Students spread healing circle of yoga

IN AN effort to empower disadvantaged communities and spread the physical and spiritual benefits of yoga, Yoga Without Borders, in partnership with Health Warriors and Sampoorna Yoga, has brought the practice to townships in Cape Town.

The organisations have offered 23 students the opportunity to participate in an internationally certified yoga-teacher training course.

The 200-hour training course is valued at $2 000 (R28 912) and is accredited by Yoga Alliance Certified school Sampoorna Yoga, a yoga-teacher training school in Goa, India.

Candidates are participating in the month-long intensive course followed by access to ongoing support and mentorship by local professionals.

Young people applied for the programme which kicked off at the Bridges for Music Academy in Langa on January 6, until January 29.

“Research in South Africa has found that as many as 80% of adolescents living below the poverty line have been exposed to at least one traumatic event, and 22% have symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder,” said Health Warriors co-director Geoff Barkley.

“Yoga has been shown to help reduce the physiological impact of chronic and toxic stress, improving physical and mental health. Many South Africans do not have access to these practices.”

Yoga Without Borders said its goal was to make yoga accessible to everyone by empowering others.

Teacher Deidre Baatjes said: “Our students are between 18 and 36 years old. I am teaching the anatomy section and the students are so receptive, it makes the job much easier.

“It’s not only mental knowledge, it’s also feeding your soul. We teach them to be effective by finding balance within themselves.”

Training themes include meditation and breathing techniques to calm down the mind; philosophy and teaching yoga as a lifestyle, emphasising the importance of sharing, compassion, contemplation and evolution.

Students are taught practical anatomy with a major emphasis on the skeletal system, muscular system, connective tissue, nervous system, and movements of the major joints of the body; and how to teach a yoga class.

While this is a pilot project , organisers hope to raise funds to offer it annually.