Perspectives: These are some wonderfully beautiful photos of yoga in Kenya. We’ve seen by now how yoga has affected people the world over, from the east to the west and back again, with non-profit organizations and yoga teachers alike helping it to make stops along the way. In the case of Africa Yoga Project, the people of Kenya have not only been able to practice yoga and experience the benefits, they’ve also been able to incorporate it into the culture and economics, with yoga already providing jobs for several dozen members of the community.
We’ve written before about the Kenyan yoga boom, how it’s helped to create jobs and break down barriers within the country, and especially in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital and largest city. AYP, an organization run by visionary yoga teacher Paige Elenson and her partner, well-known yogapreneur Baron Baptiste, was founded in 2007 with the intention of bringing yoga abroad to empower the people of Africa. Today there are 72 AYP-trained yoga teachers working in the poor areas and slums of Kenya, including in schools and prisons.
These images via Aljazeera are inspiring snapshots, photographic displays, of why they do what they do. (Click each photo to enlarge.)
Instructor Samson Muhalia, 53, says yoga has a positive impact on people. “What I really like in yoga is that it brings people together and teaches them how live together. It makes people share and discuss.”
[CAPTION] A guard massages a prisoner during a yoga class in Langata Women’s Prison. The prisoners attending the class are not necessarily guilty, some are awaiting trial. Sharon, a prisoner, said: “When I do it, I don’t feel neglected but I feel loved.”
[CAPTION] Children stretch during a yoga class at the Hafra Hope Academy in the Kangemi slum.
[CAPTION] Muhalia teaches class at the Marga Education Centre in the Kangemi slum.
[CAPTION] Samson Muhalia, 53, practices the Crane Pose in the Kangemi slum. He worked for UN Habitat for 21 years before becoming a yoga teacher.
See all of the photos here.
image credit: Jacob Balzani Loov/Transterra Media
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Earlier…
- Kenyan Yoga Boom Ignites Job Growth, Breaks Down Barriers
- Perspectives: Palestinian Women Embrace Yoga for Peace
- Perspectives: The Awesome Kolberg Family Yoga Album (Yoga Unorthodox in Hasidic Jewish Israel)
- Photo of the Week: Ethiopian Women Practice Yoga Together in Refugee Camp
- Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Yoga in Jerusalem [Slideshow]
- Most Compelling Yoga Photos of 2013
