AJET Connect MAY 2014

POSE & PAWSBRINGS YOGA ANDANIMAL RESCUE TOGETHEREm Bettinger, TokyoPose & Paws organizes charity events to raise money in supportof Animal Friends Japan—an animal rescue center in Niigatathat has been at the forefront of animal rescues in and aroundthe Fukushima area since the Great Tohoku Earthquake in March2011.The group’s events over the past two years have included petfood collection drives, where the food is delivered directly toAnimal Friends Niigata. The drives are usually done around theholiday season, and over the past two years, over 75 boxes of petfood have been collected for the animals.Additionally, Pose & Paws hosts outdoor park yoga classeswhere all the students make a donation. In 2013, there weresix outdoor yoga events in Yoyogi Park, Tokyo, with between 20and 40 people participating. In total, over ¥500,000 in donationswas collected from these six events for Animal Friends Japan.The park yoga classes were so successful that they are beingexpanded this year, with nine events being held between the endof April and October with some events happening in Yoyogi Parkand others in Yamashita Park in Yokohama.“There are a lot of people who love animals in Tokyo, both foreignnationals and Japanese” says Em. “People with pets are oftenhappy to help other animals with any small gesture. These eventsgive people an opportunity to do something to help animals. Anda number of attendees to pastpark yoga events have actuallyadopted pets from AnimalFriends.”In the future, Pose & PawsPose & Paws was founded in 2012 by Em Bettinger, a Tokyobasedhopes to organise volunteer62yoga teacher. It was created to give people an avenue forweekends, where people couldmaking donations to help animals who had been affected bygo to the shelter in Niigata for63the triple disaster in 2011. Em says “It seemed that the animalsin Fukushima had been forgotten, and the animal shelter thatseemed to be doing the most was Animal Friends Japan. So, Iwanted to do something that would raise awareness of theseissues and allow people to help the animals affected.”the weekend and help take careof the animals or contributeto specific projects, like theconstruction of a new rabbitenclosure.VOLUNTEERINGPartner yoga brings four yogis together at Pose &Paws park yoga. Photo by Draycat.CONNECTAll is to benefit the animals.“That’s why we’re doing it” saysEm.For more information about Pose & Paws and their upcomingevents, visit www.poseandpaws.org or find them on Facebook(www.facebook.com/poseandpaws).Em Bettinger, founder of Pose and Paws, is delighted to haveunited her two passions, yoga and her love of animals. Sheoriginally trained as a contemporary dancer in London, butlife brought her to Japan, where she currently works as ayoga teacher at Sun & Moon Yoga in Gotanda (Tokyo).She did her yoga training in Thailand, and she immediatelyfelt a strong connection to karma yoga, meaning selflessservice. Since then, she has been donating her time tovarious organizations, and eventually she established Pose &Paws to focus more on animal charities.CONNECTMay Issue 2014 May Issue 2014VOLUNTEERINGPark yoga attendees get into their downward dog to help the animals. Photo by Draycat.The Pose & Paws Chair Race. Photo by Draycat.