Street Yoga was founded in 2002 when the executive director began teaching a yoga class to homeless youth in Portland, Oregon. Since then, Street Yoga has grown to about 20 volunteers, offering 4 weekly classes in the Portland area, 2 weekly classes in Seattle and periodic wellness workshops.

Street Yoga’s primary focusing is teaching yoga and mindful self-care to young people who are at-risk or homeless. The students include:

Homeless Youth – People 14-22 years old, who are living on the streets or in very temporary shelter.
Girls in Foster Care – Girls 12-17 who are in state custody awaiting foster care placement.
Young People Recovering from Abuse and Trauma – Young people ages 6-11 who have a history of severe neglect, sexual & physical abuse and other traumas.

Most of the young people on the streets have a history of involvement with the foster care system or have suffered sexual and physical abuse, often both situations at once. Street Yoga works with younger children and youth in state custody, working to alleviate the ill-effects of homelessness on the young, and striving to prevent it altogether by heading off those very conditions which lead to homelessness in the first place.

Watch a video about Street Yoga and visit their site for more info, to get involved or request a class.

Shanti Uganda is a project that I am seriously excited about! The women that started this project are deeply committed to the vision of yoga as a healing tool and are doing wonderful work to spread the love and peace (shanti) of the practice. If you happen to be here in the Portland area I currently teach a weekly class to raise money for the project and I will be traveling to Uganda this winter to volunteer with the project for a few months. Class schedule here.

(Excerpt from site)
The Shanti Uganda Society began with a vision to bring the healing power of yoga to communities experiencing trauma in Uganda. Kim Ridgewell and Natalie Angell began to discuss ways to make this vision a reality and with the support of friends and family created ‘Shanti Uganda’. In 2007, Natalie left for Uganda and worked at a local school, began a yoga program for children and supported birthing women at a health clinic. Here, she met Lubwama Julius, who was a teacher at the school. Over the next year they began to support additional schools in the region and an income generating group for women with HIV/AIDS. The Shanti Uganda Society incorporated in 2008.

Shanti is a Sanskrit word meaning peace. It reflects the belief that peace begins within. In order for communities to develop a greater sense of solidarity and unity, they must first allow themselves to heal from within and act from a place of love and compassion.

I do believe that the yoga community is a force to be reckoned with. No matter what the school, the slant, the particular angle of the particular studio, whether the focus is on a mystical connection or a firm body, it seems that yogis worldwide are coming together in great numbers to work towards happiness and liberation for all beings.

In all forms the yoga community is reaching out. In the aftermath of Haiti’s recent earthquake, yoga studios all over the globe have been offering benefit classes and percentages of sales to aid in Haiti’s relief funds. Here in Portland I have taught 4 classes so far (with one more to come) that have raised an average of $100 per class. Small fries for sure in the grand scheme of things, but every little bit helps.

Yoga practice isn’t just for those who can afford it, those who have the rights clothes or access to studios, dvds or books. As most of us know, the practice of yoga is beneficial for everyone! Obviously every body has different needs and will benefit from different approaches or aspects to the practice and these needs will evolve and change with the individuals.

There are many complaints about yoga becoming ‘watered down’ as it becomes more and more accessible to all. Though I definitely feel fairly nauseated when I hear about competitive approaches like making yoga an Olympic Sport, on the other hand I think that maybe this will draw in people, particularly young people, who might not have been interested otherwise.

And as more and more people are coming to the practice of yoga, there are more and more people who are feeling good in their bodies, heart and minds and are ready and willing to work together for positive action. Yoga in its simplest translation means ‘union’, there’s no denying the unifying force of this practice, no matter how it looks!

I have been researching a number of charitable yoga foundations who are working to offer the tools of yoga asana and meditation to those who need it most. In the next few weeks I’ll be posting on many of them and I’ll also be interviewing a few of these yogActivists for FTY News. So if you are someone or know of a person or project that should be interviewed or featured, let me know!

Namas té

xox- Renee

Image by Chad Haselden