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You know the way yoga makes you feel afterward? That unabashed appreciation for the practice, among other things, can seem as though it’s welling up within you about to spill over with nowhere to go. It sometimes plays out as a desire to share the practice with each human you encounter. But beyond cajoling the humans closest to you into attending class, it can seem as though there’s not a lot you can do to bring the practice to those who would benefit from it. That’s where yoga nonprofits come into play.
There are countless organizations that share the science-backed physical and emotional benefits of yoga and meditation with vulnerable populations who wouldn’t otherwise access its teachings. Some yoga nonprofits are local. Others are global. Many rely largely or exclusively on donations and volunteers to continue their work. And all of them would benefit from more support.
That support can certainly take place through donations although some also accept in-kind donations of your talent and time. If you’re an experienced yoga teacher, consider volunteering with a local organization whose needs align with your training or take accessible yoga training so you can learn how to responsibly share yoga with various populations.
Your other talents may also fulfill an alternate need of the organization. Whether you have experience in accounting, graphic design, photography, social media, can fix a leaky pipe, or are simply someone who gets things done, you don’t need to teach in order to contribute.
However supporting others works into your lifestyle and budget, you can help expand yoga’s reach.
A Short List of Exceptional Yoga Nonprofits
The following is an exceptionally incomplete list of 501(c)(3) organizations that accept donations and whose work makes a difference in the lives of others. You can also look to the online yoga entities you know and trust. Many are already engaged in nonprofit work, such as Yoga Medicine’s Seva Foundation, which partners with an anti-trafficking coalition to support women and girls in India. You’ll find yoga nonprofits doing necessary work almost everywhere.
Black Boys Om
“We exist to serve the emotional, mental, and physical well-being of Black Boys and Black Men through mindfulness, meditation, yoga, and various healing modalities for self-discovery and freedom.” Those words, emblazoned on the organization’s website, are essentially the mission statement of Black Boys Om. Founded by Danny Angelo Fluker Jr., the yoga nonprofit essentially offers a dedicated space for conversations related to Black wellness as well as instruction on meditation and yoga through free virtual classes, YouTube video practices, healing circles, trainings, and more. As the organization notes, “We hold space for equanimity practice, rest, and self discovery.” Donations support the yoga teacher training scholarship fund.
Donate to Black Boys
Black Yoga Teachers Alliance
Organized in 2009 by yoga teachers Jana Long and Maya Breuer, the Black Yoga Teachers Alliance started as a welcoming space for conversations among yoga professionals. It continues to serve that vital function as it has expanded into even more of a resource for teachers as a source for scholarships that support continued educational and professional development, grants for launching or sustaining community-focused projects, endless networking, as well as workshops, trainings, and conferences.
Donate to Black Yoga Teachers Alliance
Guided By Humanity
Designed to bring yoga to “everyBODY” and “everyABILITY,” Guided By Humanity is a “radically inclusive” nonprofit that brings the practice to marginalized populations who experience seen and unseen challenges. It addresses the issues created by ableism through creating community through an array of in-person and virtual pay-what-you-can classes. All offerings are accessible and trauma-informed. The organization also offers workshops on teaching adaptive yoga.
Donate to Guided By Humanity
LoveYourBrain Foundation
After experiencing the role yoga played in his brother’s recovery from a traumatic brain injury (TBI), Adam Pearce felt the need to share what we witnessed with others similarly challenged. What resulted is LoveYourBrain Foundation, which shares yoga and creates communities for those living with the isolation and challenges that tend to accompany living with TBI. The organization also offers trainings to educate yoga teachers on the needs of students who have experienced brain injury. In an interview with CNN, Pearce explained, “There’s nothing more beautiful than watching someone feel completely safe in being themselves.”
Donate to LoveYourBrain Foundation
Prison Yoga Project
“Healing over punishment.” That’s the essential message behind Prison Yoga Project, which works to share the tools of yoga, meditation, and mindfulness with those who are incarcerated. It began with founder James Fox began teaching yoga at San Quentin and has evolved into yoga classes at facilities and training programs for yoga teachers to bring trauma-informed, mindfulness-based yoga to those who are seeking self-regulation and self-awareness. Operating according to the principle of “restorative justice,” Prison Yoga Project currently orchestrates more than 200 programs in 11 countries.
Donate to Prison Yoga Project
The Phoenix
A national sober active community, The Phoenix offers hundreds of weekly events at locations throughout the country, including yoga and mindfulness classes as well as hikes, indoor climbing, art therapy, and more. The intention is to create safe spaces for socializing and to slowly shift stereotypes related to how society perceives recovery. According to the website, “the cost of membership is 48 hours of sobriety.”
Donate to The Phoenix
Three and a Half Acres
The organization’s name refers to a quote by the late Sharath Jois, “Each human needs about three and a half acres of land to breathe properly…and you create that needed space by giving back to our communities.” Founded by trauma-informed yoga teacher and trainer Lara Land, Three and a Half Acres works with nonprofits focused on domestic abuse, food and housing insecurity, and other challenges to supplement their offerings with yoga, mindfulness, and meditation, in effect creating safe spaces for an array of underserved communities. The nonprofit, which began in Harlem, also “helps the helpers” by providing trauma-informed training to teachers.
Donate to Three and a Half Acres
Veterans Yoga Project
Founded in 2011, this organization supports the endless resilience needed by veterans through classes available at no cost to veterans, their familes, and their caregivers. Classes are held in-person at VA centers, American Legion halls, and other local venues as well as online through the Veterans Yoga Project (VYP) and its YouTube channel. All practices are led by trauma-informed teachers, many of them graduates of VYP trainings. The yoga nonprofit also offers scholarships to its trainings, which range from specific topics to a 200-hour yoga teacher training.
Donate to Veterans Yoga Project
Yoga Gives Back
The global nonprofit launched by Kayoko Mitsumatsu has supported underserved women and children in India by creating safe spaces, providing primary education and scholarships for further education, as well as obtaining microloans for mothers. A relatively recent part of its mindful outreach includes a five-year commitment to each individual. Yoga Gives Back, which has communities in more than 30 countries, has set its sights on reaching #OneMillionYogis, and you can help.
Donate to Yoga Gives Back
