The Give Back Yoga Foundation

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The Give Back Yoga Foundation

Yoga can change a life. The Give Back Yoga Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization in the United States and a registered charity in the United Kingdom.

We help yoga teachers, health workers, and charitable organizations bring to individuals facing illness, hardship, and inequality. Over the past thirteen years, we have offered yoga to people in prisons, hospitals, and mental health centers. We have trained over ten thousand yoga teachers and healthcare workers, awarded more than $400,000 (USD) in grants, and distributed more than 20,000 mats to kickstart programs in communities where there are barriers to access healthcare. OUR MISSION
Our mission is to bring the therapeutic benefits of yoga to people facing illness and hardship. We help yoga teachers, healthcare workers, and charitable organizations offer yoga to people facing addiction, cancer, eating disorders, incarceration, and post-traumatic stress. We also work with community partners to increase access to yoga for populations that face systemic bias and prejudice. HOW WE WORK
We support a broad spectrum of the yoga service movement; from teachers leading classes in their local communities, to seedling yoga service projects, to established not-for-profit organizations. Our strategy includes three key initiatives:

START-UP SUPPLIES
We send free yoga mats to yoga teachers and healthcare workers to lead not-for-profit yoga projects in their local communities. SMALL GRANTS
We provide funding to yoga teachers and small organizations to kickstart not-for-profit yoga projects. RESEARCH & EDUCATION
We work in collaboration with academic institutions to conduct and disseminate research on the benefits of yoga for individuals facing illness and hardship.

09/09/2026

One week into the window, and the projects coming in are incredible — coast to coast, wildly different missions, all rooted in the same thing: showing up for your community. A few friendly notes from us as you finish up your application. Swipe through, and comment or send us a message anytime with questions.

Apply by September 30. Link in comments.

09/06/2026

"Work is love made visible." — Kahlil Gibran

This is the whole idea behind Practice Into Purpose, our theme for the month: the yoga teachers and yoga therapists we serve aren't waiting for permission to make their love visible — they're already doing it, in prisons, hospitals, recovery rooms, and community centers, week after week.

Our 2026 Yoga Service Grant is open through September 30th, and it exists to support the established programs already living this quote out loud.

Know a program doing this work? Save this post and pass it along — sometimes the biggest help is just making sure the right person sees it. 🧡

09/03/2026

This is where you give back. Day one of our 2026 Yoga Service Grant application window, and the response is already showing us why this work matters. We've heard from teachers running a weekly chair yoga class for seniors, an ASL-interpreted class for the Deaf community, programs inside correctional facilities, sessions supporting veterans and their families, and yoga integrated into school classrooms.

Tag a yoga teacher or therapist who should apply, or tell us in the comments where you do your service work. We'd love to hear from you.

Applications are open through September 30. Link in the comments below 👇

09/01/2026

The 2026 Yoga Service Grant application is now open!

Give Back Yoga Foundation is awarding funding at three levels — $1,500, $2,500, and $5,000 — to certified yoga teachers using their practice to serve their communities.

To apply, you'll need to hold one of the following credentials: Yoga Alliance RYT-200+, C-IAYT, or AYC Certified Yoga Teacher. Applications close September 30, 2026.

If you know a teacher or studio doing service work that deserves support, tag them in the comments or share this post — help us get the word out to the teachers who need it most.

📸: Mat Grant Recipient Yoga Care for Caregivers

08/31/2026

Today is International Overdose Awareness Day — a day to remember those we've lost, honor the families and friends carrying that grief, and recommit to support that actually works.

For many people in recovery, yoga becomes part of that support. Not a replacement for the program — a companion to it. A way to come back into the body, breath by breath, on the days that are hard and the days that are easier.

That's the spirit behind Yoga for 12-Step Recovery, a free playlist we created in collaboration with our friends at Y12SR — a nonprofit that actually got its start as a Give Back Yoga fiscal sponsee before growing into its own incredible organization. Full circle, and we couldn't be prouder of what they've built. 🎥 Link in comments.

If you or someone you love is walking this path, you are not alone — and you are valued.

And if you're a teacher or organization doing this kind of work in your community: our Yoga Service Grant application opens September 1. We'd love to help fund it. 💛

08/30/2026

"Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself." — Rumi

Some of the most extraordinary yoga service work isn't loud — it's the quiet, ongoing commitment to getting a little better at serving the people already in front of you. Two days until our 2026 Yoga Service Grant applications open. If that's the work you're already doing, we want to hear from you. 🙏

08/27/2026

Catching up with Klaudia Paletta of Yoga al Aire Libre (Pink Means Go) in Ventura County, CA 🌿

In 2020, Klaudia started sharing chair yoga with her grandmother over a video call. That small practice revealed a bigger gap: Spanish-speaking communities had almost nowhere to practice yoga in their own language.

Since 2021, her project Yoga al Aire Libre has brought free, Spanish-language yoga to Ventura County — outdoors, judgment-free, and built around what her community actually needs. A 2025 Yoga Service Grant is helping keep it that way.

"No hay espacios así para nuestra comunidad, Klaudia nos tiene mucha paciencia, y nos apoya." — a Yoga al Aire Libre student

Swipe through to meet Klaudia and see her project in action, then head to the blog (link in bio) for her full story. 💛

P.S. — The 2026 Yoga Service Grant opens for applications September 1! If you're a teacher or organization bringing yoga to a community with limited access, we'd love to hear from you. Details at givebackyoga.org/yoga-service-grant.

Pink Means Go

08/24/2026

Mat Grant Monday: meet Dr. Jordan Ashley of Souljourn Yoga Foundation (souljournyoga.com).

Ten years ago, Jordan founded Souljourn Yoga Foundation on the belief that education and embodied practice can't be taken away. This year, she brought that work home — launching On the Ground Yoga & Arts Camp, a free five-day program for teen girls in Watts and Compton blending trauma-informed yoga with creative arts and writing.

"It felt so empowering hearing everyone's perspectives... it's something I will cherish forever," one camper shared.

Mats provided by through Give Back Yoga Foundation.

08/23/2026

"Put your heart, mind, and soul into even your smallest acts." — Swami Sivananda

An itemized budget line. A scanned certification. A carefully worded project description. None of it feels glamorous, but it's exactly this kind of care that makes an application stand out. Tomorrow we're breaking down everything you'll need for our 2026 Yoga Service Grant — applications open September 1. 📋

08/21/2026

Thinking about applying for a Yoga Service Grant? Here's what we hear most from yoga teachers and therapists as the window gets close.

Swipe through for answers on eligibility, credentials, funding, and what to prepare now.

Applications open September 1 and run through September 30. Sign up for free prep tips: https://mailchi.mp/givebackyoga/ysg-2026-signup-form

Address

Boulder, CO

Website

http://givebackyoga.org/

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