Page 11. March 4, 2009

SPORTS

PANTHER POST

Students participate in world’s largest yoga fundraiser

_ Economic burden of arthritis in Canada is estimated at $4.4 billion annually

By Michael Briones - The Navigator (Malaspina University-College)

NANAIMO (CUP) — Stu-—

dents across Canada got all bent out of shape to raise money for arthritis research.

Vancouver Island Univer- sity is one school that took part in this year’s Power of Movement — the biggest yoga fundraiser in the world.

The VIU Students’ Union, along with the campus’ rec- reation department and a lo- cal yoga club, encouraged students to come out to join thousands of Canadians on Feb. 22 in a large-scale yoga mega-session that took - place in 10 cities coast-to- coast — Vancouver, Victoria, Nanaimo, Calgary, Regina, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Halifax.

The event, which is being held nationally for the first time, aims to raise money for critical arthritis research.

Arthritis is one of the lead-

ing causes of disability. Ac- cording to the Arthritis So- ciety, more than 4.5 million Canadians live with arthritis and autoimmune diseases.

The economic burden of ar- thritis in Canada is estimat- ed at $4.4 billion annually. These conditions account for over 10 percent of the to- tal burden of all illnesses in Canada, yet only 1.3 percent of attributed health science research is dedicated to this area.

Power of Movement is in its third year. It started as a small grassroots initiative with 250 participants in To- ronto. Its initial goal was to raise $10,000, but it has ex- ceeded all expectations in the last two years, raising over $115,000.

Money raised in 2009 will benefit arthritis and autoim- mune disease research prior- ities across Canada through

the Arthritis and Autoimmu-

nity Research Centre Foun-

- dation and several chapters

of the Arthritis Society.

“We are thrilled by the amount of support Power of Movement has received from Canadians across the country and hope to elevate the cause to the highest pos- sible level with our first national fundraiser,’ said Power of Movement found- er Erin Moraghan, who is a yoga instructor and a senior development officer at the AARC Foundation.

“The event is a fun and easy way to stay mobile and healthy — anyone can partici- pate to support life-changing research for arthritis and dis- eases like lupus, vasculitis, and osteoporosis.”

If you are unable to attend a -

mega-session or a yoga class at a participating studio on Feb. 22, Power of Movement is also offering registrants the option of participating at home.

To-do this, you can down- load a free instructional yoga

‘ y" Last year’s Power

of Movement mega-session was well

video provided by My Yoga attended. This year, VIU will be one of the venues of the

Online, and there are mul- tiple videos to choose.

national event. CUP photo

Lady Panthers fighting for every win

By Kate VanGerven Panther Post

The Women’s hockey AUS Championship will be in full swing by the time you read this and let’s hope our Lady Panthers are still playing like they did at their last league home game Wednesday the 25th. aN coe

Their game against the Mount Allison Mounties pro-

vided the win they needed in order to make the champion- ship fair and square.

As the hosts, our Lady Pan- thers would have had a spot regardless but they weren’t willing to accept that. In- stead, they stepped on the ice Wednesday night with the intention of winning and stepped off the ice victori-

- ous.

With this win, the Panthers gain a deserved spot along-

side five other Atlantic Uni- versities.

UdeM is heading into the weekend in the first place po- sition with 46 points, closely followed by StFX with 38 points.

St. Thomas University sits at third with 31 points and Dalhousie rounds out the top four with 25 points.

Saint Mary’s, with 16 points and UPEI with 12 points complete the six team cham-

pionship.

While UPEI is more than ten points behind four out of five teams they’ll have to play, there is still a chance they could come out on top.

The Lady Panthers have won games against St. Thomas, Dalhousie and Saint Mary’s during their season which proves it can be done. While never beating Monc- ton or St.FX, our Lady Pan- thers have a track record of

stepping up to the plate and playing strong games against both teams.

While the Lady Panthers may already be out by the time you read this article, it’s also possible that they’re still in it and playing bet- ter than ever. Whatever the case, be sure to check out at least one of the games and if it’s UPEI playing make sure to show some Panther spirit for the girls.