Outdoor yoga returns to North-East golf club in aid of cancer charity

Karen Thursby organises the annual event at Dinsdale Golf Club, near Middleton St George, in County Durham, in memory of her inspiration mother, Lola.

Lola, who came to the UK from Nigeria in the 1950s and trained as nurse, sadly was diagnosed with bile duct cancer in 2016. She passed away shortly afterwards at the age of 82.

Come sunshine or rain, Karen has vowed to carry on to fight back against cancer. Photo by Tracy Kidd Photography.

Since then, Karen has raised more than £11,000 for Cancer Research UK in her mother’s memory.

She said: “When Mum was first diagnosed, we knew it was too late to expect a recovery, so we talked about the cancer and what else we could do. We decided that we would try to raise funds to help improve cancer treatments, and maybe help find a cure for others.”

• For the love of Lola - read why Karen is bending over backwards to raise money 

When Karen became a yoga instructor – in part thanks to her mum’s passion for the practice – she named her business Alola Yoga, a combination of her parents’ names: Alan and Lola. She was later pleased to learn that ‘alola’ also means ‘tranquillity’ in Sanskrit.

Karen’s next garden yoga event will be held at Dinsdale Golf Club on September 3rd and 4th. Participants are asked to make a donation for taking part, and refreshments will also be on sale, with all money raised going to Cancer Research UK.

Left to right: Yoga friends Leigh Johnson, Karen Thursby, Angie Campbell, and Barbara-Anne Johnson. Photo by Tracy Kidd Photography.

“The event is popular with my usual students,” Karen added, “but we do usually have quite a few complete beginners joining in. We do try to make it as accessible as possible – we demonstrate and describe all the moves as we go, so anyone with hearing or sight difficulties can easily follow along.”

• Visit www.alola.yoga to register for the event, or for more information.