Yoga And VolunTourism
In the latest issue of The VolunTourist Weekly Review, it is noted that there is a growing interest in combining Yoga and VolunTourism. This should not be a surprise to anyone, of course, as the underlying principles of yoga are rooted in the ideal of being of service to others. What may be a surprise, however, is the breadth of offerings coming into the market space and how some individuals are initiating their own creativity in crafting these voluntourism engagements.
In 2007, Yoga Journal carried a story entitled “Have Heart, Will Travel.” As part of her piece, Alice Daniel interviewed Dr. Sally Brown, founder of Ambassadors For Children (AFC), and Karla Becker, a yoga teacher in Indianapolis. Becker and Brown collaborated on a yoga voluntourism experience to Rishikesh, India, later that year. Quoting from the article:
‘So much in yoga is introspective,’ says Becker. ‘But when people put what they’ve learned from their practice into the world, they practice karma yoga, the feeling that what they’re doing with their yoga practice is really making a difference.’”
Two years later, Dr. Sally Brown (now Bassett) has taken her love for voluntourism and for yoga, has left her leadership role as executive director of AFC, and has launched herself into Peace Through Yoga as a full-time venture. What may have started as more of a personal quest has become her life’s work. But, she is not alone in uniting yoga and voluntourism.
Earlier this year (February), Kelly Newsome embarked on a journey to Cambodia in which, according to her blog, she assisted little folks in learning yoga at Children’s Future International (CFI) – ‘animal poses,’ no less. What makes this story a bit more compelling is that Kelly, through her capacity as a business attorney, assisted CFI in filing its 501 (c)3 nonprofit status in the United States – doubly good karma.
Charlene Selsvold, founder of Blue Bee Odysseys, has begun to explore connections between yoga and voluntourism in her journeys as well. Likewise, Earthbound Expeditions, as part of its growing repertoire of voluntourism efforts, offers its “Nepal Volunteering + Sightseeing + Yoga” experience in a 14-day itinerary. And, most recently, “Neo,” a yoga teacher of renown, has included voluntourism on his website and has gone a step further by designing a “Yoga, Chocolate, and Charity” experience in Grenada. Neo includes the following words about voluntourism on his site:
An important aspect of Yoga is helping others. Voluntourism is a concept which accepts and embraces a belief in social responsibility. It is growing in popularity with individuals who have a social, ecological conscience and involves volunteering, personal growth and connecting to the planet in ways that help to preserve it.”
This is similar language to that uttered by Karla Becker. Can you imagine if yoga practitioners and instructors pass along their knowledge to young people in a manner akin to the work of Dave Aabo in Peru via Waves For Development (teaching kids to surf)? In your next visit to Cambodia, India, Belize, or Nepal you might just have a group of children leading the yoga instruction at your favorite spa or retreat center. Or they could lead voluntourists in basic yoga postures to prepare for, or recover from, a tough day’s work on an archaeological dig or preservation project. Knowledge, with the entrepreneurial skills of villagers and urbanites, has earning potential for young people, in fact, people of all ages.
With the confluence of yoga and voluntourism, we will continue to see the melting of barriers. Eventually, the walls between the travel & tourism and nonprofit sectors – approaches seemingly so disparate – will crumble (take high-end experiential travel & nonprofit entities creating voluntourism experiences as an example). This is the day for which some of us are silently cheering – perhaps, some of us not so silently.
Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically to your feed reader.
Comments
My friend, Angela Cerkevich, taught yoga on a visit to Rwanda and went on to form a non-profit org, Anahata International (http://www.anahatainternational.org/), that is helping Rwandan youth become yoga teachers in their communities.
[...] Yoga And VolunTourism blog.voluntourism.org/?p=175 – view page – cached In the latest issue of The VolunTourist Weekly Review, it is noted that there is a growing interest in combining Yoga and VolunTourism. This should not be a surprise to anyone, of course, as the… (Read more)In the latest issue of The VolunTourist Weekly Review, it is noted that there is a growing interest in combining Yoga and VolunTourism. This should not be a surprise to anyone, of course, as the underlying principles of yoga are rooted in the ideal of being of service to others. What may be a surprise, however, is the breadth of offerings coming into the market space and how some individuals are initiating their own creativity in crafting these voluntourism engagements. (Read less) — From the page [...]