We are celebrating ten years of teaching yoga inside the prisons of Morelos, Mexico. Although we are "flying by our pants".
Economically, we still sustain the effort thanks to the fact that each of the teachers who form part of the prison project pays for his/her own expenses (time, tolls,meals).
The Administration costs are being covered at the moment thanks to generous contributions given us by the Federacion Mexicana de Yoga (which will be supporting us all year by helping to pay for the publicity, T shirts and Water Bottles marking the tenth Anniversary) and by the Instituto Mexicano de Yoga, who apart fom giving us a most welcome yearly donation, have always allowed us to put up a Parinaama stand at the Encuentro Nacional de Yoga which they host yearly.
In order to celebrate our tenth year, we will be offering classes for free from 9-11 local in the Acapatzingo Park in Cuernavaca, Morelos, which used to be the site of a prison with a very long and dark history of abuse. During the whole of 2013, the teachers who have backed me up in the past or are still supporting the effort will be giving classes for free on the second Sunday of each month as part of these celebrations.
Teachers who are willing to go inside these days are at a premium - from 25 we are down to 8, due to fear issues, triggered by the war between cartels here in Morelos, on the outside. But, we struggle on regardless... with no money, hardly enough teachers and little sympathy on the part of the authorities. I hope some of you, who helped us in the past during my very amateur fund raising efforts during the Anusara Master Immersion in Denver, in Tucson and a Certified Teachers Gathering, might take a second to back us up with whatever you can afford to share at these difficult times thru our Pay Pal account which appears on the left column <-------- of this blog - all contributions are reeeeaaaallllly appreciated. Many thanks!
I include a photo of me taking "Fredy" up into handstand inside the men's prison. After being released and taking all three Immersions and both halves of the Teacher Training with me, participating in Carlos Pomeda, Bill Mahony and Douglas Brooks visits, he has been teaching yoga in Mexico City's centers for young offenders, some of whom are accused of multi homicides and are extremely difficult.
The Teacher Training I have been heading these last two years inside, is one of the aspects I will have to put an end to if we don't receive funding soon. The whole idea is to generate the solution from what people see as the problem. Those kids won't listen to almost anyone... except maybe to a former prison inmate! That's where I see the solution. For more info, please visit "Interno" or "Within" on YouTube. It's a documentary sponsored by Latin America's largest University, UNAM, on four inmates who used to come to classes inside.
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