8/4/2019 Yoga Magazine Featuring Yoga Gives Back

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For many in the West, the path into yoga practice starts with a desire to try a newtness routine, then as the practice goes deeper, o ten a spiritual awakening is trig-

gered, bringing an emotional balance and re ection which is new and never ex-perienced be ore. For some the path goes urther, as they strive or a greater depthand meaning to their practice, a way to express gratitude, the ultimate practice okarma yoga. Los Angeles-based documentary lmmaker Kayoko Mitsumatsu re-

calls a similar personal experience with her yoga practice; Mitsumatsu said herown yoga journey began as a mission to become healthy, which then took her tolearn more about Indian philosophy. Asana gives you that re ection and Indianphilosophy taught me that the second hal o your li e is about helping others, giv-ing back. She adds: What can we do w ith our healthy selves?From that point, she was able to realise her dream when in 2007, she co- oundedYoga Gives Back, a non-pro t organisation with a mission to give back to the ound-ing country and culture o yoga itsel , India, with an intention to help alleviate pov-erty and raise awareness. Mitsumatsu reiterates the mantra o Yoga Gives Back, thesimple mission statement: or the cost o one yoga class, you can change a li e.Over the last our years, Yoga Gives Back has grown into a global team o grass-rootsupporters, with many ambassadors who are teachers giving their studio time tocoordinate undraising classes. Donations collected are then channelled by YogaGives Back into micro credit and direct unding programs across India, targeting

communities in areas including West Bengal and Karnataka. Yoga is a gi t rom an-cient India, embraced by the West. where 76% o Indias population lives below thepoverty line, six billion USD is spent on Yoga in the U.S. alone each year.Mitsumatsu regularly practices at Omkar108 yoga studio in Los Angeles, under oneo the countrys ew certi ed Ashtanga teachers, Jorgen Christiansson--a long-time student o Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois, Indias leading practitioner credited with in-troducing Ashtanga to the West--who has or many years taught a number o highpro le students including Sting, Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow, Julia Roberts, TobyMaguire, and Robert Downey Jr. Christiansson says that his guru Sri. K. PattabhiJois gave him a gi t o li e-long practice and patience, aith, and respect. Alongwith MahaMondo.com, Christiansson spearheaded the rst ever Thank You MotherIndia undraising day in 2010, with an event in Los Angeles. Yoga Gives Back wasencouraged by the success o this event, raising over $2000 USD. This year, Mitsu-matsu has seen the yoga community across the globe ocus on making the secondThank You Mother India day even bigger and more joyous.

Christiansson strongly believes in the words o Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois: Practice andall is coming, and he has success ully applied this principle to his own li e andhas strived to encourage and instil the same within his students and community.For Christiansson, the notion o uniting the global yoga community or Thank YouMother India is truly inspiring, uniting all styles supporting in true yoga spirit.Do-nating time and uniting the yoga community ofers Christiansson personal grati -cation and a way to express gratitude to India or everything it has given him. I gotso much rom India, my support to this cause is a way to give back. Im very grate ul

or this opportunity, said Christiansson.

On September 17, 2011, Yoga Gives Back has energized the global yoga community

or a one-of day o donation classes and events, ocusing on raising global aware-ness on the campaign. Already there are more than 30 studios signed on, withmore joining on a weekly basis. Studios rom Brazil, the UK , Costa Rica, Hong Kong,and Tokyo will be holding hands with partners across the U.S.This is unprecedented. This campaign has become global, andYoga Gives Back is very excited about the power o the message--its become like a chain reaction as more and more people have

joined to take action, says Mitsumatsu.

Over the last four years, YogaGives Back hasgrown into aglobal teamof grass-root supporters, withmany ambassadorswho are teachersgiving theirstudio time tocoordinate

fundraisingclasses.

Jorgen Christiansson

o Omkar108 studio, Los AngelesPhotographed by Hale Davis

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