Yoga Alliance Foundation: A Look Back and our New Normal
Last Updated: December 10, 2021
Dear Community,
We believe in yoga’s ability to bring people together and elevate our
universal well-being. We also believe in a global yoga community
representative of all—where everyone can see and find themselves in yoga and
wellness spaces that support every unique lived experience and need.
In reflecting on the past two years, the serious impacts of the worldwide
health crisis, ongoing social injustices, and shift in the professional yoga
landscape have left many living in a “new normal” that feels anything but
normal. During this time, the Yoga Alliance Foundation has been working hand
in hand with yoga educators and students, community donors, and socially
conscious organizations to respond to the yoga community’s most timely and
urgent needs.
Today, we celebrate your generosity, energy, and innovative resilience. Thanks
to your support and commitment, so many teachers in the yoga community were
able to navigate this challenging time with the support they needed—thank you.
You helped make the following possible:
Emergency Relief Fund (ERF)
In May 2020,the Foundation partnered with the global non-profit Ivy Child
International
to introduce an Emergency Relief Fund for yoga professionals
experiencing financial hardship due to the impacts of COVID-19. This fund was
open to both Yoga Alliance members and the broader yoga community worldwide.
In 2020 and 2021, $500,000 in total were distributed in COVID-19 relief around
the world.
India COVID-19 Relief
In honor of International Day of Yoga 2021, the Foundation created a matching
donation campaign that contributed to on-the-ground efforts helping India in
COVID-19 recovery. With the help of the Yoga Alliance community, $32,000 went
to three organizations supporting India as the country experienced a massive
Delta variant spike.
Awakening Yoga Spaces
Awakening Yoga Spaces (AYS) is a collaborative coalition of yoga and wellness
communities committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the yoga world
and making yoga teacher trainings more accessible to members of the Black,
Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) community facing financial barriers.
This year, the Foundation was honored to award a $25,000 grant supporting 16
scholarships for BIPOC trainees in yoga teacher and yoga therapy programs
offered through
participating coalition studios.
Breathe for Justice—Yoga and Mindfulness Youth Training
Research shows that yoga instruction and mindfulness practices can promote
young adults' physical and emotional health, while supporting their academic
success. Armed with this knowledge, the Foundation donated $100,000 to Breathe
for Justice—a Youth Yoga and Mindfulness Teacher Training Program led by Ivy
Child International. The program supports 100 scholarships for Black,
Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) students to complete a Registered Yoga
School (RYS) 200-hour yoga and mindfulness teacher training, including a
year-long apprenticeship and mentor program.
Teaching for Equity
Teaching for Equity (TFE) is an ongoing initiative supporting yoga teachers
worldwide who serve for little or no pay in communities experiencing
marginalization. Through their vital work, TFE Teachers create meaningful,
lasting, and positive impacts by bringing their communities together and
fostering individual and communal health.
TFE teachers collectively received $22,000, which supported both their classes
and compensation for any promotional appearances made on behalf of the
program. Since its inaugural launch in 2021, the program has expanded in both
funds and number of participants, welcoming 50 individuals to its second
cohort in 2022.
The Teaching for Equity program is funded and directed by the Yoga Alliance
Foundation with Ivy Child International and Synergy Yoga as implementing
partners.
Learn More About Each Program
All of the above became possible through this community’s support. And still,
there is so much more to be done.
Coming up, you will receive an email from us detailing an important new
initiative called Eka Well-Being Services. This program will offer one year of
free holistic mental health and well-being support for yoga professionals
facing barriers to these important services. Stay tuned for more details,
including why this program was created and how it will work.
Again, thank you for all you have done and continue to do in bettering our
world through yoga. We look forward to creating more positive change and
greater equity in yoga, together.
Contribute to the Foundation
The Yoga Alliance Foundation team is pleased to connect with you.
For more support, please email foundation@yogalliance.org.