We are so excited to host 2 teachers from Africa Yoga Project. Brian and Millie will be joining us to lead a high energy, unique power flow class on Saturday August 6th at 9:30am. This will be in place of our regular 9:30am class, and will be donation-based. 100% of the proceeds will go to AYP, which is an amazing worldwide organization dedicated to bringing yoga into parts of Africa that would not otherwise experience it.
Be sure to register your spot online!
We will have a short info session immediately following the flow class to talk about Shakti's Seva Safari plans for June 2017. This is an awesome opportunity for our local community to stretch our reach further than ever before and impact an African community with the power of YOGA. We hope you will stick around to chat with us about our safari plans and find out how you can be involved!
Millie was born in 1990 and is the second of eight children and grew up in the Kariobangi slums. She used to believe that she was not worthy to discover and enjoy what life had to offer. She became lost and began wandering from place to place; staying with different people every week. This wandering led her to Catherine, Director of Teachers at Africa Yoga Project. Mille started babysitting for Catherine and found herself joining Catherine every Saturday at AYP’s Shine Center for the community yoga class.
In 2014 she applied for teacher training and became a yoga teacher. Mille now happily lives on her own and is teaching 7 to 8 outreach classes a week. She now has a sense of great self worth and finds joy living in a world where she continues to learn and grow.
In Millie’s words, “Yoga has changed me, changed my thoughts, my personality and how I talk to people. I used to not talk to anyone; even greeting someone was a problem and I would hide myself inside a room. As a yoga teacher, I now spend my extra time on my mat with others and journaling”.
Brian Kangethe, popularly known as “Ba Yubrah” lives in an informal settlement called Kangemi within the outskirts of Nairobi. Brian was born as the only child to a single mom, who passed away when Brian was 5 years old and he was passed around to different guardians throughout his childhood. Brian's school life was unstable and he dropped out in his 8th year and as a result, ended up on the streets. Hustling and conning people was his way of survival and he turned to drugs to numb his pain.
While on the streets, Brian miraculously met Azi and other friends who had started in acrobats and are now yoga teachers, and helped him see another way of life. Later, he was given the opportunity to join Africa Yoga Project and attend yoga teacher training.
The magical touch of yoga has transformed Brian’s life and he is now a powerful teacher and role model in his community. According to Brian, "Yoga has inspired me to be a better person in the way I live and how I show up. It has taught me to live my life in a courageous and authentic way. I feel a unique connection with everyone who practices yoga because we all have our up's and down's, we all suffer in one way or the other and yoga brings that balance, that peace, that love and that harmony to all as human beings. It's a feeling I wouldn't want to keep to myself at all because I have learned what it really means to live for others.”
Brian’s favorite quote is: LIVE FOR YOURSELF, YOU LIVE IN VAIN. LIVE FOR OTHERS YOU WILL LIVE AGAIN. ~BOB MARLEY~