Stand aside, all ye who think that yoga is for rich white folks. Because thanks to the Africa Yoga Project, yoga is rocking the worlds of slum communities in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.
The BBC's Focus on Africa posted this story yesterday which, as you can tell, has got me all fired up. So I went to the Africa Yoga Project website to check it out. The website says that the style of yoga is inspired by Baron Baptiste's Power Yoga, with a bit of Acro-Yoga mixed in. The project is working with a larger umbrella organization dedicated to combating poverty with culture and arts.
The best part? The classes are free, and the teachers are paid by the organization. And even cooler, the teachers are all Kenyan, although if you want to volunteer you can co-teach, donate mats, or help out by fundraising or assisting with the administration of the a project.
The innovative spirit of the project is totally inspiring to me - this yoga is all about community and personal transformation, and not about the profit.
Is the future of yoga here? I'm into it... And while we're at it, maybe we in the west have a lesson or two to learn from such a venture...
What do you all think?
In other news, a Swiss man has engineered a low-cost solar cell that mimics the way plants turn light into energy.
There is hope for humanity yet, don't you think?!
Of course, I think it's awesome. And maybe some time in the next few years, it might be something I'd be interested in participating in. Got my own work to do on my home turf, first. But yeah... go community yoga!
ReplyDeleteOh, I love it! What a wonderful thing! Yoga for the love of yoga!
ReplyDelete