ken atchity door to door: YOGA GIVES BACK

YOGA GIVES BACK - June Newsletter

SUCCESS STORY: Deenabandhu, Karnataka, India

YGB's direct funding program "Sister Aid" is sponsoring 56 impoverished mothers, children and orphans for their education, vocational training and micro credit programs.

Because of your continued support, YGB now sponsors one more girl Shyamala, 16 years old and orphaned, who has lived at Deenbandhu Trust Home for the past ten years. Here is a little background on Shyamala; Shyamala, the oldest girl at the home, is soft-spoken and quiet natured. She takes responsibility for younger children at the home. She likes to sing, tailor and stitch bags and torn cloths. Shyamala’s mother, Mahadevamma, had married a man who was already married. He left her after Shyamala was born. She survived for a couple of years as a homeless woman with Shyamala. Eventually, they joined Shakthidhama, a rehabilitation center for women in Mysore. One day, Mahadevamma disappeared, leaving behind Shyamala who was about six years old. Shyamala was then placed with a couple at B.R. Hills and later admitted to Deenabandhu Girls’ home for further education and rehabilitation.”

It is our true joy and honor to be able to extend our support to Shyamala as she starts her college education this year- against all odds!!!

Puttama and Radha, who received sawing machines donated by YGB in February, have been trained to become a professional seamstress. They are now paid to make 40 mosquito nets for children as well as learning to saw children's dresses. Deenabandhu is also helping them to start to build small business for them to stitch petty coats in great demand in the local markets. In the next six months, they will be able to earn significant income. They will also become great example of economic independence for the younger girls at Deenbandhu.

These updates and photographs are regularly sent by Professor Jayadev, the founder and director of Deenabandhu Trust Home.

Watch our new video “Sister Aid 2: Deenabandhu” on YGB’s YouTube Channel!!!

Exciting News! YGB’s first global fundraiser “Thank You Mother India” Update

"Click this logo to register"

Yoga Magazine offers free ads for all the yoga studios and sponsors!!

Register for "Thank You Mother India" by July 10th at TYMI to host or sponsor this event. Yoga Magazine will feature this event with free ads of the hosting studios and sponsors in the September issue with your logo and website link.

Hosting studios and sponsors confirmed for this special event include; Jorgen Christianson (Omkar 108 Yoga), Eddie Stern (Ashtanga Yoga New York), Kino MacGregor (Yogamala-Hong Kong, Miami Life Center), Sophie Herbert (Yoga Sutra), and many more from London, Rio de Janeiro, Hong Kong, Tokyo...etc. Join us!!

Yoga Magazine features YGB on June issue as well as hosting a “Charity Class” every Saturday, at Wholefoods, Kensington, London.

Video Campaign Launched!

Send your video clip to info@yogagivesback.org. Next one will be out in July. Thanks for a great editing work by Ting Poo.
"Click this 1 minute PR video"

Welcome YGB Ambassador Chaz!!

Chaz Russ ((E-RYT-500, T-500) has been a dedicated supporter for YGB, hosting a very successful fundraiser for YGB at Yoga Works Tarzana with Cosmic Kirtan Band this spring. Chaz---"As the founder and former owner of Sisters Yoga, an all-female yoga studio in Fresno, CA., it seemed only natural for me to join the YGB team. When founding Sisters Yoga, my aim was to create a space where female Spirits of all ages could come together in community, tend to the gardens of their self-esteem and empower themselves through the self-discovery and strength building practices of yoga. There's a divine power in sisterhood, and that power is felt amidst sisters of all ages, backgrounds and economic status. We feel our deep rooted connection through the practice of yoga. For the 7 years I've been teaching and the 17 years I've been practicing, I continue to be reminded of the beaming light that shines so brightly within us all. Equally, if someone thousands of miles away suffers, so I suffer. But if I can help and make a difference here in LA, for instance, by raising awareness and money for our sisters in India , then the consciousness of LA is raised and we benefit equally.

Every woman deserves a shot to reach her God-given dharmic potential. I'm honored to be a part of the YGB team, as YGB provides the opportunity for women in India to tend to the gardens of their heart's entrepeneurial yearnings and therefore, support themselves, their families and villages in the long run. Such big impacts can be made with small monetary contributions. Some of the biggest leaps in evolution and healing are made with the smallest of steps. I look forward to continue to host yoga classes in LA for YGB and our sisters in India."

New Partners!

MindBodyGreen.com, online go-to-guide for yoga and wellness, has chosen YGB as one of the six non profits to receive 20% of their online directory sales.

"MindBodyGreen.com supports Yoga Gives Back because we love that they're changing the lives of women suffering in India by giving them tools that will improve their lives dramatically -- tools that will last a lifetime..."

C Pur
Founded in New York by Simon Grunberger, C pur works to make innovative yoga products that will inspire customers to immerse themselves in their practice.

“As a young company dedicated to the transformative power of yoga, C pur is proud to be partnered with Yoga Gives Back. By contributing our efforts to awareness campaigns, event planning, and donations from online sales, our partnership with Yoga Gives Back is our way of expressing gratitude for the power of yoga to change us not just as individuals, but as a global community.”

Upcoming Events!

YGB virtual torches are passing through the global yoga community.

Y2Y Yoga, Charlotte, NC

July 3rd, Sunday, 2:15 PM; Hot Class with Tanner Bazermore, a special charity class to support YGB.

MOKSHA Festival, Santa Monica College

August 13-14, Visit YGB booth at this first MOKSHA Festival in LA, presented by YogiLoka.com and LA Yoga & Ayurveda Magazine. It is a two-day celebration of wellness, spiritual expansion and conscious living through: Yoga, Ayurveda, Sacred Music and healthy food. It is an opportunity to celebrate old friendships and build new ones with like-minded people and businesses. Join us!!

*Check www.yogagivesback.org for more upcoming events and details.

RECENT EVENTS + APPRECIATION

View more photos on Facebook

"OM Mani Padme Hum", Yoga Flex, Charlotte, NC

Two Sundays on May 15th, and 22nd, taught by Mara, Dena and Shari raised over 2000 dollars. Amazing YGB debut in Charlotte thanks to Yoga Flex and its powerful community. Thank you Dena and everyone at Yoga Flex community!!

"Sister Aid" special class, At Water Brazilian Yoga & Pilates, LA

Sunday, May 22nd, Liz McDonald and Stefani Manger taught a special afternoon class. C-Pur donated generous Indian lunch for all.

Karma Flow Day @ Kansas Siddhi Yoga, Kansas City

June 1st, proceeds from three classes offered by Gina Caputo, Laura Williamson and Shari.

Santa Monica Yoga 10th Anniversary, CA

Saturday, June 4th: Kyra Hagland's special class, DJ Drez live music and amazing raffle items coordinated by the owner Bruce Bair and Janet Pequette raised over 1500 dollars for YGB. Many thanks for SM Yoga community.

Rock-n-Roll Sanskrit with Shari Goodhartz, Black Dog Yoga, Sherman Oaks, CA

Sunday, June 12, Shari taught a special fun class, hosted by long time YGB supporter Peter Barnett and Rose Gresch at Black Dog Yoga.

Thank you for your support, which is making a difference one event at a time!!

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Yoga Gives Back

Written by Kayoko Mitsumatsu

From Posture To Power: Microcredit Changes Lives On Both Sides of the Ocean

We can talk about making change. But affecting real change in the world comes from impacting the lives of individuals. It comes from empowering people to be independent and able to make a living on their own while at the same time being fully integrated in our interdependent global community. Sometimes it takes something that seems to be radical to make this change, but these shifts can be deceptively small. They can be even as small (or as large) as the cost of a Los Angeles Yoga class.

How could this be? In the practice of microcredit, lending seemingly small amounts of money to small-scale entrepreneurs allows them to succeed and change their circumstances. This is the fundamental basis of microcredit’s transformative power; it’s a revolutionary concept in finance. This practice shifts the emphasis from financial transactions being focused only about large loans and large scale businesses, which are out of reach of many one-person operations, institutions and organizations – to lending practices that actually make a positive difference in a person’s life. Microcredit practices based on social justice and empowerment operate through a combination of small-scale loans based on trust and community support, with structured repayment plans and programs that encourage savings. In these situations, people actually have the opportunity to solidify long-term change in their lives.

Dr. Muhammad Yunus and the Yoga Gives Back Team: Joel Bender, Leslie Hendry, Dr. Muhammad Yunus and Kayoko Mitsumatsu (left-right)

In 2006, economist Dr. Muhammad Yunus and the institution he founded, the Grameen Bank, were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. This award was in recognition of their revolutionary efforts to create this micro-credit model, support sustainable economic practices, and provide an alternative to what were exploitive norms. When a person is caught in a cycle of poverty, they may become trapped in the system, particularly since large banking institutions have historically ignored people without assets or credit histories, who are just starting out and who may not have already proven themselves. Most banks prefer to lend large sums of money that represent a greater profit margin and are set up only for large loans in order to make a profit themselves. And even making it more challenging, people at the bottom of the economic scale worldwide have had to rely on moneylenders charging usurious terms and interest rates to obtain funds to plant the next crop, buy inventory of new equipment, or upgrade a business in any way. Institutions such as the Grameen Bank and their affiliates are offering another approach. It’s one that has significantly impacted millions of people.

As Dr. Yunus described in an exclusive interview with Yoga Gives Back in May, 2009, “We started in 1976, and today within Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, eight million people borrow micro loans, ninety-seven percent of them women.” This represents an enormous potential for change and empowerment that just did not exist on a large scale in this form prior to 1976.

There is a social cycle in economics, and Dr. Yunus explained this: “Poverty is not inside the person. Poverty is forced from outside. Poor people are as capable [a] human being as anybody else. They have the same power and energy, same potential. But they are denied such facilities. They cannot express themselves. Money is one of the most important items missing in their lives. You need a dollar to catch a dollar. You cannot catch a dollar with an empty hand. So, that first dollar, nobody has given to her. So she remains dependent on someone else. She has to be hired, to slave; she has to work to make food available on the table. What we have done, we have put that first dollar into her hands as a banking proposition. Conventional banks never come to the poor people. They go to rich people to make more money. The person who does not have a dollar – she cannot get it. So we did it. We did it in a way that is affordable to her. Because we do not insist on collateral. There is no collateral.”

While that may seem like a radical concept, the Grameen Bank has proven that their success is much more than ideological. Dr Yunus cited statistics for us, “The repayment rate is almost 100%, without collateral or anything. This is the strength of microcredit which is now spread all over the world. There are by now at least 150 million borrowers in the world today. Bu it is still very small comparing to the need. We need more microcredit organizations in the world so that more people can be reached.”

Yoga Gives Back is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization begun in LA, with the goal to provide a way for Western Yoga practitioners to give back to India, the birthplace of Yoga, which has given us so much. We’re heeding Dr. Yunus’ call to reach more people through expanded opportunities for and awareness of microcredit and have targeted India and Indian families, women, and would-be entrepreneurs, who would be otherwise stuck in the cycle of poverty that Dr. Yunus described. Yoga Gives Back supports microfinancing operations in India, through the Grameen Foundation, headquartered in Washington, DC. Donations go directly to Grameen Koota, Bangalore, South India and our YGB awareness campaign focuses on the real stories of how poor women are changing their lives with small loans from Grameen Koota.

Ms. Vinatha M Reddy

Grameen Koota was started by visionary teacher and philanthropist, Ms. Vinatha M Reddy (pictured, above) in 1999, who learned about Nobel Peace Recipient Dr Muhammad Yunus’ microfinancing and immediately began exploring ways of replicating his work in her hometown. In 2000, she started providing small microcredit loans, averaging $25.00 a month, to fifty local women. Today, Grameen Koota’s work is reaching out to over 280,000 women in Bangalore, Mysore and many areas of Karnataka state, in South India, making real impact on these women’s lives as well as on the local economy.

Yoga Gives Back

The Los Angeles-based Yoga Gives Back has a worldwide reach and began out of the inspiration and dedication of my Yoga mentor Joel Bender and me. Our group has suddenly started growing almost daily and our mission is shared by a quickly expanding and loving Yoga community.

When I was growing up in Japan, which is a very middle-class society, I had never experienced or seen any real poverty, especially growing up in Tokyo in 1960s and 1970s, when Japan's post-war economic miracle was taking place. Then, I had a chance to live in Brazil in the late 1970s for two years, where as a teenager, I saw the divide between poverty and wealth, the reality of the real slums, kids on the streets begging every time you stopped the car at the traffic light, all very much like India. Social injustice hit me hard.

Once I started Yoga practice and feeling my life being so enriched by it , I felt a need to use my resources to help others. I was producing a documentary on Social Entrepreneurship and learned about microfinancing. I shared this information with Joel [featured in the teacher profile in this month’s issue of LA YOGA] who had been looking for the way he could give back to India since his first visit there – so we teamed up.

When I think about the growth of Yoga Gives Back thus far, I give a lot of credit to the entrepreneurship and volunteer spirit of Americans, willing to embrace and support a new grass roots campaign like ours.

Kayoko Mitsumatsu, co-founder of Yoga Gives Back, is a documentary filmmaker whose films deal with social justice issues, including First They Killed My Father a memoir of a Cambodia’s Killing Fields’ survivor.

A Life Changing Story of Microcredit: Jayashree

Jayashree

Jayashree lives in the suburbs of Bangalore and is married and the mother of two children. We visited her at her humble dirt floor one room home for the first time in 2007. We were touched by her warm smile and most generous hospitality, serving us hot tea and cookies.

Jayashree was born into a very poor family in Bangalore. When she was a child, her family’s financial situation became so severe that she had to drop out of school and work at a garment factory. She toiled throughout her childhood and after she got married at fifteen, her meager earnings had to support her ailing in-laws. She had two children. Her husband’s rickshaw business was not enough to pay her sons’ education or secure food for the family.

In 2007, Jayashree learned from her neighbors about Grameen Koota’s microcredit program and applied for her first loan. She was granted a first loan of 7,000 rupees ($175), and immediately bought her husband’s auto rickshaw. Owning their own rickshaw business increased their income significantly.

Jayashree was able to pay back her entire loan in one year and became eligible for her second loan in 2008. Having proven her diligence, her second loan amount doubled to 15,000 rupees ($375). This time, she bought a sewing machine and started stitching bags. The family’s earnings have now tripled and she is earning 150 rupees ($3.75) a day. In addition, she opened a small shop next to her house to sell her products which is earning her an additional 100 rupees ($2.50) a day.

She is sending her elder son to a medical school. Her son dreams of becoming a doctor and thanks his mother’s business for providing his education, their own home and daily food.

To participate in a Yoga practice where the proceeds support Yoga Gives Back and directly impact the transformation of not only your own life, but that of someone in India, start your Thanksgiving week at Yogaglo, Sunday, November 22, 10:00 A.M. - 12 noon. Some of the teachers include John Sahakian, Felicia Tomasko, Alexandra Aiken and Ally Hamilton; more to be announced. Yogaglo.com; yogagivesback.com.

For more information on Yoga Gives Back or to host a Yoga Gives Back class at your own studio or location, visit: yogagivesback.org or contact yogagivesback@earthlink.net.