The Tampa Tribune from Tampa, Florida • 15

TBO.com WEDNESDAY. OCTOBER 14. 2015 THE NORTHEAST NEWS 5 Tap into inner self at Rasa-Lila Festival 1 ness level. A Friday night party will kick things off, where Beautiful Chorus will perform rhythmic melodies sure to invoke blissed-out, euphoric sensations, and a dance party to DJ Menscha's beats will cap off the night. A full day of events will unfold on Saturday, as JOYCE MCKENZIE Dr.

Charles Lambert, medical director of Florida Hospital Pepin Heart Institute, narrates a live open-heart surgery performed at the hospital and shown via satellite to a group of Mlddleton High School students in MOSI's Coleman Science Works Theater. Live From Page 1 The doctors replaced a 60-something-year-old woman's calcified mitral valve with a mechanical device, which required stopping her heart and the use of a cardiac bypass machine to pump and oxygenate her blood during the delicate procedure. Pepin's medical director, Dr. Charles Lambert, served as narrator and also fielded questions from the captivated audience. "The experience was really special to me," said Senna, who plans to pursue a career in the medical field.

"I learned a lot, including that those people have to be very well educated and very well prepared." The live presentation the lirst of its kind in the state was made possible through a partnership the museum and the hospital formed about a year ago. Michael Schultz, Florida 1 lospital West Florida Region presidentCEO, and Molly Demeulenaere, MO-SI's presidentCEO, were also on hand. "This is meant to pique their interest in health care, one of the fastest BY ERIN LOEB Special Correspondent south tampa How often do we get the chance to devote more than an hour or two nurturing our own wellbeing? Absorbed in a practice where burdens are lessened and replaced with a sense of calm? there is a peace- ful place, right outside of Tampa, created with just that in mind a chance to slow things down, reflect inward and relish what matters most. With a canopy of oak trees as its backdrop, the annual Rasa-Lila Fest is an opportunity to 'play, dance, love' on a rustic, lakefront campsite in Odessa. "It really is a playful experience," festival director and registered yoga yeacher Sarah Lesch explained, "and it actually reflection of what's truly healthy," Lesch said of their mission, explaining that they have chosen to weave in some additional elements after receiving some feedback.

While Lesch reveres yoga and believes that the body needs a good degree of strengthening and needs to move in so many different ways, she also found that, "we need a little bit of functional fitness, a little bit of cardio in our lives." With that, this year organizers will be introducing a Fusion Fitness component where classes like Barre, Pi-Yo and POUND will be offered for attendees looking to break a sweat and release some endorphins. The site also provides the option for festival-goers to camp on the grounds Friday night, a feature that has existed since the inception and has grown year after year; so much so that the VIP camping area has already sold out. Having well-maintained bathroom and shower facilities and a Vendor Village showcasing healthy fare and merchandise for sale have increased camping's popularity. Camping is not required, however. Events will be held Nov.

6 -7. For information, logistics and online registration, go to www feels like you got further making its way to the wa-out of town than just a ter, as Stand Up Paddle- classes taught by 30 dif- ferent teachers almost every hour on the hour, will span across the entire property. Offerings like Morning Yin Acoustic Flow will awaken the soul, while Rasa Hip a Lila will focus on flexibility and stability. Those interested in meditation could attend Mindfulness Meditation for Busy Lifestyles or Healing the Soul, a lecture intended to assist those recovering from traumatic loss. Practice also will be board Yoga will be avail able all day through the help of C-Ride SUP from St.

Petersburg. With children under 12 years of age admitted free to the festival, an entire section will be dedicated solely to kid's activities from Creating a Craft and morning stretching to a slack line and face painting, all run by Pose by Pose Studio in Lutz. "We really tried to make it a well-rounded find a new requested. This family friendly haunted house actually takes place in a home. Nearly three months of work goes into its design, which includes the front and backyards and requires the residents to man-made skin, viewing the internal organs of a life-like synthetic cadaver and getting an up-close look at a host of tools used during surgery.

"This whole thing is beyond amazing," said Mid-dleton High junior Sarah Tkatsenko, "Personally this day means a lot to me because 1 want to be a surgeon," added Alena Carter, also in her junior year at Middle-ton. Joyce McKenzie can be reached at joycecmckenzlegmall.com. many people don't know that." Seeber said he was very pleased with the good cross section of residents who were involved in the meeting. Among them were parents, grandparents and community members with no children of their own. "I want to encourage them to come back for further discussion," he said.

The next school-focused town hall meeting is from 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 26 in the city council chambers at Temple Terrace City Hall, 11250 N. 56th St. Call (813) 506-6440 for more information.

Joyce McKenzie can be reached at joycecmckenzlegmall.com. half an hour." What started five years ago as a forum to unite the community, Rasa-Lila has evolved into a family friendly, two-day gathering for those seeking to celebrate all things health and wellness. Comprised of a series of yoga and fitness classes, meditation workshops, healing sound experiences and wellness lectures, organizers promise a fit for any attendee, of any fit- Heed to Staff report The sixth annual Port Tampa City Psycho Haunted House will be Friday and Saturday from 7 to 10 p.m. at 6822 S. DeSoto Street in Port Tampa.

A $3 donation is haunt? move into an RV while the finishing touches are being put on the property. All proceeds will benefit the Port Tampa City Woman's Club and American Legion Post 138 Aux-ilary. its growing professions in the country," Demeulenaere said. "We are so lucky to have this partnership with Florida Hospital because this is really what MOSI is all about giving people an experience they can't get anywhere else." After the presentation, the students participated in some hands-on, surgery-related activities with MOSI staff members. Among them: Monitoring one another's vital signs, performing electrocardiogram tests, suturing to solve those issues.

"I love to have conversations that are solution-based," she said. The same table-by-table discussions ensued and out of them came suggestions to help negate the poor perception concerns by educating real estate agents about the good things happening in the schools rather than simply judging them by the letter grade they've earned; using the city of Temple Terrace's marketing consultants and its website to tout affirmative messages about the schools; and hosting community events in the schools to help publicize the positive happenings within them. Other ideas to shed a good light on the schools include using social media and producing kid-based marketing videos. "I think we have to listen to what the people were saying and help them feel better about our school," Greco High School Principal Yinka Alege said after the meeting. He also who noted that a lot of the negative comments came from parents whose children do not attend the school and know little about the improvements that have been made in recent years.

He stressed that much of what people perceiving about the school is not the present reality. "It's gotten a whole lot better in that the kids are much more respectful and we've had a significant decrease in discipline. Also our academic performance has made significant gains," Alege said. "The perceptions will continue to change as more improvements are made and any family that lives in Temple Terrace has priority at the school, although PI HART BUS STOP Meeting From Page 1 ing. Dr.

Brenda Townsend Walker, a University of South Florida professor in the special education department, served as moderator of the two-hour session in which some 60 Temple Terrace residents took part. The meeting also drew Temple Terrace School Support committee members Lynn Smalley, Carole Dell, Christian Wells and Marcy Leber as well as several area school principals and teachers. City Manager Gerald Seeber and city council members Cheri Dono-hue, David Pogorilich and Grant Rimbey also were among those in the crowd. The people seated at each table were asked to brainstorm among themselves and prioritize three of the most pressing concerns they each have. A spokesperson from each table then voiced their combined thoughts to the entire group that was gathered.

Common to all conversations was a negative perception of some of the city's schools most notably Greco Middle School; too little participation in school matters by parents and the community in general; the poor quality of education in some Temple Terrace schools that discourages many parents from enrolling their children in those institutions; and school zoning boundaries that require certain children to attend schools outside their neighborhoods in which there are schools close by that serve students in their grade levels. Walker subsequently asked for ideas about how BURNETT PARK-N-RIDE MANGO Going to Downtown Tampa? Back Home? Now there is a quicker, even more comfortable way to get there. Besides our regular local routes, catch the Megabus Express route to our Marion Transit Center (MTC) in Downtown Tampa and directly back to our Burnett Park-n-Ride located at 11609 Clay Pit Road in Mango. This service runs six times daily (three inbound plus three outbound) seven days a week. Just flash your valid HART 31-Day Express pass to the Megabus.com bus operator, or you can pre-purchase a pass directly on Megabus.com for $3.00 per trip.

From Burnett Park-n-Ride From MTC in Tampa, to in Mango, to MTC, Tampa Burnett Park-n-Ride in Mango 8:25 AM 2:50 PM 1:35 PM 6:35 PM 6:30 PM 11:00 PM POLYCRYSTALINE 5Sfh FINISH vj Jrr a ComcMele exlehcr sngte ongnaf color. I Jjbr- $4 9uaranee (pnvated) agamst cracMng peeing DAURAM wi 10009 NBrffll TAMPA umm 1 7020 N.0 IteDry HMM14 m07 N. Ftoncti Am I1H3M521 LAKELAND MVIS9M2 NCWPOnTRCHEY hviiooos I te22W.MemoralBW.6J-6M-1M3 7215US.19lt7ZM4l-U$4 Times are approximate and subject to change. With almost thirty local routes, eleven express and limited express routesone MetroRapid North-South route, and five HARTFlex routes, you can park in one of our twenty three conveniently located Park-n-Rides, HART can be your main choice to get you to your destination. HART Takes You There.

Burnett Park-n-Ride, Mango. EH HART Hillsborough Arc Regional Transit Authority www.goHART.org.