 A new event in the Brainerd Lakes Area is bringing the community together through yoga. For this week's community spotlight, our Sarah Winkelman takes us to Rutgers Resort for the first ever Lakes Area Yoga Festival. It's a place where things are calm and where the waters are still. It's a time to free your mind, be still and just relax. Yogas are time to just slow down and bring it inward. How is our body feeling that day? How is our body physically affected by what's happening around us? And so it's a time to kind of slow down and give ourselves that love that we need. So Rutgers decided to bring that energy to the resort for the brand new event. There's such a feeling for wellness and everybody's feeling a little stressed maybe more than they did in the past and just a chance for people to take a breath as they go into the season. The Lakes Area Yoga Fest is a time to look inward but with a community of support all around. Everybody needs some kind of positive in their life and the way to get it is being around other people. By bringing together the local yoga community. The goal was to really celebrate the fact that we have excellent yoga studios in the Lakes Area. With more than 80 yoga students in attendance, many new friendships were formed. I know a lot of us in the small Iron Range towns, there's not a ton of people in your community so just having a bunch of communities come together was just really fun. There was a variety of different yoga classes offered all with a different focus. One of those including props that will maximize your yoga experience. Yoga is for everybody and it celebrates what your body is capable of doing. With many styles everyone can find their perfect fit. I like to experience some of the higher intensity yoga classes. But no matter what classes were in session, it was a positive day all around. It's fun to experience a community of like minds and the energy is great, the people are great, everybody is here for a good time. For this week's community spotlight, in Dearwood, Sarah Winkleman, Lakeland News. The Rutgers are currently planning to hold another Lakes Area Yoga Fest sometime this fall and it will return again next spring. If you enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland PBS.