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.

02/16/2026

🖤 Mat Monday | Black History Month 🖤

This week we’re honored to share the story of Darnell Washington, founder of African American Community Healing in Los Angeles.

After serving 26 years in prison, Darnell was introduced to yoga by James Fox. The practice helped him heal mentally, physically, and emotionally—and now he’s bringing that healing back to his community through free weekly yoga classes.

His students—many from low-income African American and Latino communities—are experiencing yoga for the very first time. And the impact is real. One participant shared simply:
“I just feel so peaceful.”

Thank you to our Mat Donor Gaiam for helping make this work possible.

02/15/2026

So much of the journey isn’t about eliminating fear—it’s about learning how to be in relationship with it.

To listen, breathe, and keep going anyway.

02/14/2026

Sometimes healing begins with something simple — a yoga mat and a caring teacher.

2026 Mat Grant Applications are now open.

We support yoga teachers and nonprofits serving underserved communities. If additional mats would help you welcome more students into your space, we invite you to apply.

Learn more and apply:
https://givebackyoga.org/mat-grants

Big love to and brands for supplying our mats in 2026!

02/12/2026

More mats = more access.

If you’re bringing yoga to schools, recovery centers, veterans, older adults, or underserved communities — this is for you.

🗓 2026 Mat Grant Applications open February 14.

Mark your calendar.

02/09/2026

🖤 Mat Monday | Black History Month 🖤

This week, we’re honored to spotlight Kiara Smothers, founder of TRAP Yoga (Trauma, Release & Peace) in Tyler, Texas.

As the first Black yoga instructor born and raised in East Texas to start a Black-owned yoga business, Kiara brings trauma-informed yoga directly into the community—meeting people where they are and creating spaces rooted in healing, peace, and belonging.

Her free weekly TRAP Tuesdays classes have introduced yoga to more than 50 people—many for the very first time. One message she hears again and again?

People leave feeling at peace.

A heartfelt thank you to our Mat Donor Gaiam for helping make this work possible.

02/08/2026

Courage isn’t about being fearless. It’s about showing up, even when fear is present, and choosing to use our strength in service of something bigger than ourselves.

This is where impact lives.

02/05/2026

This Valentine’s Day, turn love into action. 💗

Our Love In Action collection from the Give Back Yoga shop is a simple, tangible way to support yoga teachers and yoga therapists bringing yoga to people and communities who might not otherwise have the opportunity to practice.

Every purchase helps fund mat grants and yoga service grants, extending the reach of yoga far beyond the studio.

Shop in time for Valentine’s Day and be part of the ripple effect:

👉 https://giveback-shop.fourthwall.com/

02/02/2026

Mat Monday: Stories of Impact 🤎

This month, as we honor Black History Month, we’re uplifting Black yoga teachers who are offering meaningful service in their communities.

Meet Wanda La Russa, (.wandalarussa) who brings accessible hatha chair yoga to income-restricted seniors in Nevada. Through gentle, adaptive movement—and with the support of Gaiam mats—Wanda’s classes help students build strength, reduce pain, and reconnect with their independence.

One student shared that after just a month of practice, she was able to set up chairs on her own for class—something that once felt impossible.

“I didn’t do it for you. I did it for me.”

This is what access looks like.

This is what yoga in action looks like.

✨ If you’re a yoga teacher serving your community and wondering what support could make your work more sustainable, our 2026 Mat Grant application window opens soon. Stay tuned.

01/31/2026

Hope doesn’t have to be loud or dramatic.

In yoga, hope lives in the quiet choices we make again and again. To breathe, to begin where we are, to stay present with what’s possible.

As January comes to a close, what are you choosing to stay open to?

💬 Comment with one word that holds hope for you

01/29/2026

🎬 A little behind the scenes as we prepare to open our 2026 Mat Grant Applications

As we update the application and get ready to review another inspiring group of service-based projects, we wanted to clearly share who can apply this year.

Applicants must be certified yoga teachers or yoga therapists with a completed 200+ hour training or yoga therapy certification and be based in the United States. Mats must be used in support of a yoga service project.

Our hope is that mats are shared in community and support groups of students over time. For this reason, mats are not available for for-profit ventures, conferences, festivals, teacher trainings, startup studios, or individual distribution.

A permanent U.S. shipping address is required. We are unable to ship to P.O. Boxes or Puerto Rico.

Applications open mid-February. Please feel free to share this post and tag yoga teachers or therapists doing meaningful service work who may want to apply.

01/26/2026

Happy 💙

A single mat can hold more than movement.

Over time, it can hold stories, tears, connection—and the quiet reminder that someone is not alone.

Through our partnership with , we provided yoga mats to Cathrine Goldstein in Huntersville, North Carolina, founder of Yoga Care for Caregivers.

After becoming a caregiver herself, Cathrine recognized a deep gap in care: while many resources support those receiving care, caregivers are often left without space to rest, connect, or tend to their own nervous systems. Yoga Care for Caregivers was created to change that.

“In this safe environment, we hold space for one another. This is a place where we can speak, move, bond, and ultimately feel less alone. This isn’t just a yoga class—this is a community.”

With these mats, Yoga Care for Caregivers is able to travel, meet caregivers where they are, and offer free, trauma-informed yoga and connection to more than 100 people so far.

This is the long view of impact:

One mat → one safe space → a community that endures.

This is how ✨

01/24/2026

Yoga gives us permission to pause.

To unplug from the noise.

To breathe without fixing.

To rest without earning it.

Even a few mindful minutes can reset the nervous system and bring us back to ourselves.

How are you giving yourself space to unplug today?

💬 Comment with your favorite way to pause

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Boulder, CO

Website

http://givebackyoga.org/

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