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07/05/2016 12:00 AMNorth Haven native Kenny Ward is enjoying exploring his passions and he has many including fitness, writing, hiking at Sleeping Giant with his golden retriever Goldie, farming, cooking, music, and Buti Yoga. Kenny has always been interested in fitness and stumbled across a blurb about Buti Yoga in a fitness magazine.
“Buti Yoga is a fusion of yoga, plyometrics, and tribal dance,” says Kenny. “Basically it’s a lot of spiral movements and hip movements that originate in the abdominal muscles and work to tighten those. I enjoyed traditional yoga but didn’t always have the patience for it. With Buti Yoga, you don’t have to sit quietly in a room to find that personal calm space – you’re constantly moving but still getting that stretch in and still feel calm and serene after.”
After reading about Buti Yoga in the magazine, Kenny began taking online classes. He continued with his learning, eventually meeting Bizzie Gold, the founder and creator of Buti Yoga, who convinced Kenny to get certified to teach himself.
“After starting the online classes, I totally fell in love with it because it’s a stretching yoga where you’re getting out of your own headspace and at the same time, you’re getting a really amazing workout,” says Kenny. “It’s fun so you don’t realize you’re getting a workout. With teaching, my ultimate goal is to create a really positive environment where everyone can have fun.”
Kenny noted that along with the high-intensity workouts, the atmosphere is also more upbeat than traditional yoga with club, electro, and pop music selections. According to Kenny’s Buti Yoga with Kenny Facebook page (www.facebook.com/butict) “Buti is a high-intensity, core-centered yoga practice that incorporates yoga, cardio, tribal dance, and plyometrics.”
Earlier this year, Kenny had a chance to experience some tribal dancing firsthand as he took part in a work-away program throughout February and part of March. Kenny traveled to Hawaii to work at Third Day Nursery, which grew and sold succulents.
“I was really nervous to go at first because I was leaving by myself and meeting strangers on a tiny island, but you don’t get anywhere if you don’t take a plunge,” says Kenny. “It was a really fantastic experience where I was able to go and spend time seeing somewhere I wanted to see; get work experience in a field I’ve had interest in; and get a feel for their culture and way of life, which is so very different than ours.”
In addition to learning the way of life on the farm, Kenny learned the way of life on the island, too. He taught Buti Yoga to his co-workers on the farm and began attending drum circles, often once or twice a week, at the local beaches.
“They’re remarkably popular,” says Kenny. “People would be dancing like crazy at these popup drum circles and a lot of movements were things I have seen through Buti Yoga or I’d watch and think, ‘I need to incorporate that into my classes.’ The drum circles were a great place to get your Buti Yoga moves on.”
Another thing Kenny enjoyed about the drum circles was the music as he has been a musician since he was young. He began taking guitar lessons from Charlie Bellmore when he was around 12 years old. Kenny took lessons for eight years and now also plays the ukulele.
When he reached North Haven High School, he joined the jazz band. Kenny remembers waking up at 6 a.m. to get to practice before school. He continued to play throughout high school, graduating in 2011, and throughout his years at Western Connecticut State University, graduating in 2015.
“Music is a great outlet if I’m feeling down or confused,” says Kenny, who describes himself as a folk-pop musician. “I can sit down with my guitar and write a song and things that come out are a great reflective type of work and you accidentally start discovering things about yourself.”
Kenny began performing publicly in high school and has continued ever since, playing at venues such as The Space and The Outer Space, Toad’s Place, coffeehouses, and local fairs and festivals.
“It’s super fun and I love being able to have that creative outlet,” says Kenny. “It’s a hobby that I’d love to make a reality as a career as well.”
For now, Kenny, who majored in English and communication studies, is working at Campus Customs. He began part-time working at Campus Customs last fall and began working full-time in January, managing all of the custom orders. He is quick to point out how supportive his work was about him taking the time off to travel to Hawaii.
In the future, though, in addition to his music, Kenny’s dream is to be able to teach more Buti Yoga classes and open his own studio one day. He also wants to be able to find a job that involves writing.
“In a dream world, I would love being able to teach a few classes a week and bring this to other people because it’s a really cool practice that not a lot of people know about,” says Kenny. “I’d like to be able to write and get paid for it and have a fulfilling musical career while teaching yoga classes on the side. That sounds like a busy life.”
Kenny teaches Buti Yoga at All That Jazz in Branford on Sundays. The cost is $10. For info, visit Facebook.com/ButiCT or contact kenny.ward1992@gmail.com.