Yoga Gives Back E Newsletter

E Newsletter - September 2012

For the cost of one yoga class, you can change a life.

Success Story: YGB directly funds 103 women and children!!! Yoga Gives Back receives bi-monthly reports from our partner organizations, D Trust Home in Karnatka and Nishtha in West Bengal. Enjoy these updates and know how your support is making a big difference in each of 103 fund recipients’ lives. D Trust Home, Karnataka, South India We received ten cute greeting cards drawn by each one of our fund recipient at D Home. They are all doing great and here are some of the updates of these children. Maya is a cheerful and soft-spoken five-year-old girl. Her father was a chronic alcoholic with three wives and died when she was a baby. Her mother was rescued at the shelter and finally agreed to leave her and her brother at D home. They are both doing great at this home. Pradhi is ten years old, from a very poor family. Her parents died six years ago and her relatives could not look after her and her sister. She enjoys learning Bharatanatyam dancing. Both sisters are doing well at this home. NISHTHA: Tripuranagar Village, West Bengal YGB is funding three groups, total of 44 mothers and 44 daughters in this region this year. Our local partner NISHTHA holds monthly meetings with each group throughout the year. From April to June, they held meetings to discuss “General Health”, “Leadership” and “New Loans”. This summer has been the worst in West Bengal in many ways. The temperature remained around 102 degrees (39 ℃) with humidity averaging above 80%, without single drop of rain for more than a month. Many water sources dried up which left the villagers with no other option but to go for the contaminated water of almost dried up ponds and tanks. This resulted many more cases of water borne diseases this summer. “Shakti Samya” is the first group YGB has offered micro loans last year, to 22 mothers. As of June, total of the group’s income rose 5 times, from 2,950 to 15,850 Rupees!! 8 women have already received second cycle of loans, average 3750 rupees per person. NISHTHA’s social workers are guiding the rest of the group to repay the fund fully soon and get the second loan. Two new groups, 22 mothers in total, have received their first loans, and we will report to you how they are doing in the next letter!!! We are also very pleased to report that all 44 fund recipient girls are attending school fully in addition to receiving necessary personal tutoring by NISHTHA social workers. Upcoming Events: "Thank You Mother India" Over 100 events in 14 countries already signed up for this global campaign this September!! This is twice as many events as last year and we hope to reach to the goal of raising $ 50,000 with you all. If you have not joined in this event yet, please just host one class to make a difference together!! Register here. Take part in a class near you! Also check Yoga Magazine’s global map for events listing. “Special Malibu Fundraiser” - Saturday, Sep 29th, 6-9pm Dr. Amarjit Marwah is generously hosting a special fundraiser at his home to celebrate “Thank You Mother India” global campaign. Indian theme evening will have Indian dinner, wine, Odissi dancers, live music, silent auction and YGB video presentation. Surprise guests to speak! Gift bags for all. Spaces are limited, purchase tickets now! Tickets price $75 before September 15th. Thank you for all the sponsors to make these exciting events possible!! YGB supports National Yoga Month with these events worldwide!! Welcome YGB Ambassadors We are delighted and honored to have these talented teachers to join our team!! Kathryn Budig “I support YGB because I think love is the goal of life. Being a yoga teacher gives me the opportunity to do what I love and give back at the same time.” ---Thanks for your great classes at Stella McCartney Beverly Hills! Jennifer Buergermeister, Jenny Yoga Studios, Houston, Texas “What a gift to society when we show anything is possible where resources present themselves. It brings great joy to my heart to witness people supporting each other to bring forth change in our world.” ---Jennifer’s One Yoga USA is hosting Dallas Yoga and Music Festival, Sep 14-16. Dallas Yoga +Music Fest. Also hosting “Thank You Mother India” at Jenny Yoga in Houston, Sep 29th. Margaret Townsend, River’s Edge Studio, Alexandria, Virginia ----Hosting “Thank You Mother India” Vinyasa Flow, 11am, Sat, Sep 29th Press Yoga Magazine, September Issue puts YGB on the cover and a feature article “Is your Yoga working” by Leslie Hendry about “Thank You Mother India” global event. India Currents, September Issue, “Yoga Gives Back” DiaforLife ”Interview with Social Entrepreneur Kayoko Mitsumatsu, founder of Yoga Gives Back” Martha Stewart Living Radio, Aug 24th, “Life coaching with Sophie” YGB Amabssador Sophie Herbert interviews YGB Founder Kayoko New Partners Thank you for these new creative sponsors, also donating for “Thank You Mother India” events!! Priti Jewels --- The Priti Jewels is offering 50% of proceeds from its original Yoga Gives Back mala bracelets series - many varieties of jade and turquoise. Also, 40 % of proceeds from the Priti Stiles Budda Bracelet, co-designed with Tara Stiles is donated for YGB. Dharma Smart --- DharmaSmart.com is a new online store that caters to the yoga community. The company has designed a special cuff bracelet for yoga practitioners to wear in support of the work that Yoga Gives Back is doing. For each cuff priced at $25, $10 is donated to Yoga Gives Back. Thank you for these past events, making a difference one class at a time!! Special donation class by Chaz Russ Sunday, July 1, 2012, 9:30-10:30am@ lululemon, Calabasas Sponsored by Lululemon and Zico Coconut Water Stella McCartney’s Special Fundraiser #2 with Kathryn Budig Tuesday, July 24, 2012, 10:00am-noon @Stella McCartney, Beverly Hills Sponsored by Stella McCartney, Ann Gentry of Real Food Daily, Zico and Beyond Yoga Exciting News Morgan Stanley selects YGB for its Corporate Matching Program!! ---Morgan Stanley’s employees who contribute through the Annual Appeal are eligible to receive up to $4,000 in matched corporate funds that they can direct to U.S. charities. Please invite your friends at Morgan Stanley worldwide to support YGB!!! Live Your Legacy Summit --- Aurea McGarry’s annual event awards YGB founder Kayoko Mitsumatsu as this year’s honoree. Visit YGB booth at Hilton Atlanta NE, Sep 10th, 9am-3pm.

Yoga Gives Back is a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization. Questions, comments, want to get involved? Email info@yogagivesback.org. www.yogagivesback.org

Yoga Gives Back ... Thank You Mother India Special Fundraiser Saturday September 29th...

SAVE THE DATE “Thank You Mother India” Special Fundraiser Saturday, September 29th, 6:00-9:00pm Generously hosted by Dr. Amarjit Marwah, Malibu, California 29057 Pacific Coat Highway, Malibu, CA 92065  Tickets will go on sale on August 29th @www.yogagivesback.org Reservations and Inquiries: info@yogagivesback.org Indian theme evening: Odissi Dance by Sharanya Mukhopadhyay's group, live music, Indian dinner, wine, silent auction and YGB video presentation. Surprise guests to speak! Sponsors: Stella McCartney, Gaiam, Manduka, Zico Water, Organic India, Koji Toyoda Salon, Yogitoes,  Denise Carolyn Boutique, Inner Aura, Jala Clothing, Priti Jewelry, Dharma Smart and more!! Gift bags for all. Event Partners Proceeds of this event will help Yoga Gives Back’s programs in India now directly funding 103 mothers and children with micro financing and education funds.

Japan - 2012

Inspiration

Schiller’s central idea—and inspiration, as I would call it—is that beauty is born in play. 

When I first read this I thought it a frivolous idea; but I then recalled that we speak of Mozart and Beethoven as playing the piano, the very opposite of superficiality. And we refer to Shakespeare’s plays; and I agree that such “playing” describes the most profound and humanizing of all human activities.
 
Play is the one activity where the fusion of inner vision and objective facts is achieved. Out of this comes the living form that is beauty. This living form is vital, alive, dynamic; and at the same time gives serenity and repose, as for example in music.
 
Play unites the inner world of our personal reverie with the outer world of people and nature.

—Rollo May, My Quest for Beauty

Magnificent CME Erupts on the Sun with Earth to Scale

On August 31, 2012 a long filament of solar material that had been hovering in the sun's atmosphere, the corona, erupted out into space at 4:36 p.m. EDT. The coronal mass ejection, or CME, traveled at over 900 miles per second. The CME did not travel directly toward Earth, but did connect with Earth's magnetic environment, or magnetosphere, causing aurora to appear on the night of Monday, September 3.

The image above includes an image of Earth to show the size of the CME compared to the size of Earth.

Credit: NASA/GSFC/SDO

Our new sport? [via Nina Reznick]

Flyboard Family

New official movie "Flyboard Family" by Zapata Racing and Friends 
more informations please contact zapata-racing.com

Heard on the Tennis Court ...

PLEASE JOIN US FOR “Thank You Mother India” Malibu Fundraiser

PLEASE JOIN US FOR “Thank You Mother India” Malibu Fundraiser Saturday, September 29th, 6:00-9:00pm Generously hosted by Dr. Amarjit Marwah 29057 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, CA 92065 Directions, Parking at the gate Purchase Tickets or Donations Tickets price before September 15th: $75 ($100 at the door) Gift Bags for all Indian theme evening: Indian appetizers and dinner, wine, coconut drinks, Odissi Dance by Sharanya Mukhopadhyay's group, The Aditya Prakash Ensemble Live Indian-Jazz music, silent auction and YGB video presentation. Surprise guests to speak! Sponsors Stella McCartney, Gaiam, Manduka, Zico Water, Organic India, Koji Toyoda Salon, Yogitoes, Denise Carolyn Boutique, Inner Aura, Jala Clothing, Priti Jewelry, Dharma Smart, La Marca Prosecco, UpDog Yoga+Cycling, Yoga with Chaz, The Story Merchant and more!! Inquiries: info@yogagivesback.org Event Partners Proceeds of this event will help Yoga Gives Back’s programs in India now directly funding 103 mothers and children with micro financing and education funds. Yoga Gives Back is a 501(C)3 non profit organization, your donations are tax-deductible. For more information, visit www.yogagivesback.org

Quantum Levitation [Nina Reznick]

Quantum Tentacles and Flying Saucers: A Rare Look at Quantum Mechanics in Action 

Congratulations to Kayoko Living Legend Honoree!

 Atlanta Living Legacy Honorees to be awarded on September 10th, 2012

Kayoko Mitsumatsu Independent film maker and founder
of Yoga Gives Back
www.YogaGivesBack.org 
 
As an avid yoga practitioner in Los Angles, Kayoko founded Yoga Gives Back in 2007, a non-profit organization inspired by micro financing revolution of Nobel Peace Prize Recipient Dr Muhammad Yunus. Kayoko realized, “for the cost of one yoga class, you can change a life”. Today, YGB is a global campaign providing mothers and children with micro credit and educational funds in India.

Prior to moving to the USA in 1992, Kayoko was a producer/director for Japan’s National Public Broadcaster NHK for seven years; and cultural attaché at the Embassy of Japan in London. Her passion for documentary film making is rooted in the perspective gained from years of living in Australia, Brazil, United Kingdom and USA. She now films YGB’s fund recipients in India every year.

Attend the LIVE YOUR LEGACY SUMMIT in Atlanta Georgia on September 10 and learn how you CAN live your legacy NOW!! More details and registration here Http://www.LiveYourLegacySummit.com

Mission

To inspire and teach women how they CAN live their BEST legacy right now no matter what her obstacles are. At my Summits, award winning mentors teach strategic ways to get people on the road to creating the legacy they want to be remembered by. No holding back.

 

Interview with Social Entrepreneur Kayoko Mitsumatsu, founder of Yoga Gives Back

Inspired by Nobel Peace Prize Recipient Dr Muhammad Yunus, Kayoko founded Yoga Gives Back in 2007. Being a dedicated yoga practitioner, she realized that for the cost of a yoga class an impoverished woman in India can start a business and a child can go to school. Seeing that yoga has its roots in India and as yoga practitioners we have so much to thank Mother India for, Kayoko wanted to give back. Please read this inspirational interview and be encouraged to help make a difference.

What does yoga mean to you and what has it brought you?

I entered into my first yoga class at the gym, as another type of physical exercise after years of volleyball, tennis, Tae Kwon Do, etc.

What shocked me soon was that physical aspect (asana) is just a small part of yoga. I was so interested in learning what Yoga is, which took me to study Indian philosophy and Sanskrit.

As my asana practice became almost daily routine, I also could feel that my mind was opening up with tremendous energy to serve others.

I started to say to myself, “what can I do with my healthy body and mind???”
Yoga has taught me very important lesson about life so far; your body is the temple which you can continue to work on and use it as a vehicle to better this world. 

I came to realize firmly that “first part of your life is to cultivate yourself, and second half of your life is to give and serve for the others”.

When and where did you get the idea to start YGB?

I am a documentary film maker as profession, and I was working on a project about Social Entrepreneurs in 2007. I studied about Dr. Muhammad Yunus’ revolutionary micro financing and its impact and potential to alleviate poverty. I learned that with 25 dollars a month, a poor woman can start her own business in India. While getting healthier and spiritually enriched with Yoga, I realized “for the cost of one or two yoga classes, we can change a life who needs our support in India, as a way to give back!”. It started from our yoga class, studio, local community and now it has grown to be a global campaign with volunteers in many US cities and the world, UK, Netherlands, Brazil, Hong Kong, Canada, Sweden, and it just keeps growing with so many yoga practitioners with interest in supporting our mission.

Your organization is rapidly growing, what is the success behind this?

People who have practiced yoga for some time definitely get YGB’s mission! They want to give back to India as Yoga has given so much to their lives, just as I did as a yoga student.
I also think our mantra “for the cost of one yoga class, you can change a life” is a crisp clear platform to anybody. You do not have to be a millionaire or do anything special, but donate one class fee and you are already contributing for a positive change in India. I also think Yoga community generally has strong cultural foundation with passion to contribute to positive social change. After all, that is the one of the purposes of Yoga—to realize that we are all one. Taking care of yourself is the first step for the next big mission. I have been very inspired and encouraged to know that there are so many people who are interested in supporting YGB’s mission to make a difference together. YGB seems to be providing an unique opportunity for many global yogis who have desire to give back to India, but have not had any means to do so.

YGB is founded through the principles of Dr Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank which is currently undergoing hard times enforced by the government of Bangladesh.
What is your opinion regarding this matter and how can we as a community of like minded individuals help support the Grameen bank and it’s founder?

This has been very upsetting, as this political action affects the poor women severely denying their hard work, pride and self-worth. Microfinancing has not only given money to the poor women but very importantly dignity as a capable human being. What Dr Yunus started with 40 women in the 70’s now has grown to serve 8.4 million poor villagers in Bangladesh. In addition, 97% of the Grameen Bank is now owned by poor women who have used micro loans, repaid, saved over the years, and build the foundation for the Bank’s operation. This is truly an inspiring model from a small poor nation. I do not know how to stop politically motivated Bangladesh Government’s attacks on Dr Yunus and Grameen Bank. We can continue to voice our opposition against them, as well as continuing to support the healthy practice of micro financing in the world in a way we can.

You also visit the women who have received loans. From all the women your organization has helped, is there a particular story that has stayed with you?

Jayashree is a poor woman in Bangalore, whom I have been visiting and filming since 2008. When I first met her she just got her first loan of 125 dollars from a local Grameen Koota micro financing institute. Coming from a very poor family, this was the only chance she had to give her two sons good education. She bought her husband’s rickshaw first, then sawing machine, repaying her loans fully every year. In 2010, she managed to send her elder son to Medical Dental College, which has been Jayashree’ s dream and also her family’s. Today, YGB is funding this son’s education fully and committed to support him till he graduates from the college.

All the poor mothers we support in West Bengal and Karnataka states want their children to get better education than them so that they can have better opportunities in the future. We now directly fund 103 mothers and children with micro financing and education funds and we are committed to provide funds for 5 years to each person to bring a real positive change in their lives.

What do you hope to accomplish with YGB and what is needed to reach this accomplishment?

I would like to see more and more yoga communities in the world to join us, especially for our annual global event “Thank You Mother India”. For our second global day this September, over 100 events in 14 countries are happening. We want to see this global event to grow bigger every year. If we continue to grow at the current pace, we could reach to support nearly 1000 mothers and children in India in five years. I am always seeking funding for YGB’s growing operation so that we can continue to have a healthy growth as a sustainable non profit organization, continuing to make a difference in India. Personally, I will continue to film our fund recipients and make short films to share with our global community online. In a few more years, I hope to make a film to clearly show how your contribution has truly made a difference in a mother’s or child’s life!!!

Do you have anything to share with our readers?

Join us this September by hosting a donation class or event at “Thank You Mother India”.
Register at www.yogagivesback.org/tymi.

If you want to donate or volunteer, please write to info@yogagivesback.org
You can also check our Causes page on YGB.