YOGADAY USA
Professional instructor uses day for fund raiser
By Lori Mellinger

Local yoga instructor Katy West demonstrates her flexibility -- owed to a strict yoga regime. West is using "YogaDay USA" to promote her cause and raise money for both the Bullard Community Library and the Bullard volunteer fire department. -- Bullard Banner photo by Lori Mellinger

Katy West said she "followed her bliss," when she left a high stress, yet high paying job in Houston to move to Bullard.

West was a financial planner before making the move to town 25 years ago to raise horses.

West, is the owner and creator of Dovlight. She now devotes her life to teaching and the therapies of wellness and healing.

"When I was a child I always wanted horses," West said. "Everything around me was horse related -- my aunt made birthday cakes for me with stables and everything, and as I began to be more and more worn down, I decided it was time to make it happen."

So she moved to Bullard, did some horse lessons and found some peace. But the real peace, she said, came when she discovered yoga.

Now the certified instructor wants to pass on some of what's changed her life and help out some local causes along the way.

January 27 is "YogaDay USA," and to honor it, West is offering a glimpse into her world of health with proceeds benefiting the Bullard Community Library and Bullard Volunteer Fire Department.

"Yoga is about listening to your mind, body and heart," she said. "And it's brought incredible peace and health into my life."

But, she stressed, it's not a religion; i's a science.

"I believe in doctors," she said. "Some of my best clients are doctors."

It was, in fact, a doctor who initially began her thinking about the fragility of her health.

"I was an Olympic swimmer when I was young, and then when I was 27, my resting heart rate was 120 and I was told I needed open heart surgery.

"But I realized I liked Jesus more than surgery, and that's when I began planning my escape from my old life."

West is the only active teacher of the yoga alliance in East Texas, and she said she's studied under the best - including Iyengar - considered by most to be the grandfather of all yoga.

And while the workout is intense, West said pain isn't the point.

"You do yoga to the point of invigoration - not to the point of irritation," she said, adding that it should be the same with all forms of exercise.

And it's based on physics.

"You only see what's inside you - whether it's fear, anger, joy, love or peace," she said. "That's not a theory and it's not philosophy; it's physics."

West is holding classes Saturday at 10 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m. for anyone who is interested just curious.

Suggested donations are $15, but she said whatever you wish to donate is great.

"It all goes to these two worthy causes," she said.

"Whatever you focus on expands when you do yoga," West said, "mind, body and spirit."

For more information, visit her Web site at www.dovlight.com or call (903) 894-6358.

"Those of us who practice yoga regularly don't need to be convinced of its benefits. We have learned that it helps to keep us focused on the present and have discovered the power of the heightened connection it fosters between mind and body," she said.

"We know it helps to melt away stress, relax tight muscles and ease pain. We know that because when we practice our bodies' function better, we breathe more deeply and deliver more oxygen to our cells, we are stronger, fitter, and more flexible.

"We know it even can help us manage our weight."

YogaDay USA

The public is invited to

experience a yoga demonstration and class

in honor of the national

day. Donations are requested

and will benefit both the

Bullard Community

Library and the fire

department. The event will take place

Saturday, Jan. 27, with

demonstrations at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.

For more information visit dovlight.com or call

Katy West at 903-894-6358.