Three New Jersey yoga teachers are trying to make life better for homeless animals.
Dina Smodlaka of Colonia, Carly Porrello of South Plainfield, and Tiffiny Twardowsky of Rockaway have all rescued pets from animal shelters.
Sharing a love of animals and yoga, they established Happy Tails Yoga: A Cause for Paws. Their charity of choice is New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (njspca.org).
The premise of Happy Tails Yoga is simple: yoga teachers throughout New Jersey will donate their time during the month of February and teach a Happy Tails Yoga Class.
Anyone interested in taking these classes will in turn make a donation, in any denomination, to attend. Happy Tails Yoga teachers then turn over 100 percent of the proceeds to the NJSPCA.
“Yoga is more than just a form of exercise,” said Twardowsky. “It is a way of life, helping you enhance your own health and well-being. I have opened my heart to two special boxers I adopted from Second Chance Boxer and ASPCA and wanted to find a way to enhance the health and well-being of the too many abandoned, neglected and unloved animals in New Jersey.”
Yoga teachers throughout the state who would like to donate their time, or facilities that would like to donate their location, can register on the Happy Tails Yoga website: happytailsyoga.org or by contacting Twardowsky directly at 908-305-6006. The deadline to register is January 20.
For those who cannot attend a class but would like to make a monetary donation, NJSPCA is in the process of creating a donation link on their website specifically for Happy Tails Yoga. You can also mail checks made payable to NJSPCA to:
Happy Tails Yoga, c/o Tiffiny Twardowsky, PO Box 53, Rockaway, NJ 07866.