Yoga practitioners team up for 'Seva Project Haiti'

While most people were struggling to adjust to the loss of an hour last Sunday, dozens of yoga enthusiasts were in John Chesnut Sr. Park, bright and early, stretching under the morning sun as a way of extending themselves to earthquake victims in Haiti.

The event was called the "Seva Project Haiti." For a minimum $10 donation, participants took part in an hourlong gentle yoga class to support Dr. Leo Vieira, his wife Guiga and their nonprofit organization, People for Haiti, which they intend to use to provide ongoing medical care and supplies to the Caribbean nation which was devastated by earthquake on Jan. 12.

"We have a lot of people who are very conscious and aware and have a sense of the world," said Anne Bromberg, co-owner of Trinity Yoga Studio, in Trinity. "That's why we are calling it the 'Seva Project Haiti.' "

"Seva," Bromberg explained is a Sanskrit word meaning "selfless service," and it's a byword for her and Trinity Yoga Studio co-owner Christina Lowden. Every month, she said, they try to have some kind of project to give something to the community. When she was able to bring herself to watch news reports from Haiti, her reaction was just what she knew it would be: they had to do something to help.

"I was looking for a way to have this class, and I was wondering, how can I get the money there, how can I help the people?" Bromberg said. The answer was her friends, the Vieiras, who had had a similar reaction to the crisis. Leo had done missionary work during his residency, about 10 years ago, and had always wanted to do more.

"Then all of a sudden this earthquake happens, and I said, 'oh my goodness I have to get down there,' " he said. Colleagues at Morton Plant Primary Care agreed to carry his patient load, and North Bay Hospital donated $10,000 in medicine and medical supplies.

He travelled to Haiti in early February. Seeing the devastation firsthand, it was obvious this was no quick fix; the Haitians would need help for years. When he returned, he and Guiga began setting up People for Haiti. The organization is in the final stages of obtaining its tax-exempt status.

They plan to organize up to six "People for Haiti" trips a year, one every eight weeks. Each trip will be for about a week, during which they will distribute medicine and medical care.

"We'll do anything from surgery to primary care," Leo said, depending on the doctors they have on any given trip. "These people never get access to a doctor. When they hear one is going to be available, they'll come in complaining of a headache just so they can get 20 Tylenol in a plastic bag."

Local support for People for Haiti has been incredible, the Vieiras said. Even though volunteers will be expected to pay all their own travel expenses, they already have enough volunteers for their next three trips.

Doctors they've never met are asking to go on the next trip. For his first trip in February, students at Trinity Elementary School, in Pasco County, held a fundraiser for medical supplies. The Target store at S.R. 54 and Little Road has agreed to sell him medicines at cost.

"Otherwise we wouldn't be able to afford all this medicine," Guiga said.

Bromberg first thought about holding a yoga event at the studio in Trinity, but then reconsidered. Why not rally as much of the yoga community as possible? She contacted every studio on the Suncoast she could think of.

The response was enthusiastic. Flow Yoga, in New Port Richey; Namaste Studio, Land O' Lakes; White Orchid, Dunedin; and Yogani, in Tampa all got on board. Chestnut Park was a picturesque central location, Bromberg said, and it felt right to have it outdoors, to appreciate the surrounding environment.

"For people to participate, it shows what a great community we live in," Bromberg said.

A new Web site is under construction. In the meantime, to find out more about People for Haiti, visit its blog or e-mail to peopleforhaiti@gmail.com.