All posts filed under: Yoga & Peace

Community Yoga Teacher Training, Liverpool, 2023-24

Published by Minna

The aim of this training is to transmit, over a one year period, principles and practices of traditional yoga in order to become an effective community yoga teacher. Participants will develop their own yoga practice and learn how to safely share this experiential knowledge with friends, family and the communities they serve. Participants will acquire a solid foundation of the ancient yoga tradition and yoga philosophy. Changes will be observed on the physical, mental, emotional and energetic levels. Breathing techniques, meditation, chanting and relaxation practices will be developed throughout the training as vital for creating peace and wellbeing. Topics covered: Classical yoga postures, breathing techniques, cleansing techniques, relaxation practices (shavasana, yoga nidra) and meditation techniques Trauma-informed yoga Yogic lifestyle Yoga teaching practice Who is it for? Refugees and asylum seekers wishing to share yoga and its mental health benefits with friends, family and the broader community Yoga practitioners wishing to work with refugees or other vulnerable communities that would benefit from acquiring yoga skills for wellbeing Anyone passionate about taking yoga to refugees or other

Street Youth Yoga in Sierra Leone

Published by Minna

From the Community, For the Community The YAMA (Yoga and Music Arts) Project was founded by ex-street youth wanting to give back to people living rough on the streets of Freetown. Each founding member, Badardee, Francess, Meeky and Sulcus, has their own personal experience of how precarious life in Sierra Leone can be for a homeless person. Inspired by their first-hand experience of the many benefits that yoga, music and poetry writing can bring, they are committed to sharing these practice with others. With support from Tools for Inner Peace, they began giving yoga sessions to street youth in January 2022 and interest in these classes has been growing ever since. The group has grown from 23 to 50-60 people meeting for yoga every Saturday. The sessions are reaching some of the most marginalised and vulnerable members of society, including street workers and gang members. YAMA facilitators understand the value of these activities as tools that help support trauma recovery and manage life’s daily struggles (economic hardship, food insecurity, abuse, addiction…) The facilitators have noted

Refugee Yoga in the UK

Published by Minna

“I can safely say if it wasn’t for those classes during last winter I would be sure to be a mental patient by now. Your efforts are greatly appreciated, hope that many others can benefit as much as I did. When God cannot come he sends help.” – Participant feedback, Liverpool, 2021 We are delighted to be back to face-to-face teaching. While we continued offering refugee yoga classes throughout the Covid-19 lockdowns of the last year and a half, we have been painfully aware that our ability to reach the people who most need yoga for their mental health and wellbeing has been curtailed. This has been due both to lack of devices and data, as well as an intangible something that gets lost over a zoom call. Face-to-face classes have restarted in Liverpool, and we hope to launch new classes soon in Northumberland and London. Do you know of a refugee or asylum seeker group in the UK that would benefit from simple, gentle yoga classes to promote their mental and emotional wellbeing? We

Yoga for Peace in Lebanon

Published by Minna

“Peace begins with a smile” In an unprecedented and intensifying flood, 60 million people around the world have become refugees, often escaping war in places like Afghanistan Sudan, Syrian and now Myanmar. Of these as many as 50% suffer from trauma and mental health problems. To respond to this need, Tools for Inner Peace has focused on offering free refugee yoga classes. Our first classes for refugees were launched in London in 2016; from the beginning of 2017 we decided to take this work to Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Yoga is a simple, cheap and effective means of trauma recovery. It soothes the nervous system; relaxes the body and mind; and brings peace and inner clarity. Those we work with – whether in London or in Lebanon – are finding solace in yoga. Their open smiles at the end of each class testify to the benefits. Here is how a refugee from Afghanistan described her experience of this summer’s Restorative Retreat for refugee women: To expand this work and make yoga accessible to refugees everywhere,