Yoga Off the Mat: Local and Global Yoga Non-Profit Organizations

One of my assignments for my global education course was to research an international non-profit organization.  As yoga is one of my great passions, I decided to see if there were any organizations that focused on yoga. A quick Google search turned up a few that looked interesting, but then I became busy with other assignments and didn't think about it any further for a few weeks.

Then my friend Melissa invited me to attend a yoga teacher mixer event as part of Victoria Yoga Conference.  Midway through the evening, everyone gathered in a circle and we introduced ourselves.  I was surprised to learn that two women involved with local yoga non-profit organizations were in the room!

Nicole McLellan is the founder of The Om-Work Project.  Nicole is an educator and yoga teacher with the mission of making yoga teacher training and travel accessible to high school graduates as an alternative to traditional post-secondary experiences.  Nicole's foundation administers a scholarship fund to cover the costs of international yoga teacher training for young women who have completed high school.  Nicole is also a speaker and author.  Visit the website and follow her on social media (@theomworkproject) to learn more. View their brand-new video here!

Sarah Holmes de Castro from Yoga Outreach was also in attendance.  Yoga Outreach is a provincial non-profit that targets trauma-informed yoga practices for abused women and prison inmates.  Yoga Outreach provides trauma-informed yoga teacher training and retreats.

Both Nicole and Sarah told me that the local lululemon store was very supportive of their work, which led me to discover lululemon here to be.  This social impact program has pledged $25 million over five years to support local and global yoga initiatives, such as Africa Yoga Project and Love Your Brain. Check out my infographic handout below to learn more.  I had so much fun creating this handout using Microsoft Publisher and the Bitmoji extension for Google Chrome.