When it comes to giving back to the yoga community, most people think donating money or clothes is the only way to give back to people in need. However, there are more meaningful ways to help people, such as using your passion for yoga and joining the Give Back Yoga Foundation.
Some believe that yoga is a gift—you receive so many endless benefits from this practice that it is only natural that you are inclined to share the practice with the rest of the world.
So, what better way to enjoy the benefits of yoga than by sharing the benefits with those who need it?
What is the Give Back Yoga Foundation?
Founded by Rob Schware, the Give Back Yoga Foundation was created as an effort to give back to the yoga community he believed in. Schware's foundation sponsors certified yoga teachers, so they can bring mindfulness, yoga, and meditation to disadvantaged individuals who would otherwise not have access to experience this practice and all of its benefits.
Individuals that the Give Back Yoga Foundation works with include veterans, incarcerated women, at-risk youth, and others that have experienced significant trauma at some point in their lives. Yoga brings people of all religions, races, and social backgrounds to understand the underlying unity among humans as a whole.
The Give Back Yoga Foundation supports and funds research-based, clinically tested yoga programs for marginalized populations. They also provide supplies to help start yoga programs that benefit others, inspiring social change and community cooperation in under-privileged areas.
As a national non-profit yoga organization, the Give Back Yoga Foundation support and fund research-based, clinically tested yoga programs for marginalized populations. They also provide supplies to help start yoga programs in under-resourced areas. Through this work, the Give Back Yoga Foundation aims to inspire social change and brings a sense of community to everyone who participates in the yoga practice.
How can I get involved?
The Give Back Yoga Foundation has created a free online yoga training known as How Can I Serve? that invites all yogis – from yoga teachers to studios to learn how to give back to those in need.
How Can I Serve? is a yoga training that helps build a foundation for becoming a yoga teacher that is on a mission to help others. This course is taught by master teachers whose field-tested yoga programs provide healing to underserved populations.
How Can I Serve? Consists of three modules, making the perfect addition to any 200-hour and 300-hour yoga teacher training. The first course, known as “The Foundation”, lays the groundwork for understanding what yoga service is, how it is practiced, and the science behind the healing benefits of the practice.
The second module, known as “Going Within”, you will explore the importance of developing your self-awareness in this work, how your ego and judgements might show up, and how the lens through which you see the world impacts how you serve.
The last module, known as “Living Your Yoga”, supports you in taking action to get involved in the yoga service movement by exploring your interests and passions, allowing you to turn your intention into action.
The Give Back Yoga Foundation is an ever growing foundation that supports not only people in need, but also yoga teachers and studio owners. They provide healing and understanding to everyone that participates in their programs.
If you are a yoga teacher or studio owner, dive deeper into the world of gratitude and yoga by taking part in the Give Back Yoga Foundations': How Can I Serve? teacher training program. You can even spread the word about the foundation and bring attention to it by sharing it with your fellow yoga teachers or students.
Visit the Give Back Yoga Foundation "How to Get Involved" page to learn about other ways you can join their team! Click here.
"Everything you need, your courage, strength compassion and love; everything you need is already within you." -Unknown
