GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO) – The Grand Valley Yoga Fest brings attention to mental health and suicide prevention on the Western Slope. Organizers say the event was created after several suicides impacted the community and now aims to connect people with support and resources.
What started as a conversation between community members has grown into a weekend focused on mental health awareness and connection.
“Mental health and suicide awareness has been a problem in the Grand Valley for some time now. And I think everybody’s aware of that. So, all the organizers wanted to do something about it. And so, we decided to create a yoga festival and donate all the proceeds at the end of the festival to mental health and suicide awareness programs here in the Grand Valley,” said Bryan Whitt, co-founder for the Grand Valley Yoga Fest.
Community response to local tragedies
Organizers say the idea came after suicides in local schools deeply affected the community.
“We had several suicides in the high school and the middle school. And we wanted to have a reason for it that was really special and special to all of us. So, we started to talk about the need for awareness and help with the suicide awareness prevention and mental health in the Grand Valley and decided that was going to be our focus,” said Lori Raper, co-founder for the Grand Valley Yoga Fest.
For some participants, the festival’s message is deeply personal. Community members who have experienced the loss of a loved one to suicide say spaces centered around connection and support can make a difference for people struggling in silence.
“This is the fifth year and we’ve always had a booth out here to represent those what we call postvention for those who have lost a loved one to suicide because we know that postvention grief work makes people a lot more higher risk for suicide themselves. I got involved with this organization 20 years ago when I lost my son to suicide and they were just a great support,” said Gretchen McGeeney, chapter leader for Heartbeat Grand Junction.
“One of the biggest problems that people find when they’re suicidal is that they feel like they don’t have a community. They don’t have any connections,” McGeeney said.
Building community connections
Leaders with Heartbeat, a support group for people who have lost loved ones to suicide, say healing often begins with simply finding a safe place to connect with others.
“Yoga in particular, not only involves the body, but also the mind. It’s a whole person experience. And so you have everything from some philosophy classes, some lectures, things like that. The physical practices, all mindfulness, tools for resiliency, and getting through tough times. Knowing that you have a community. And that’s really so important. Just like Heartbeat. We’re kind of like a family. Those people who come to Heartbeat. We establish those connections,” McGeeney said.
Organizers say yoga and mindfulness are not meant to replace professional help but can provide coping tools and a sense of community.
“Studies have shown that yoga can provide many benefits for people for tools to deal with anxiety and stress in their daily lives. So, the yoga festival is two-fold. We offer them some of those tools here during the weekend. And at the end, we donate back to the professional organizations that can help people on a more professional level,” Whitt said.
All proceeds from the festival will go toward several local mental health and suicide awareness organizations in the Grand Valley.
The Grand Valley Yoga Fest takes place through the weekend, for more details, click here.
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