We are looking for 200 people to come together for a fun, but challenging yoga session including downward facing dog (or puppy) yoga poses and a deep relaxation crystal singing bowl sound bath therapy to raise funds for RSPCA Suffolk Central and our much needed Dog Sensory Garden at our Martlesham Animal Centre.
What to expect on the day
After checking in, make your way to the Grand Hall, where the event will last just over three hours including a gentle warm up, the yoga challenge and post-yoga relaxation at the end for you to enjoy a well-earned rest.
After a short comfort break you’ll then be treated to a sound bath to promote deep relaxation and encourage your body to heal and be calm. Lay back under a blanket and just relax – all while raising funds for animal welfare!
The yoga will be led by Kate Sheppard of Yoga Felixstowe and Katharine Lawrence of Ashtanga Yoga Ipswich – both experienced yoga teachers, who have crafted a varied and engaging session that will include a variety of sequences designed to provide an engaging session for all experience levels! The Crystal Singing Bowl Sound Bath Therapy will be run via Emma Atkinson of Fitology Studio.
Attendees can arrive from 10am, with a session start time of 10.30am.
Date: Sunday 23 June 2024
Timings: 10am-1.30pm
Location: Corn Exchange, King Street, Ipswich, IP1 1EG
Ticket cost: £20 **pre-booking essential**
Any participant under the age of 18 must include the name and authorisation of the parent/guardian who will be accompanying them on the day on their registration form.
Before you book, please ensure you read our terms and conditions.
Early bird offer!
Book your tickets before 31 May 2024 and you’ll receive a FREE ‘Be Dog Kind’ cotton tote bag that you can collect on the morning of the event.
Want to fundraise more for us?
If you are up for an extra challenge we invite you to try to raise an additional £200 to help celebrate our anniversary year!
You can do this by asking for donations from friends and family or arranging your own fundraising events – find out more hints and tips in our fundraising pack here.
Get involved even if you can’t make the event day!
There are several ways you can get involved with this challenge and raise funds for this important project:
- Undertake the challenge at home or in your own time
- Arrange a corporate or schools event for your friends, family and pupils to attend
- Ask your yoga teacher to get involved and run their own session
- Speak to your employer to see if they will match your fundraising total!
Download a fundraising pack with ideas, tips and help with taking part here.
FAQs
This is a physical event where you will be required to move in and out of postures for about an hour. This will include moving up and down from the floor to a standing position. The yoga session will be led by experienced yoga teachers who will tailor the session for those new to yoga as well as those with yoga experience. However, a certain level of physical fitness, mobility and stamina will be required.
The sound bath session is not suitable for anyone with a pacemaker, large medical metal work in body i.e. spine rod or who have sound triggered Epilepsy.
Although the sessions will be suitable for most people with a reasonable level of health and fitness, the nature of this activity means there are some conditions that may prohibit participation. Please check the contraindications section in the T&Cs to make sure you are fit and well enough to participate before booking your place.
We appreciate that not everyone interested in the Challenge will have yoga experience. Therefore, Kate Sheppard, who will be leading the session on the day, has prepared a video guide to help you prepare!
This can be viewed here.
Please wear comfortable exercise clothing to allow for a wide range of movement such as leggings, tshirts and a hoodie/jumper for the relaxation element at the end of the session.
You should bring your own yoga mat and a bottle of water to ensure you keep hydrated and feel free to bring a pillow and/or blanket to be super comfy during the sound bath session.
We would love that!
To help with event administration we would love any group to register under a team name.
Please note all individual team members will need to register their own personal details separately, denoting the team name in the Team Name section on the form.
You pay a £20 ticket fee to take part in the challenge (+ £2 booking fee if booked via the Corn Exchange) and get access to our fundraising pack / JustGiving page.
However, we’d love for as many participants as possible to try and raise as much as they can. We would love you to aim for an extra £200 (to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the RSPCA in 2024!), but this is entirely voluntary.
We cannot claim gift aid on your registration fee, but we can on any additional fundraising you undertake.
You can also ask each person that sponsors you to Gift Aid their donation by ticking the Gift Aid box on your Just Giving page, if they are a UK taxpayer or pay Capital Gains Tax. For every £1 they donate, we receive an extra 25p.
Unfortunately not, we want you to be focusing on your wellbeing during the Challenge and a dog would be a distraction (but a gorgeous one!)
Yes, there will be a bar open to provide refreshments and bar snacks throughout the day. However, participants should not drink alcohol before the event.
Please make cheques payable to RSPCA Suffolk Central Branch and send them to:
Down Dog 200 Challenge, RSPCA Suffolk Central, Animal Centre, Mill Lane, Martlesham IP12 4PD.
Alternatively, you can bring the money in person to the Animal Centre above, stating it is from the Down Dog 200 event.
However, we encourage you to set up a Just Giving fundraising page that you connect to our event page – this way we automatically receive all donations made through the website, so you don’t need to do anything!
We can also accept sponsor money at the event.
Email us at fundraising@rspca-suffolkcentral.org.uk and we will get back to you as soon as we can with a response, or to arrange a phone call.
Fantastic!
Please email us at fundraising@rspca-suffolkcentral.org.uk and we will get back to you to discuss how we could work together!
What are we fundraising for?
Your support will help us create a Dog Sensory Garden at our Martlesham Animal Centre to enrich the lives of rescue dogs in our care and provide a calm, safe space for behaviour training sessions. By fundraising for our new garden you will help to give every dog the best chance of finding a forever home as quickly as possible, and make their time with us more enjoyable whilst they wait.
Over 300 dogs across the UK are waiting to come into an RSPCA animal centre.
Last year we took in 42 dogs rescued from abuse, neglect or taken in from owners who could no longer care for them due to financial constraints or behavioural difficulties. That’s nearly one every week.
Milo, our longest stay dog will have been with us for a whole year on 29th March.
Not only have we seen a steep rise in the number of dogs arriving with complex behavioural needs, but dogs are also spending longer in our care – the average stay nearly doubled to 129 days in 2023, and the cost of living crisis means fewer families are taking on a new pet.
The Dog Sensory Garden will help us prepare our dogs for their new homes as quickly and effectively as possible, while giving then the best quality of life during their stay.
It will cost around £20,000 to create the garden. So we need your help!