Margaret Njeri

I can really see a change in my students, since starting yoga they have really become strong. When they started they were weak and now they are healthy. They don’t have the fear that they’re going to die anymore, now they think about what is next in their life, they think about the future. Yoga has helped the mothers become better mothers to their children and the small kids are having fun. The slums are a dirty environment, but by bringing in yoga we have brought in health, peace, happiness, and freedom.

I work with women in prison who have killed people and I want to help them and teach them to let go of the stress of their situation. Relaxing your mind is possible anywhere, they can be who they want to be. For me, yoga has really helped me-you see me right now, I am shining and I am not shy anymore. Be yourself, do not be afraid or anything. In life do not give up-if you give up, then everything you worked for will disappear.

In one year I want my own studio and in that studio, it’s one of my students running it. I will be in another country spreading the word of what yoga can accomplish!

Samuel N.Mutie

Before yoga I had a very hard life and I had a lot of problems with my body, like injuries because of acrobatics. I wasn’t stretching enough so I was damaging my body. When I started doing yoga I started feeling a change. When I was doing flips my ankles didn’t hurt anymore-I felt like I could anything and stay healthy.

Yoga has inspired me to share the change I’ve experienced. Now my students are trying to be truthful and most of them are opening up to me about their problems. Most people in Kenya can say they had problems with money. At the beginning Paige was giving me money for bus fare and everything and that is why I started it. But then I started getting something else...I was starting to be honest and telling the truth.

In one year time, I see myself almost at Baron’s level. If it’s not now, then when Baron used to say this and I have to think about what I want to do and just do it. I am honest, although not 100% but I can say I am honest. I can express myself to people, talk to people, stand up in front of a crowd and I think that is the most important thing.

Richard Musyoki

Everybody should practice yoga because it will change at least one thing in your life.

I can really see a change in my students. Since starting yoga they have started to talk to each other and share more. When we all come together to practice yoga it inspires me because I receive from the other teachers and then I later give it back to my community.

As a yoga instructor I have learned more about who I am. Now I am invincible. I understand sometimes in life things come up and you feel like giving up but on the other side I think there is a strong sense of changing your destiny.
When people see me I want them to understand that I come from a similar background. Many people here think that yoga is a religion, but since I am also African and also a young man, it’s much easier for them to see that yoga is something that can benefit everyone.

Yoga has given me the opportunity to see the world in a new way. Now I see the world as one. We are all together and no matter where we come from or what our race is we still are one.

Jaspher Munguti

Before yoga I was an acrobat and my body was tight all the time. Somersaults and flips were what we did and yoga started stretching my body. When you practice yoga you start to feel really good-it gives you energy and brings you to the present moment. When doing yoga your brain becomes present with the body. I now know it is my career and I love it.

One change I noticed in my students is their ability to balance-before they were wobbling and would fall down, but now after practicing they can do balancing. Yoga is making things possible for them.

If I didn’t start practicing yoga, I would have been a thief, hustling people to get money. And now yoga is a job for me and everyday I am committed to yoga and acrobatics.

My parents passed away when I was in the 7th grade. I am the eldest of 5 and we are orphans. It was a challenge to be raised by my grandmother but I do not know where I would be without her. Africa Yoga project has given me the opportunity to support my family.

Antony Njoroge

Everybody should practice yoga because you become courageous,  fit, healthy more confident and fearless to face challenges. Yoga can prevent diseases like malaria and fevers.

I can really see a change in my students. Since starting yoga they can concentrate, they are more physically fit, and they can see hope ahead despite the fact that they don’t have parents. When we all come together to practice yoga it inspires me because I feel like I belong somewhere and I also feel like I want to be part of this good community that spreads the word of peace.

My students have lots of challenges in life, like losing their parents, but they keep coming to yoga because they feel love from the society and also they feel that someone really cares about them.

Yoga empowers me to spread the word of peace and to urge people to stop tribalism. Yoga has generated in me a new sense of being myself. Instead of having the “I can’t” status, now I have the “I can” mentality and it is up to me to stand up and try. Yoga has inspired me to serve
my community by reaching out to different tribes within Kenya and asking them to live together as one because we all need each other.

Yoga has given me the opportunity to see the world in a new way. Now I see the world that needs love and care. There are people seeking for hope everywhere and we can give it to them.

Kevin Owino

For me, yoga has made me a better person, now I am more flexible, tolerant, patient, and I am more fearless. Yoga has inspired me to be more open to people, be confident, and be more open to challenging life situations.

I can really see a change in my students. Since starting yoga they are more focused at work, more open to life, and can tackle life challenges on their own. As a yoga instructor I have learned more about who I am. Now I am an empowering personality who can bring joy to people’s lives.

My students have lots of challenges in life, like obesity, divorce, health issues, and family struggles, but they keep coming to yoga because they find some peace of mind and energy to move on. When people see me I want them to see a better person who can change the world.

Since starting Yoga I have developed more of a tolerance and I am much more focused. I have a forgiving nature and I get to interact with many new people with different backgrounds

Catherine Njeri 

The most interesting experience I have had teaching and practicing yoga is when I traveled to Mexico for Level 2 with Baron Baptiste. It is there that I realized that I want to focus my teaching on women in my community.

Everybody should practice yoga because it helps the body maintain fitness and relieve stress.

I came to yoga while I was practicing acrobatics and getting a lot of injuries in my body. Yoga was healing me instead of hurting me. There are other benefits also, as a yoga instructor I have learned more about who I am. Now I am able to stand in front of a crowd and teach. I am
much more confident, than even when I was performing in front of crowds.

The slums are financially tough, but by bringing in yoga we have brought in activity and unity. Various tribes have come together and are getting along.

I feel connected to everyone in the world who practices yoga. I feel we are all standing on the same ground.

Mary Wanjiru 

Everybody should practice yoga because it is a medicine for our mind and body. I feel connected to everyone in the world who practices yoga. I feel we are all leaders of the world.

My best class is in Kibera, the largest slum in Africa, at a center where I teach acrobatics, yoga and dance. Baron visited this center and I was proud of the work I was doing and so was he. Normally now I see everything is easy; although no one is perfect I normally focus on what I am giving to my community. Since I was born I was living in the slums and it makes me feel like I need to start there to make a change.

I know how life is in the slums, and making lives better is important. We can fight the violence through doing yoga. When I started teaching yoga I felt like I had to force people to come to class. We only had 10 people and it seemed like they were giving up, but they called more people and the class has really grown. They’re now excited about yoga because they’ve seen the change. Yoga is like a medicine to ourselves.

Maurice Oduor 

Everybody should practice yoga because it helps manage the body cells which allows for control over lying, anger, jealousy, violence, and stealing.

My students have lots of challenges in life, like having children very young and completing their responsibilities, but they keep coming to yoga because it sharpens their performances, balances their lives at home, and it manages their body cells. I have learned more about tribalism and classes. People were divided and living in the same areas; there were people seen throwing stones at another tribe and it was just lots of violence. But they came together and forgot about the conflicts. They have realized that if they fight they all lose.

I feel connected to the Earth and everyone there. Most of the time we all wear shoes and that creates a space between us and the Earth, but with yoga we take off our shoes and really connect to the ground. Even though they live in the slums, my students practice yoga because it brings hope to their lives, supports equality, and gives them perseverance.

Ann Njeri (Anita)

For me, yoga has made me a better person, now I am courageous and proud of myself. I am a better person in general. Everybody should practice yoga to relax their minds and their bodies. It also teaches you to be proud of yourself. Yoga has inspired me to help the children and spread the message of what I get from my own practice. I am also inspired to help my community.

As a yoga instructor I have learned more about who I am. Now I am authentic and I am not shy. I am proud of myself. My students have lots of challenges in life, like not enough money to go to school, no clothes, and not enough food, but they keep coming to yoga because they like the teachings and they love yoga. When people see me I want them to see the real me and to see who I am. The breath of yoga has helped me remove the bad thoughts from my mind and reach out to my community.

Yoga makes me feel empowered to change the lives of children and to lead the change. The slums are tough and unsafe, but by bringing in yoga we have brought in peace, power, and relaxation. Yoga has given me the opportunity to see the world in a new way. Now I see who I am and that we are all equal.

Basilio M. Mwangi

This is the year I will complete my certification process and become a certified yoga teacher! I want to show the kids that that reaching their goals is possible. Most of the students I teach are between the ages 7 and 17, I like this age group because they are really ready to learn. 

My Mom has had a huge influence on my life, because she has never stopped believing in me this has made all the difference. I try to be a good son and let her know often how much she means to me and how much I love her, it’s just a little something I can return to her for all that she has given. 

When people see me I want them to see a role model, a leader in my community. Where I am from in the slums a lot of the kids need someone to look up to, and I am that person for them. I understand the challenges that they might be facing, but what I work to show them is that they can still choose the life that they want. Yoga has helped make this possible for me.

Bernard Gitonga

For me, yoga has made me a better person, now I am a teacher and able to speak in front of my classes to spread peace.

I can really see a change in my students. Since starting yoga they have become better listeners and have better behavior. My students have lots of challenges in life, like lack of space to train, but they keep coming to yoga because it gives them a lot of hope and health.

Yoga has inspired me to serve my community by transforming not only myself but other people around me. My life would have been the same way it was before yoga: hustling and stealing. Yoga has helped me a lot with things like supporting myself and my family.

When we all come together to practice yoga it inspires me because we are all sharing and spending time together. When people see me I want them to see a positive person. Yoga has taught me courage I am not shy anymore. I have improved a lot in my physical fitness as well.

Benta Atieno

For me, yoga has made me a better person, now I am transformed and transforming those around me. Now I know that it doesn’t matter what tribe you’re from because we are all one family.

Without my practice maybe I would be pregnant, with children, and not living a healthy life. Before I started yoga I had a very bad behavior, I would even steal money from my own mother and I was not true to my friends. That has changed, now I have a job and don’t steal. It is important for people in the slums to practice yoga because life in the slums is very unhealthy. Yoga brings health; there is no smoking, no drugs, and no alcohol during yoga.

When you go outside, the person who is misbehaving, share with them. Tell him/her your own stories and try and change their life. It is about sharing; we have to give what we receive. Yoga has inspired me to serve my community by teaching my classes every week and provide happiness and knowledge to the community and students. Through teaching Yoga, I love to empower students and make them feel better.

Billy Onyango

Everybody should practice yoga because it heals all the sick and makes people feel like a new born baby. As a yoga instructor I have learned more about who I am. Now I am myself instead of wearing a mask and acting like someone else.

Yoga has inspired me to serve my community by transforming my students and to lead the change. Even though they live in the slums, my students practice yoga because they have someone there to lead them and guide them through breathing and practices.

The breath of yoga has helped me to throw away my anger. Now when I’m angry I just breathe in and out and let go of the negative feelings.

Before, my father was rich, but when my father died people grabbed our things and took everything until we had nothing. So we had to start over and it forced me to drop out of school and become an acrobat. Now I am a yoga instructor and I feel connected to the people I love most.

The most important thing yoga has taught me is to be someone in my community who can spread the love. 

Brian Kangethe

My students have lots of challenges in life, like hunger, exhaustion, and lack of support, but they keep coming to yoga because it is where they feel comfortable and happy. Yoga has inspired me to serve my community by giving back without discriminating against background or status. I feel connected to everyone in the world who practices yoga. I feel we are all birds of a feather flying together. Before yoga, life was like hell-you know the ghetto life is not healthy. I engaged in things that were not right and not good for my community. Drinking and hanging out with the wrong people were my habits. At the school the parents of the kids I teach are appreciatingmy work because the children help out more at home now. I dropped out of school, but that’s not what they see because I have not lost hope in my life and I am focused on what is best for me. 
Before yoga I suffered from ulcers and I was told yoga heals but I was skeptical. I started practicing yoga and stopped drinking and the symptoms from my ulcers disappeared. I want my whole community to experience this kind of healing.

Bryant Mungai

I can really see a change in my students. Since starting yoga they keep making time for class and they also create space for love towards their friends and family. My students have lots of challenges in life, like hunger and not knowing where their next meal is coming from, but they keep coming to yoga because I have taught them about self-esteem and to believe in themselves.

Yoga has inspired me to serve my community by engaging myself in volunteer programs in my community. I volunteer with clean up events for the streets of the slums and also teach outreach yoga classes.

The slums are violent, brutal, and hard to live in, but by bringing in yoga we have brought in non-violence, love, possibility, and the idea of loving your neighbor and yourself.

I feel connected to everyone in the world who practices yoga. I feel we are all from one race and not living through stereotypes.

I have learned the world is like a circle-anything you do will come back to you. That is why I do good things because I know one day they will come back to me.

Eliam Wanjiku

For me, yoga has made me a better person, now I am leading the change by demonstrating the importance of yoga to women with HIV/ AIDS and encouraging former criminals to lead a more positive life.

The breath of yoga has helped me to ease my anger, I breath deeply three times and my anger reduces.

When we come together to practice yoga it inspires me because we share ideas and release all the stress in our life. After practice we go home and we all look like newborns with shining, smiling faces.

I see change in the students I teach. The women I teach are HIV positive and they say that yoga is really helping them breathe through everything. The women in the slums used to dwell on gossip. But now they mostly talk about yoga and discuss their lives with yoga. And my class for men is composed of men who have come through drug addictions and other problems. But since starting yoga they don’t do drugs because when they practice they don’t have time to do drugs.

Everybody should practice yoga because it helps in relaxing the body and mind, it helps to reduce toxins from medicines, and yoga is unity and with unity there is peace.

Evanson Ng'ang'a

Faith Njeri Mungai

Everybody should practice yoga because it is a physical practice which connects your body, mind and soul to the ground. I can really see a change in my students. Since starting yoga they have become generous, energetic and united.

My students have l ots of challenges in life, like poverty, but they keep coming to yoga because they feel free of their burdens when practicing.

As a yoga instructorI have learned more about who I am. Now I am audible and courageous. I can stand in front of a group of people and speak loudly and powerfullly. Yoga has generated in me a new sense of humanity and belonging to a community of my own.

In 1 year I see myself working with a gang movement that has terrorized Kenya. I want to reach these people and teach them yoga and bring them together.

 

Francis Mburu

When we all come together to practice yoga it inspires me because I see the power of all of us coming together no matter what class, tribe, or race we are. We are all together doing one thing and we can share the love within us.

As a yoga instructor I have learned how to create space before making decision no moatter what the situation is. I am healthy, loved and comfortable with myself. yoga makes me feel empowered to speak my mind and be aware of my body and actions. It also empowers me to transform peole who live in darknes and have health problems.

Without my yoga practie I would be stealing out in the streets because I didn't care about other people. I use dto have a lot of stress and miscommunication with other people and I would be rude, ignorant and irresponsible.

Yoga has given me the opportunity to see the world in a new way. Now I see the world as a lesson and also as a teacher to every experience. The world is a very good place and we should all share it equally and make it safe for each other.

What I love most about teaching is the power of speaking to people's hearts and spreading my message.

Francis Njoya

When we all come together to practice yoga it inspires me because there is unity between me and everyone else in the community. We are all one. Everybody should practie yoga because it provides energy and a peace of mind.

Yoga has inspired me to be a new person and change the people around me. I want them to feel the same way I do.

I feel connected to everyone in the world who practices yoga. I feel we all are one thing, one community, a union.

Yoga has changed me a lot because sometimes I wake up and I am tired and lazy, but once I practice I feel awake and energized. I want peple to see me shining and to see me with a lot of power.

Hadija Makokha

For me, yoga has made me a better person, now I am helping young mothers in my community and leading the change.

When we all come together to practice yoga it inspires me because although it is challenging, we are all going through the same practice together.

When I started practicing yoga I was 16 and living on the streets. We formed an acrobatic group called Ghetto Girls and together we started practicing yoga with Paige. Since attending Level 1 with Baron Baptiste, I have found myself and now live in my own house and support my son.

Yoga has taught me when I have something to share it with someone else.

Humphrey A Embodoka

When we all come together to practice yoga it inspires me because I feel connected and grounded together with my society and community.

I feel connected to everyone in the world who practices yoga. I fell we are all equal and grounded. When we do yoga we connect and share the ground and mother Earth.

Yoga has given me the opportunity to see the world in a new way. Now I see the world as one united universe. Yoga has inspired me to be able to meet people and talk in front of people. In my community there are schools and when I go there, they already recognize me. Through yoga I am an impact to my community.

The easiest way to live is found in yoga; when you practice consistently you find you are not getting sick and in this society many peple are coming to our training because they are not mentally fit or their body are not fit. Yoga is the way of life.

Irena Auma

Everybody should practie yoga because it heals wounds and it is all about unity around the world. It also helps reduce stress and it's a job for jobless people. The breath of yoga has helped me concentrate, reduce stress, and open my lungs. Without my yoga practice I would not be able to support myself or my family.

The slums are empty and lacking potential, but by brining in yoga we have brought in new possibilities for everyone. The most important thing yoga has tought me is integrity and to create space for myself.

Doing yoga together in the community gives me motivation. When we do yoga together I cannot give up! When I'm on my mat I feel connected to the fresh air, the world, and my community.

Irene Mueni

For me, yoga has made me a better person, now I am leading the change by demonstrating the importance of yoga to women with HIV/AIDS and encouraging former criminals to lead a more positive life.

Everybody should practice yoga because it help in relaxing the body and mind, it helps to reduce toxins from medicines, and yoga is unity and whith unity there is peace. Since starting yoga my students have changed and now love each other. Some of my students used to gossip, but now they don't gossip anymore.

When we come together to practice yoga it inspires me because we share ideas and release all the stress in our life. After practice we go home and we all look like newborns with shining smiling faces. As a yoga instructor I have learned more about who I am. Now I am a transformed person. I am more disciplined. I used to be rude but now I am polite since I have to be a role model to my daughter, students, and the entire community.

When people see me I want them to see possibility and love.

James Thairu

I get a lot from yoga, it inspires me to give back to the community I come from. My friends from the streets are still there and they are troubled. What I really feel in my heart is how can I help them. Yoga makes me strong and makes me talk to them to inspire them and that is my motivation.

I think yoga has taught me the greatest thing you can ever do is to give back. Not to get but to give back.
The biggest challenge in my life has been completing high school. School in Kenya is not free and the fees were too expensive; I could only go for 1 week in a month. I think this traumatized me; I wanted to go to school but I couldn’t and I cannot blame my mom because I understood her situation.

Yoga has inspired me to serve my community by getting involved in social activities like community clean-ups and fighting against drugs. Even though they live in the slums, my students practice yoga because it really brings them to the present moment and makes them forget their past.

John Maina

Bio coming soon

Khadija

For me, yoga has made me a better person, now I am helping young mothers in my community and leading the change.

When we all come together to practice yoga it inspires me because although it is challenging, we are all going through the same practice together.

When I started practicing yoga I was 16 and living on the streets. We formed an acrobatic group called Ghetto Girls and together we started practicing yoga with Paige. Since attending Level 1 with Baron Baptiste, I have found myself and now live in my own house and support my son.

Leah Imbusi

As a yoga instructor I have learned more about who I am. Now I am giving back to my community. I am teaching girls in my community how to become confident and know themselves. I also have a passion for teaching women that are former or current sex workers and need to find a healthy relationship with their bodies.

Without my yoga practice I would be doing acrobatics but my life would have been out of control and I wouldn’t be able to support myself. I am a good role model to young mothers. They see me and they want to feel the same way, responsible and healthy.

Yoga has given me the opportunity to see the world in a new way. Now I see us as one; it does not matter what race, class, or country you are from, we all give and receive.
Yoga has taught me when I have something to share it with someone
else.

Magdaline Adhiambo

For me, yoga has made me a better person, now I am transformed and transforming those around me. Now I know that it doesn’t matter what tribe you’re from because we are all one family.

Without my practice maybe I would be pregnant, with children, and not living a healthy life. Before I started yoga I had a very bad behavior, I would even steal money from my own mother and I was not true to my friends. That has changed, now I have a job and don’t steal.
It is important for people in the slums to practice yoga because life in the slums is very unhealthy. Yoga brings health; there is no smoking, no drugs, and no alcohol during yoga. 
When you go outside, the person who is misbehaving, share with them. Tell him/her your own stories and try and change their life. It is about sharing; we have to give what we receive. Yoga has inspired me to serve my community by teaching my classes every week and provide happiness and knowledge to the community and students. Through teaching Yoga, I love to empower students and make them feel better.

Moses Mbajah

Director of teachers

As a professional acrobat for 10 years, Moses’ teaching combines an intense physical practice with a gentle and loving message of inner and outer peace. As the country director of Africa Yoga Project programs, Moses is a pioneer of yoga in Kenya; he is the first black Kenyan yoga teacher who focuses on teaching in his local community. Moses has introduced thousands of students in Kenya to the practice of yoga and infuses his own joy for the practice, dispelling the myths of it being a religion or a practice reserved for wealthy westerners. He teaches from a non-dogmatic place where yoga is not a religion but a lifestyle to adapt to. People can come together with the message that anyone and everyone can practice yoga.
Moses was introduced to the world of yoga through workshops conducted by Paige Elenson in Nairobi, Kenya. Together they brought yoga and other healing movement arts to the internally displaced persons camps after the 2007 post-election violence in Kenya. Soon after, Moses attended Baron Baptiste Level 1 & 2 training in Tulum, Mexico. 

Since his training, Moses has co-facilitated trainings with Baron Baptiste in Kenya, and assisted him internationally. He has also presented yoga at the Italian Yoga Festival in Milan and the Gatwich Festival in Kenya. Moses has been featured in international media including BBC, Yoga Journal and various Kenyan stations. 

He currently teaches every day, sometimes 3 times a day, in various locations around Nairobi. Moses now teaches not only in the slums but also to companies, ministers, and embassy workers. Yoga has become very popular in Kenya and is available to all social classes, tribes, and races. His biggest inspiration for teaching yoga in Kenya is seeing the boundaries of tribalism being broken down. He teaches from a place of no boundaries where everyone is equal and can participate in the same activities. He is very excited for this opportunity and wants all of you to come join him for this experience where everyone can be one.

Mike Wendo

Bio coming soon

Moses Wekesa

Before I started yoga I faced many challenges every day that I did not know how to deal with. I was always around bad company, they would smoke, steal, and gamble, but after some time yoga changed my life... step by step and I have changed.

I can say there is a big picture for my life now. I am seeing what yoga can create in the future. From where we came from to where we are going. We can see the motivation it has inspired us to have.

Everyone should do yoga because yoga is a good practice. When you start it is hard but after some time, after you attend some classes, there is a difference. If you are stiff you become flexible. And in your mind, you know there are some masks that people wear, but they start to be removed after you start yoga. You stop pretending to be someone else and you start being yourself.

Having a relationship with other teachers you find it there is good company. I feel comfortable like I can open up my heart and open up my mind because I am in a safe place and a safe group.

I cannot say I am perfect but at least I can stand for myself and speak out.

Musa Mwamwenye

Yoga has inspired me to an extent that I don’t feel good if I miss a class.

As a yoga instructor I have learned more about who I am. Now I am able to teach to huge groups of yogis and I can stand before them instructing. I have also learned how to direct people to the breath. Yoga has inspired me to serve my community by being responsible to them and give back to them. Yoga has given me the opportunity to see the world in a new way. Now I see I am living my dreams. It is a long journey but through patience and commitment I see myself as a much better person than before.

Students use yoga as tool to practice concentration, now they really listen to what you have to say...before they were like bees and constantly talking and moving around.

Pamvillian Nelly

Yoga has inspired me to be courageous and give other people advice about the challenges we face in life. My students have lots of challenges in life, like lack of school fees, but they keep coming to yoga because the message inspires them and helps them forget their past.

Yoga makes me feel empowered to be courageous and able to face people. It has also empowered me to know what is right versus wrong and how to live my life without fear. It has generated a new sense of love and unity inside me.

I grew up in the slums of Nairobi, which are full of poor people, and yoga has inspired me to serve my community by helping them with hope and happiness.

Patrick Kiragu

For me, yoga has made me a better person, now I am responsible. I have become serious in my life and I have learned to take responsibility for my actions. Without my yoga practice I would be hustling in the streets of Nairobi.

I can really see a change in my students. Since starting yoga they are flexible. They have gained more concentration in their work. They take care of their bodies more; they get more sleep and have changed their
eating habits. When we all come together to practice yoga it inspires me because it brings a sense of unity and it breaks down barriers created by society.

They have changed physically. Most of my students are woman and they do a lot of housework and some of they have improved their backs and their bodies. Also, now they say they can focus a lot easier. I feel connected to everyone in the world who practices yoga. I feel we are all leading the change in the world.

Patrick Musembi

Everybody should practice yoga because it helps a lot in our health. It activates our body and gives us power to make things easier.

Yoga has inspired me to do new things. It has also shown me that I can work with my community through the peace and love that yoga generates. Yoga has inspired me to serve my community by teaching and showing them a new way to live, a new way to create a job, and a new way to survive.

The slums are dirty and the people who live there have a bad image, but by bringing in yoga we have brought in a change that shows people they should love one another and create unity. I see some students teaching their moms and dads and then they say ‘my teacher Patrick taught us to be strong.’ And then the next time their moms and dads will come and this makes me feel good.

Sadick Kachisa

Let us do this together! Because yoga is it: about one love, one unity, one connection for everybody.

Before doing yoga I was a drunk, a gambler, and I was a very violent person. I was not a very good man. But when I started yoga I changed life.

Through yoga I have been able to meet a lot of new people and start to understand where different people come from. I want people to think positively now, I don’t want people to dwell on the negative.

I feel everyone is the same when I do yoga. I feel connected to everyone on the same level as me. For me I want to teach abroad-and I want to improve my skills for teaching yoga. I want to know the European type of yoga and the Asian type. I want to know all types of yoga.

Salome Nyongesa

When we all come together to practice yoga it inspires me because I get to see all my fellow AYP teachers and we share about our lives and the classes that we teach. As a yoga instructor I have learned more about who I am. Now I am a counselor to many people in my community.
Yoga has generated in me a new sense of confidence, courage, and love of teaching.

I feel connected to everyone in the world who practices yoga. I feel we are all friends and under one sky. When my students first started practicing they would complain about how it made their bodies hurt, but now they tell me they don’t feel sick anymore. Yoga has stretched their bodies and really opened them up.

Yoga is something that gives me a connection to my mind and soul. Life goes on smoothly with yoga.

Susan Njeri

Vincent Owich

Walter Mugwe

Yoga has inspired me to face life courageously and not to hide. It has inspired me to live happily with whatever I have and be really authentic.

When we all come together to practice yoga it inspires me because many different types of people come together in the class. Kids, youths, teenagers, both male and female adults but they are all really connected to each other just flowing the energy of the class. It is amazing, and the other thing is people opening up and sharing problems and trying to help each other. At the end of the day we are equal no matter what race or color or where we are from.

Yoga has transformed my life because when I look 3 years ago, I could not even support myself. It has transformed me so much. I have moved into a new life and it is much more truthful and authentic; I am not in the slum getting in trouble anymore. I have the freedom now, I can do anything and I can walk anywhere.