Posts from ‘activism’
2011 yogi of the year!
Fake Time Magazine cover image by YogaDawg. Original image taken by J.T. Liss, via yogadork.com
I remember being a teenager. It sucked. I was moody, unpredictable and lacking confidence. As a nonathletic teen, I was also completely disconnected from my body and very sedentary, which probably contributed to my mood swings and emotional malaise.
I didn’t know it at the time, but I could have really used some yoga. Kids and teens these days experience even more stress and pressure than my generation did – and this is why the work that Shanti Generation is doing is so important. On their new DVD, Shanti Generation: Yoga Skills for Youth Peacemakers, they offer a yoga practice especially for tweens and teens, to help them build confidence, strength and mindfulness.
Shanti Generation is a LA-based project “committed to cultivating a generation of peacemakers through leadership training in yoga, compassionate communication, peer-teaching and conscious social action. SGF provides young people access to empowering educational opportunities for learning critical skills to become social change agents.” The project offers classes for youth in the Los Angeles area, leadership and peacemaking training for youth, and facilitator training for qualified yoga teachers. Continue Reading
Stuff, stuff, stuff! Do we really need more stuff? Do we need to give more stuff?
This holiday season, give the gift of yoga by supporting the Acorn Fund. The Toronto-based fund offers annual grants to local organizations who help share yoga with those who would otherwise be unable to access the practice. It was formed with the intention of stimulating the Toronto yoga community’s interest in sharing resources for philanthropic concerns.
The Acorn Fund, which is coordinated by the good people at Yoga Community Toronto, also “places priority on supporting projects that seek to demystify, legitimize, and naturalize yogic practice and thought in the public sphere.” This includes community health, rehabilitation, employment and transition services, and public education, among other services. Past recipients of Acorn Fund grants include the New Leaf Yoga Foundation and the Centre of Gravity Peacemakers.
Donate to the Acorn Fund here.
And do you want to give the gift that keeps giving? Consider using the Acorn Fund as a model for engaged yoga philanthropy in your own community!
Donna from Yoga In My School interviewed me for her Reflections 2011 series! We talked about my blogging hiatus, why I started blogging again, my favourite Christmas traditions, and, um, what vegetable I resemble (going to have to rethink that one). It was lovely talking to Donna, and she really knows how to ask the right questions. This whole process was actually a good way to reflect on the past year, which has been full of surprises and new directions.
Be sure to check out the rest of Donna’s Reflections 2011 series ~ it was an honour to be included with leaders in the yoga community such as Seane Corn, Amy Ippoliti, the founders of Wanderlust, and Jessica and Diane from Where Is My Guru.
Mark Lilly, Street Yoga founder, looking rather Neil Young-esque. (image via streetyoga.org)
Street Yoga founder Mark Lilly was inspired not only by his yoga practice and the changes he saw within himself, but by a line from a Neil Young song: “We were giving, that’s how we kept what we gave away.” To keep what yoga had given him, Mark said he had to give it away as fast and as much as possible – and he chose youth and others struggling with homelessness, poverty, abuse, addiction, trauma and behavioral challenges to be the recipients of his generosity.
Based in Portland, Oregon, Street Yoga has a mission to “give youth and their caregivers the tools to overcome early life trauma, through the sharing of life-building mindfulness and wellness practices grounded in the ancient healing principles of yoga.” With humble beginnings as a grassroots organization run by volunteers, Street Yoga has grown into a full-fledged non-profit with a staff, board, solid infrastructure and ambitious development plan.
In addition to offering services to at-risk youth in the Portland area, Street Yoga offers 16-hour teacher training courses all over North America. These trainings teach “compact, portable mindfulness practices” and are developed for yoga teachers, social workers and school teachers (although no previous yoga teaching experience is necessary).
In 2011, more than 500 people have been trained to teach yoga to youth in social service environments. The next training will happen in Toronto on December 9 – 11. See the Street Yoga schedule for 2012 trainings.
Mark Lilly answered a few questions about Street Yoga, the teacher training, and yoga as activism and community service. Continue Reading
