What Yoga can do
/One of the best parts of our work at The Yoga Foundation is when we meet program participants who experienced significant change and hear their inspiring response to yoga.
Yoga teacher training opportunities for our participants
This month CEO Jessica Hobson had the pleasure of being on an interview panel with Centacare to select a recipient from our yoga program for a teacher training scholarship.
Both shortlisted candidates - Yang and Gabriella - were so impressive it was hard to choose just one so The Yoga Foundation will fund a second scholarship so both of these inspiring women can do their yoga teacher training. The lived experience of Yang and Gabriella will be very valuable as teachers of women who've experienced domestic violence, mental health challenges and isolation.
How this all came about
Rewind to September 2021: Centacare in South Australia contacted The Yoga Foundation to discuss running a pilot program at their new women’s safety centre in Whyalla: The Haven. The Yoga Foundation agreed to fund and deliver an eight week pilot program to women and domestic violence victim-survivors accessing support and services at The Haven. This program started in December 2021.
Immediate benefits
The yoga program was immediately successful with excellent attendance from the target group of women and very positive feedback on the benefits they were experiencing. Post program surveys demonstrated the enthusiasm and impact of the yoga on all the participants who responded. Here are some of their responses:
“I am thinking clearer. Able to complete much more arduous activities. From the first lesson to now my life has changed in so many ways, I have also created friendships with the ladies that I see lasting a lifetime. My core is happy and I look forward to what each new lesson brings”.
“In every aspect of my life I feel that yoga is the key to unlocking my full life’s potential.”
“The energy that (teacher) Dr Janet Sawyer generates is a very safe and loving environment which creates a perfect learning space.”
From little things..
The impact of our pilot program so inspired the Centacare team the applied for funding (from their local council) for one yoga teacher training scholarship and invited all the program participants to apply. Expressions of Interest were received and two candidates were selected to be interviewed by a panel made up of Centacare program coordinator, the yoga teacher and The Yoga Foundation CEO.
The successful candidates have committed to teaching at The Haven, Centacare, once they have graduated so they can continue to offer yoga to the many women in need who rely on such support. The Yoga Foundation will continue to support the teachers when they graduate as both are keen to teach women impacted by trauma.
Yang, a scholarship recipient
What a wonderful outcome from one yoga program! This is what your donations fund - potentially life changing programs. Watch this space for updates on the continuing yoga journeys of Yang and Gabriella.