Heartbursts for Backyard Yoga
Pam has created the most wonderful and welcoming space to practice in her backyard. I am braver, kinder, calmer, stronger, and happier because of her and the wonderful community of friends (or soon to be friends) who show up week after week.
- Carmie
Last night my friend Pam kicked off a series of yoga classes in her beautiful backyard in Gray and I could not resist heading over. It was absolutely magical! Pam trained with Jacqui Bonwell who always emphasizes the importance of using yoga for service. Her students leave with this at the heart of their practice. Last night, Pam put that into motion in such a cool way. Each Tuesday throughout summer she hosts a class in her yard that highlights one nonprofit doing amazing work in Maine. Last night began with MOfGA who heads up the amazing common ground fair each year! This year they’ve also been working really hard in partnership with Maine farmland trust to help farms impacted by PFAS contamination. Meghan from MOFGA Shared the details of this work and how Maine is working hard to be proactive in dealing with an issue facing all states in our country. After her presentation, we enjoyed a lovely slow flow led by Pam. She is a skilled instructor. The flow left me feeling open and refreshed. She has a number of well loved chickens 🐓 who are living their best life in a pen behind the yard where yoga is held and a posse of delightful kunekune pigs and these well loved creatures add to the ambiance! As I practiced I thought this is true Grass Roots! People slowing down to consider the needs of the community, stopping to learn more, taking time to let that new perspective settle and then asking how can we help? Any donations for class go directly to the highlighted organization! Pam’s big hearted classes are a true gift to the community!
- Hope
Pam is an incredible yoga instructor but this could be said about many other teachers who stand in tree pose, inspiring their students. What sets Pam apart is her style. I love that every breath is an invitation, every move a supportive suggestion, every word a motiviation. More important than this is that Pam is an incredible human being. Simply attend a Backyard Yoga class and see for yourself. She has a beautiful soul, and this is reflected in all that she does. I've witnessed her love for yoga, her gentle nature with animals, her connection with students and her giving spirit every single time I'm in her presence. I may have attended my first class because I was in search of yoga but I found is so much more.
- Pam Caron
Pam’s Backyard Yoga does exactly what Finding Our Voices aspires to do: Connect community and brighten lives of Maine women. I am so grateful for Finding Our Voices to be coming on our third summer of being a designee of Backyard Yoga, with the substantial funding and also awareness that comes from this. Boosting nonprofits through such a healthy endeavor, in such a beautiful outdoor spot, and with such dynamic ladies (and cute piglets) combine to make Pam and Backyard Yoga true Maine treasures.
- Patrisha McLean, CEO and founder of Finding Our Voices
4 years ago the world and my perspective changed in so many ways. I realized staying grounded in my mental and physical health and staying connected to the community was a priority for me. Enter into my life…Pam Cates. I met Pam at another yoga class at a local farm, Sunflower Farm. From my first time meeting/speaking with her, I was at ease. A genuine person, who will inspire you to laugh, think and care. I’m fortunate to have been able to attend her first yoga class at Sunflower Farm and she was fantastic. Her teaching style is precise, gentle and supportive, such an amazing balance. I was very excited when she announced she would be teaching yoga in her “Backyard” as it gave me another outdoor “no pressure” option during the warmer months. I’m still newer to yoga, having practiced for less than 8 years, and I never feel out of place in her class, which has a variety of different skill levels. She will find ways for everyone to practice yoga if they show up. Her kindness and support of understanding each person’s needs and meeting them where they are at is her speciality. She extends this energy to the community around her, by partnering with local non-profits, she donates her time and the money received each week to the non-profit of the week. Each week we get to hear about the non profit and their mission and why Pam has chosen them. The feeling I have after each yoga practice with “Backyard with Pam Cates” is amazing. I feel better physically and mentally and I feel great about being able to help a local charity in need at the same time. I feel truly connected in some many ways, because of “Backyard Yoga with Pam Cates”
- Joanna
Backyard Yoga with Pam Cates is an outdoor yoga class. But it is also so much more. It’s a gathering of friends, new and old, excited to see each other each week. It’s a weekly introduction to incredible nonprofits in our area. It’s also an opportunity to visit with Pam’s four kune kune pigs and check out her many chickens! Laying on my back, staring at the blue sky and green tree tops while Pam guides the class in gentle movements is one of my favorite places to be. My stress just melts away. Pam is building a community of friends who love yoga and learning about and donating to a wide variety of non profits. This class is unlike any other, please come join us!
- Chris