn't have a disability or disease, they were putting themselves at risk because of all of the stress."

Enter Yogathon 2002.

The purpose of the event, Tiernan said, is to raise awareness of the healing effects of yoga.

Though the event is free, Tiernan hopes to collect enough in donations to host a second event in the spring that would be focused on sound therapy.

Today's event will feature live meditative music, children's yoga and a children's art station. Vendors will offer holistic products, healthy beverages and food.

Edgewater Park is near downtown Dunedin where Main Street and Alt. U.S. 19 merge at the waterfront.

For information call 789-5399 or visit the Web site.

-- Leon M. Tucker can be reached at (727) 445-4167 or tucker@sptimes.com .

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