JiggaRoo

Microfinance has been a longtime interest of mine so imagine my surprise when I found something that tied two of my loves – yoga and microfinance – together!  Yay!

Microfinance is the supply of loans and other financial services to the poor who are unable to qualify for loans through regular banks.  It was founded by Muhammad Yunus, who believed that in order to help the poor we need to help them help themselves.  He thought one way to do this could be to provide them with small loans that they would repay over time.  This would give the poor the opportunity to get the funding needed to start up their own little businesses and slowly earn revenue, thereby supporting themselves in the long run.
I was delighted when I came across Yoga Gives Back so I contacted Kayoko Mitsumatsu, the founder, for more info.  Kayoko is a yoga practitioner based in California who was inspired to launch the Yoga Gives Back campaign after interviewing Muhammad Yunus for a TV documentary on microfinancing.

“For the cost of 2 classes, you could change a life” is the slogan for the campaign.  Kayoko informed me that their mission is to bring the Western yoga community together to help the poor in India, through the avenue of microfinance.  Yoga Gives Back is now partnered with The Grameen Foundation in order to make this vision a reality.  Though Yoga Gives Back does not teach yoga classes out its own, they are now outreaching to yoga studios around the U.S. in order to get them involved in this mission.

Take a look at this Yoga Gives Back documentary on microfinancing in India:

Inspiring.  We receive so much from our yoga practice and are privileged in so many ways, why not pay it forward?

Read more about this non-profit here:
Yoga Gives Back in Yoga Journal
American Yogi’s Teach Entrepreneurial Spirit to India’s Poorest

I also encourage you to look at these resources if you’re interested in lending (don’t worry, you’ll get it back):
Kiva.org
Wokai.org