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.