Lindsay Barts - Yoga for Art - Rochester, IN
The personal journey to discovering who we are as individuals and how to connect spiritually and physically to Mother Earth and its human cohabitants can be daunting. Adding roadblocks of personal pain or turmoil can leave someone feeling stuck at a metaphorical dead end without the proper guide or tools to navigate the way.
Finding herself in this same scenario, Lindsay Barts discovered the fundamental techniques and teachings of Yoga opened a door to self-reflection and how to better connect and serve within her community.
As a child, Lindsay found a love for musicals, theater, painting, drawing, dancing, and poetry. All activities she found herself engaged in at one point or another. It was through dance, drama, and various art classes where she found the importance of education. The words once said by Albert Einstein, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough,” would resonate and stick with Lindsay throughout her personal journey in life. She would eventually develop into one with more self-confidence, less worry about the uncertainties, and more trust in the process and plan.
Today, Lindsay continues to use these tools as well as teach them to others, specifically young people, through various community-based projects currently based in Rochester, Indiana. One such project is The Roots Yoga Project organized by The Ladybug Foundation, formed by a group of yoga teachers who began offering free yoga in the park while also working with Recovery Café, a non-profit organization which helps people suffering from substance abuse or domestic violence. The Ladybug Foundation is building the capacity for mental health resources for rural communities while in-turn showing the healthy returns of healing from mental health issues through artistic expression.
Another Ladybug project, Yoga for Art, is a series of seven workshops focused on developing the mind and body connection. The yoga they teach follows the Yoga Therapy framework with focus on the biological, physiological, spiritual, and communal aspect that research has found crucial to helping combat some mental health ailments. All proceeds will go towards commissioning a mental health mural which they will be working on with local artist Erica Coffing.
With projects like The Roots Yoga Project and Yoga for Art, Lindsay hopes to keep branching out by providing consulting services to help other rural communities replicate the program. She also aspires to continue opening doors for others looking for help or a human connection, or just searching for stronger mental and physical health through meditation and education.
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