This was a group work-out setting, where each facilitator instructed a 20-minute class for the group. The instructors included: Crossed Paw Yoga withAnna Westermeyer-Marlin, doing Yoga and Breathwork Class; Joey Black W3llness with Joey Black, doing Agility/Coordination Class; Reyvolution Fitness with Alexis Daughters, doing Bodyweight Basics Class and Zen Soul Society Yoga with Alexis Taryn doing the Buti Yoga Basics Class.

Participants entry fee was by donation and facilitators donated their time and expertise for a wide range of classes. Over $300 was raised from the event, with the proceeds going to the Keokuk Homeless Support Alliance. A generous portion of the overall donation was given by Mama Knows Catering from Fort Madison. They served delicious and mindful snacks for purchase, with full donation of proceeds.

The instructors would like to give a special thank you to FCC for donating their space and for being the facility that is providing sleeping areas for the Keokuk homeless population currently.

The goal for this event was to get community members together for movement and to give back. As event hosts, they were delighted with the amount raised and look forward to collaborating again to raise money and have another Fitness for Kindness day.

Those interested can stay updated on the KHSA efforts and fundraisers by joining their Facebook Group “Keokuk Homeless Support Alliance” and check out some of the facilitators by “liking” their Facebook pages.

Anyone who missed the event on Friday and is interested in bringing some physical fitness into their life, need not worry, as Keokuk has an array of wellness outlets to suit those needs.

If yoga is preferred, then look no further as there are a multitude of local outlets to help with the journey.

Taking a look at the facilitators on Saturday, Alexis Taryn and the Zen Soul Society is located in Keokuk, at 801 Main St., suite 1A.

Taryn has been serving Lee County in Fort Madison teaching yoga since the fall of 2017. She has taught weekly throughout Lee County, Hancock County and Quincy, Illinois. Shortly after Iowa reopened in 2021, she expanded from teaching at the Hoerner YMCA and Velocity Dance and Tumbling in Fort Madison (Now and Zen Yoga) to fully embrace the “life” and “essence” of Zen Soul Society.

This led to the opening of three locations: Fort Madison Zen at 1006 Ave. H on April 15, 2021, Keokuk Zen at 801 Main St. Suite 1A on Feb. 7, Mount Pleasant Zen at 126 N. Main St., (in partnership with Meraki Day Spa and the employment of five registered yoga teachers.

The yoga teachers or ‘bliss dealers” have over 200 hours of training, the instructors are: Taryn (Owner/Founder), Jen Woodley, Mercedes Hawkins, Liz Adams and apprentice teacher and co-owner Kendell Gregory.

“I view Zen Soul Society as a small and growing tall collaborative community, and it feels most aligned and alive when teachers and students step into their own identity on and off the mat,” Alexis said. “ZSS strives to provide a warm, safe and sacred space for all ages, bodies, abilities, and souls to connect to themselves in a world that distracts us from our center.”

Their most popular classes are Buti Yoga, Hot Yoga, Beginners Yoga, Kids Yoga, Chair Yoga for Seniors, and their monthly events and fundraisers.

ZSS is a trauma-informed yoga studio, they have Kids Camps on select Saturdays this spring and summer, along with a Spring Break day camp Monday March 28, with Courtois Creations.

Saturday, April 10 at the Fort Madison location is their one-year anniversary event. This is a fundraiser for the Lee County Domestic Violence Intervention Program.

They will also have ‘80s-themed Warm Glow Yoga on Sunday April 10, and they ask participants to dress to impress.

Mercedes Hawkins in partnership with ZSS, offers both beginners and warm HIIT yoga classes, which stands for High Intensity Interval Training. She has been a practitioner of yoga for three years and has been offering her services as an instructor through Zen Soul Society for the last month and a half.

“You are seen. You are loved. You are welcome here,” she said.

There is also Crossed Paw Yoga taught by Anna Westermeyer-Marlin. These classes are at the Keokuk YMCA on Wednesdays at 4:15 p.m. They are held in the aerobics room above the teen center.

Gracia Murphy runs Nari Garce Yoga, located at 711 Main St. in Keokuk. Nari Grace frequently donates its proceeds from classes to local charitable organizations. They hold a free donations class once a month on the last week of the month, with the next being held on March 27. There are beginner classes available on Sundays, as well as personal and advanced classes held on Tuesdays.

Lastly for the local yoga outlets we take a look at Benny St. James.

St. James is classically trained in yoga in India where he obtained his 500 hour diploma in yogic studies over the course of two years. He has taught well over 5,000 hours of classes over the last 15 years, as well as taken numerous continuing education classes to offer his students a very alignment oriented yoga experience that is rooted is tradition, yet optimized by modern science and current health research. His deep relationship with the body comes from his background as a professional ballet dancer for over a decade, while also drawing on his training in therapeutic massage as well as a bachelor’s in medical sciences.

He currently offers private one-on-one master therapy sessions that integrate all that he does, as well as group classes every Saturday at 9 a.m. and Mondays at 6 p.m. in Hamilton, Illinois, at MissFit Studio, located at 1830 Keokuk St., between Hamilton Family Diner and Dairy Queen in the gym behind Lacey’s Hair Studio. Classes are open for all levels and cost $10 per person. Students should bring their own mat, a small blanket, and water. Kids 13 and older are allowed with parental supervision, and 16 and older with parental permission. If anyone has any pre-existing health conditions that limit their abilities or they are hesitant to join a group right away, they can contact Benny on his Facebook page, Primal Origin Holistics to schedule a one-on-one session.

If yoga is not quite what you were looking for then Joey Black W3llness may very well be a better fit.

Joey Black W3llness began offering classes in June 2021 and focuses mostly on working with the youth of the community. He hopes to strengthen the lives of his students both inside and outside of sports with the principles that his program teaches.

Classes are held outside when weather permits and they are held inside the River City Mall in Keokuk when conditions are poor.

In his Haymaker program, Black focuses on strengthening his students’ change of direction, speed, reaction time and hand and eye coordination. Black learned many things from other trainers and has borrowed certain things in order to create a program which aims to strengthen its students both physically and mentally.

To contact Joey Black W3llness, find him via Facebook.

With the change of the weather and with this many great ways to introduce physical fitness into your life, take advantage of all that the local community has to offer and reach out to one of these great trainers.