Rumor has it GORILLA YOGIS are kick-asana!
The Line
June 6, 2012
Downward dog at sunrise on the Guthrie’s Endless Bridge. Tree pose at Target Field. Savasana at First Avenue, with the DJ playing “Purple Rain” as soundtrack. These are just some of the poses--and places--that the buzz-generating Gorilla Yogis, and the loyal tribe that follows them, have experienced over the past two years. And, along the way, they’ve managed to collect thousands of dollars in donations for small local nonprofits.
They do all this with no board of directors or formal grantmaking structure. “We aren’t even a legitimate charity. I’d say we’re more on the illegitimate side,” jokes one of Gorilla Yogis' founders, Nan Arundel, 31. “We just want to do yoga and do good, and this is a fun way to make that happen, without a lot of administration, structure, or a 501(c)(3) status,” she adds.
The Inside-Out Non-Flash Mob
Along with Jessica Rosenberg, 43, and Lisa Venticinque, 36, Arundel is one of three “Troop Leaders” of a group that has gained legendary status in the Twin Cities’ yoga community. Read More Here...
They do all this with no board of directors or formal grantmaking structure. “We aren’t even a legitimate charity. I’d say we’re more on the illegitimate side,” jokes one of Gorilla Yogis' founders, Nan Arundel, 31. “We just want to do yoga and do good, and this is a fun way to make that happen, without a lot of administration, structure, or a 501(c)(3) status,” she adds.
The Inside-Out Non-Flash Mob
Along with Jessica Rosenberg, 43, and Lisa Venticinque, 36, Arundel is one of three “Troop Leaders” of a group that has gained legendary status in the Twin Cities’ yoga community. Read More Here...
Twin Cities Daily Planet
June 12, 2012
BY JAY GABLER, TC DAILY PLANET, June 11, 2012Thanks to the hard (but cheerful!) work of dozens of volunteers, Lyndale Avenue filled with happy crowds of bikers, skaters, and pedestrians on June 10 for Minneapolis’s second Open Streets event. I was one of many photographers capturing the smiles for the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition, the nonprofit organization that presents Open Streets; I serve on the Coalition's board of directors. Continue reading Here...
Yoga Journal
June 2011
"10 Fantastastically Yoga-Friendly Towns"
"Yoga is also the impetus behind monthly community fundraising events organized by the Gorilla Yogis, who use soical media to draw up to 300 yogis to a designated spot---whether it's a baseball field, an art gallery, a music venue, or the banks of the Mississippi. Local instructors offer classes for a suggested donation of $10, with proceeds benefiting a different local nonprofit each month."
Twin Cities Runoff
May 12, 2011
A Social Movement of Movement
Twin Cities Yoga Creatively Connects Minds and Bodies
ROCK OM, ROCK ON
On a March Saturday, a crowd gathered outside First Avenue. It was an archetypal image of the Twin Cities, except that there were no tickets, no bands, and each person under the Avenue’s trademark stars held a yoga mat. The throng was let inside to unroll their mats onto the ....read more here
Minnesota Monthly
January 2011
"Going Zen: Gorilla Yogis led families in a baseball themed yoga practice the morning of the gala as snow flew over Target Field"
Cities 97 Morning Show with BT
November 12, 2010
Gorilla Yogis
These two area yoga teachers first caught our eye last summer, as they staged multiple public yoga sessions in some very unique places – like outside the Walker Art Center, for instance. And tomorrow, Jes Rosenberg and Nan Arundel will host a big, open to one and all yoga session at none other than Target Field! The event gets underway at 10am – and it will truly be fun for everyone, beginners and kids included! Yoga is body and mental exercise that’s good for your physical AND mental AND spiritual health, and these ladies are bringing yoga out of the studio and into the urban jungle! Listen here
These two area yoga teachers first caught our eye last summer, as they staged multiple public yoga sessions in some very unique places – like outside the Walker Art Center, for instance. And tomorrow, Jes Rosenberg and Nan Arundel will host a big, open to one and all yoga session at none other than Target Field! The event gets underway at 10am – and it will truly be fun for everyone, beginners and kids included! Yoga is body and mental exercise that’s good for your physical AND mental AND spiritual health, and these ladies are bringing yoga out of the studio and into the urban jungle! Listen here
Mpls St. Paul Magazine July 2010
Gorilla Yogis in Minneapolis St. Paul Magazine. At Gold Medal Park. See page 23 of July issue. "Gorilla Yogis is a local movement that's making us rethink the way we do yoga. Started by Twin Cities instructors Nan Gane Arundel and Jessica Rosenberg in March, its mission is to make yoga community-minded, accessible, and most importantly, fun. The monthly classes are donation-based (benefiting local causes) and held in creative spaces from the Guthrie to te Soo Visual Arts Center."
STAR TRIBUNE, JUNE 21, 2010
Have mat, will travel. Yoga is moving outside the studio and into some very unusual and public spaces, such as parking lots and by lakes, making it more accessible and affordable.Midway through their yoga class, the teachers realized they need a megaphone. Cars honked and a DJ was playing funky tunes as dozens of arms reached toward the sky. read more here
METRO MAGAZINE JUNE 2010
Thousands of years before designer yoga duds, chain studios and celebrity instructors, yoga existed as a way to bring people together for good. Jessica Rosenberg and Nan Gane Arundel, a pair of local yoga teachers, are bringing the ancient practice back to those basics, and they want you to join in the party. The Guthrie Theater, Cedar Cultural Center, Mill City Farmer's Market and the Mpls Photo Center are unlikely settings for a yoga session, but with a...read more here
Project Success April 29th 2010
Our friends at Project Success wrote a little somethin' somethin' 'bout Gorilla Yogis here....
Star Tribune "Yogis Gone Wild" April 26th, 2010
If you're looking for a little more adventure in your yoga practice, the Gorilla Yogis have an event for you: An early morning vinyasa practice Tuesday at the Guthrie Theater. You can "down dog" and "tree" with as many as 150 other yogis while watching the sun rise over the Mississippi River. Continue to read here
twin cities yogi
Sarah McKenzie, Yogi + Editor of Southwest Journal + Downtown Journal, posted the first Gorilla Yogis mention on her blog "twin cities yogi" Read her post here
lisa's yoga blog
The beautifully talented yoga instructor and photographer and woman extraordinaire Lisa Venticinque wrote a little somethin' somethin' 'bout Gorilla Yogis here. Also check out her stylin' NE Mpls studio yogalab
Southwest Journal
