Home - National Multiple Sclerosis Society

HAMDEN, Conn. — When several of Bill Banick’s students requested that he teach an adaptive yoga class, he agreed.

Then Bill and Kristin Banick New Haven residents and founders of BigFaceLove Yoga stretched themselves even further, to launch the first Movement and Sound Festival to raise funds for the fight against multiple sclerosis (MS).

"Several of my students with Multiple Sclerosis requested that I teach a class to help benefit research into this baffling disease, which affects so many people in our community," said Banick, a certified yoga and t’ai-chi instructor working in the greater New Haven area. "It’s inspiring that in the face of this disabling disease, all of my students have is hope and enthusiasm to find a cure."

The Movement and Sound Festival will take place Sunday, Sept. 14, from 1 to 5 p.m. at Davenport Dunbar Residence in Hamden , Conn. Proceeds will go to fund vital programs and services provided by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Connecticut Chapter.

The event will bring together yoga instructors and practitioners, along with local musicians and residents from the Greater New Haven area. The event will offer a variety of yoga and t’ai-chi classes for all ages and abilities, along with live music from area musicians, local food, refreshments and silent auctions. The highlight of the event will be an adaptive yoga class designed to assist people with MS, taught by certified yoga instructors.

Organizers hope to raise $5,000 in the fight against multiple sclerosis.

Funds raised through events, such as the Movement and Sound Festival, ensure ongoing scientific research to find a cure for multiple sclerosis. Funds also provide for the continuation of vital programs and services offered by the chapter to more than 6,000 Connecticut residents diagnosed with MS.

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic and often disabling disease of the central nervous system. There currently is no cure. Symptoms can include, among other things, numbness in the limbs, difficulties with vision and speech, stiffness and, in some more severe cases, total paralysis. The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot be predicted.