Manduka US Site

February 4th, 2011

Manduka On & Off The Mat: Santa Cruz To Kenya

By Amy Impellizeri

If anyone had suggested to me I would decide to FUNdraise money for something called the Africa Yoga Project as a commitment I would make to being an Ambassador so that once I reached my goal I would go and be of service in Nairobi Kenya for two weeks using yoga as a vehicle for unity, non-violence and possibility, I would have fallen out of my already “swaying” tree pose.

I write this to let you, the global yoga community know that I am stepping off the mat, here in Santa Cruz, CA and taking my yoga to Kenya to be of Seva/self-less service. I have committed to being an Ambassador to Manduka because my mat is going to last a life time and that is how long I believe I can sustain a personal yoga practice.

I have committed to being an Ambassador for the Africa Yoga Project because I believe in the power of community. I have been doing my practice on and off the mat since I was introduced to the Ashtanga Yoga Primary Series. I followed my practice, after many years, to teacher training with Manju Jois (Summer 1999) when my Manduka Black Mat Pro came under my feet. I have taken it everywhere I have practiced/taught since I began to use it. Including my AcroYoga teaching training in 2008 where I was introduced to the Africa Yoga Project. A combination of yoga practices opened up the possibilities of what the power of Yes can accomplish. And now in 2011, I am committed to being of service in Kenya, on and off the mat, sharing yoga and other skills in a global yoga community. The commitments I continue to make to myself when I step on the mat are the small steps leading from Santa Cruz, CA to Nairobi, Kenya. The flow from the Pacific Ocean to the Indian Ocean.

Check out the blog:

www.lovetokenya.org to read the journey, unroll your Manduka mat & Lead the Change!