Inspiring Change from Africa
When Robert Sturman set off to Kenya with his camera and yoga mat, he had a bigger purpose than just seeing a new country. As a passionate yogi and talented photographer, he decided he wanted to work with the Africa Yoga Project (AYP) after discovering it online. He wanted to show the world a different side of Africa, one that many of us haven’t seen before. “I wanted to go to Africa to celebrate human beings aspiring to reach their full potential,” said Sturman. “Often, we see images coming from Africa that point toward suffering, but I wanted to create a body of work that pointed to something inspiring and positive.”
In the time he spent with the AYP, he did just that. Little did Sturman know that only a few months later, the images he captured would become more important and powerful than he could have imagined.
On September 21, 2013, televisions and computers all over the world were flooded with news about Nairobi, Kenya. Just after noon on that Saturday, gunmen stormed Westgate Premier Shopping Mall in the heart of the city, taking the lives of more than 60 innocent civilians. The world watched as the terror struck and, once again, our minds were bombarded with images of Africa that depicted suffering, anger, and hopelessness.
In the face of tragedy, AYP did not waver. It stood united as a community committed to its mission of educating, empowering, and elevating lives through the transformative power of yoga–a power that many of usknow to be true.
Africa can seem worlds away from the comfort of our North American studios. You can’t help but notice the widespread human spirit when looking through Sturman’s images. Yes, their environment is not the same, their religions may vary, and their circumstances might seem dramatically different, but if you strip that away, you will findthat we really are all connected.
AYP was started in 2007 through the collaboration of Paige Elenson and Baron Baptiste. Elenson was inspired to share the practice of yoga with the people of Kenya after a family trip to Africa. Only six years later,it employs 71 yoga teachers who offer 300 free classes to 6,000 people on a weekly basis. The AYP Shine Center in Nairobi opened this year, intending to be of service by sharing yoga with every body, regardless of fitness level, age, experience, or background.
That’s what Paige and the AYP teaching team have been doing – sharing – with anyone willing to be a part of what they are creating. You don’t have to have a specific skin colour, be a certain religion, or command a fat wallet, you just have to show up and be you.
AYP is an inclusive family that knows no boundaries. It welcomes all walks of life; you will be accepted no matter what. Whether students are rolling out their mats at The Shine Center, in prisons, in schools, in special needs centres, at orphanages, or in HIV rehabilitation centres, the AYP teachers welcome students with open arms and hearts. No matter how their life looked in the past, it’s a place wherethey belong today and, perhaps more importantly, a place where they can find hope for the future.
One of the main focuses of AYP has been youth in Kenya. Sturman witnessed this at outreach classes in the Mama Fatuma Orphanage. “Through the practice of yoga, the children are given the opportunity to express themselves, be creative, and open up physically and mentally. It was most apparent to me that by the time their hour-long class is over, they feel loved,” said Sturman. These children have lived most of their lives without hope. AYP is introducing them to the possibility that their future doesn’t have to look like their past. It’s a simple yet powerful message that is more important now than ever before: change is possible.
“The biggest thing is a person opening up to what is possible in their life. I see hope in their eyes which brings in so much possibility. Yoga is transforming and elevating their lives physically, mentally, and financially,” says Elenson.
Most AYP teachers were born and raised in the slums of Nairobi and have experienced tragedy, felt pain, and lived in extreme poverty. They have overcome difficult circumstances and challenges through yoga, making AYP’s message even more powerful. It comes from people just like the students who have chosen a new way. They show their studentsthere is another way, something that is increasingly important in a country where violencebeckons.
Walter Mugwe discovered Elenson’s class in 2009 when he was 20 years old. Before this, he struggled to make ends meet and felt he had no other choice but to steal, pickpocket, and gamble illegally. This all changed when he rolled out his mat for the first time. “I did a few classes with Paige and could feel that I needed this practice and this inspired me to teach others,” said Mugwe. He was offered a scholarship to study with Baron Baptiste and quickly discovered a new purpose for his life. “I realized my life was for being of service and offering myself to others. It’s a big thing for me, being a stand for others.”
This life purpose is unrecognizably different from how Walter lived prior to discovering yoga. Yoga gave him another way. “Through teaching yoga as an AYP teacher, I realized my purpose for serving the community in Kenya. That’s how I found myself serving my purpose in life,” says Mugwe. He teaches from his own experience and hopes this will empower his students to do the same. He says, “I live and teach as an example; I’m putting it out there so other people can model it, embody it, and get access to their own personal experience in a powerful way.”
Whatever that personal experience happens to be, AYP empowers students to create positive change in their lives, by changing their circumstances or if that’s not possible, changing their perspective.
It gives students who are facing difficult circumstances and huge challenges the opportunity to connect, find forgiveness, and experience the joy of being a part of something positive. Sturman was surprised at the joy he felt and witnessed when he visited a Kenyan prison with AYP. He says, “The inmates, some of whom are HIV-positive, told me that yoga has become a rare source of happiness in their daily lives.” Through yoga, they realize their life still has purpose and that they matter in the world. This women’s prison is a picture of peace in a place where you would expect violence, and that’s exactly what AYP is determined to spread across all of Africa. Through the practice of yoga, AYP programs foster peace and non-violence, improve self-sufficiency, create economic stability, and encourage new opportunities for collective growth. It all comes back to a simple message of hope and the possibility for a brighter future.
“After a yoga class, I looked at the students and I saw the hope in their eyes that they could become a part of something positive. The students leave the class empowered to be leaders in their communities,” says Sturman.
This is exactly what Kenya and the rest of the world need: people empowered to make it a better place by starting with themselves. And what could be more important than planting a seed of hope for the future in the very people who are the future of Kenya? AYP is changing the way we approach change. Instead of battling violence with more violence, people are turning their focus inwards and asking how they can be a positive force of peace.
“One thing I have seen over and over again is the transformative power of yoga,” says Elenson. “With AYP’s rapidly expanding reach, we are seeing the positive impact that this practice is having on people in Kenya and the rest of Africa. Through physical empowerment and self-inquiry, thousands of people are realizing their past doesn’t have to dictate their future through one simple message: Change is possible, and it starts with you.”
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