Kick-start your blooming cycle with "Yoga Pura at the Garden: Finding Serenity" and discover the wonders within you. On Wednesday, June 11, from 7 to 9 p.m., the Desert Botanical Garden once again hosts the Moon Valley school Yoga Pura. Master instructor Eric Walrabenstein takes you through a quick stress-relieving session of yoga, and then leads you on a walking tour of the garden itself. "Yoga is all about moving inward," says Walrabenstein, owner of Yoga Pura and certified Amrit Yoga teacher, "so the garden is a perfect venue. It's an ideal setting for people to let go of the distractions and busy-ness of everyday life and focus instead on awareness of the body, mind and spirit."
The class costs $15 and is appropriate for beginners as well as more experienced yogis. For reservations, call the Desert Botanical Garden at 480-941-1225. For information on upcoming yoga classes at the Garden, visit wwwyogapura.com. - Maidi Terry
WALK OF THE TOWN
Saving lives one step at a time
Thu 6/5
Step up your charitable efforts this Thursday, June 5, as the Stepping Out to Cure Scleroderma Night Walk partners with Scottsdale's ArtWalk to stamp out the autoimmune disease. Walkers depart Scottsdale Stadium, 7408 East Osborn, at 7 p.m. on a two-mile trek -- and can detour through Old Town's shops and galleries. See www.scleroderma.org/chapter/arizona. - Jill Koch
WATER COURSE
Making waves in Peoria
Sat 6/7
Ill-at-ease on skis? Learn the ropes this Saturday, June 7, as the AZ INT League water sports club hosts a water-ski clinic at Peoria's Lake Pleasant. From 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., skiers can meet and master a slalom course. The clinic costs $15, plus the $45 INT membership fee; see www.intleague.com for details. - Jill Koch
Casting Call
Something's fishy at AZ lakes
Sat 6/7
On Saturday, June 7, Free Fishing Day lets locals fish in any state waters (except on Indian reservations) without a license. Or, folks can visit the Free Fishing Clinic offered by the Arizona Game and Fish Department, with ongoing instruction between 7 and 10 a.m. at Red Mountain Park, located at Sun Valley Road and Brown in east Mesa. (Another free clinic will be held at Tempe Kiwanis Park between 9 a.m. and noon.) Jim Warnecke, Game and Fish biologist, says this event is a great way to hook the family on fishing. Last year, a 4-year-old caught her first fish, and then her 84-year-old great-grandmother caught her first fish. Sounds like togetherness to us.
If you can't get your hands on any fishing gear, the clinic provides loaner tackle and bait. (Should you prefer to bring your own bait, Warnecke recommends nightcrawlers and mealworms.) Clinic instructors guide anglers through all the steps involved in catching fish: using the tackle, baiting a hook, casting and landing the fish. Also covered is how to handle the catch -- whether you plan to catch and release, or catch and eat. As part of the lesson, a giant display tank showcases the kinds of fish you're likely to see in warm Valley waters, such as bass, bluegill and catfish. In addition to free fishing and the free clinics, hundreds of hungry sunfish will be released into urban lakes for this special day. Claim your share. See www.azgfd.com for more information. - Kim Toms
Happy Trails
Families find path to fun
Sat 6/7
Every good workout includes a warm-up and cool-down. Saturday, June 7, is National Trails Day, and to celebrate, there's a hike for the whole family on the Loma del Rio Trail in Tempe. Hikers meet at 6:45 a.m. at the southeast corner of Mill and Curry, and then walk a mile on the trail that leads to the Hohokam ruins of the same name (which means "hill by the river" in Spanish). To chill out afterward, walkers proceed to the newly opened Splash Playground at Tempe Beach Park, where visitors cool off in a simulated rainstorm, complete with thunder and lightning. Learn how water nourishes the earth; witness evaporation, rain, and rivers coursing back to the sea. For more information, call 480-350-2775.- Kim Toms
