Organization Information

We Are...

Yoga practitioners in the Washington, DC, area who have come together to extend the benefits of our practice beyond our own wellness by sharing the healing, grounding, empowering potential of yoga with those most in need. We have formed Anahata International to channel this energy and dedication into effective programs around the world.

Our Mission Is...

To utilize yoga-based techniques to improve the health and well-being of people affected by violent conflict.

Anahata International will pursue our unique mission through the direct intervention of our HEART program and the training outreach of our STRETCH initiative.

H.E.A.R.T.

Will bring three-week yoga instruction and yoga therapy programs to post-conflict communities in order to promote Healing, Empowerment, Awareness and Recovery from Trauma. This direct intervention aims to teach yoga-based stress-reduction techniques to young men and women in need of resources for personal and collective wellness.

S.T.R.E.T.C.H.

Will extend our reach through Supporting Trauma Recovery by Empowering Teachers of Collective Healing. Our three-pronged approach will (1) establish a yoga teacher/healer exchange that recruits certified yoga instructors in the United States to engage in our efforts abroad for one to three months at a time, (2) provide 200-hour International Yoga Alliance-approved teacher training to local young adults with the potential and drive to help their own communities overcome conflict, (3) facilitate advanced training for certified yoga teachers wishing to specialize in trauma recovery and peace-building.

Anahata's First Project...

Builds on the successful pilot project of our Executive Director, Angela Cerkevich, who brought yoga instruction to Rwanda in October 2007. Angela worked with the post-genocide group Never Again Rwanda to undertake two weeks of free yoga classes in and around Kigali followed by a one-week abbreviated teacher training with 10 of the most promising students. Those students are teaching classes in Rwanda today!

"l hadn't the peace,the hope and love,because the war be during 1994 in the genoside; now l have hope, peace and love because you with yoga you teach me, so thank you for that you did; l would like to teach yoga orthors want to study yoga, but l have problem of place or house for training them and transports; so me l continue to make or do revision in salutation, poses and meditation. l would like if you have opportunity you send me vidio music and vidio poses of yoga on internet mail if you have it. l get your message so l thank you because you remember me in your work and in your mind, l thank you so much. l wish you shanti shanti shanti shantihi in all the port of world;; see you again, shanti shanti shanti shantihiiiiiiiiii”

- Rolando, a teacher trainee from Angela's first trip to Rwanda

The Next Step...

Is to send Angela back to Rwanda in March 2008 to expand this project. Fellow yoga teacher and Anahata leader, Radhika Thakkar, will join as a partner for this trip. Together they will evaluate the progress of current teachers, assess the current yoga programs with an eye to improvement and targeted training and engage the students that have been working with these teachers by offering community classes. Angela and Radhika will also begin the first stages of the trauma recovery healing program by introducing their students to the powerful healing practice of yoga nidra. Finally, they will take the opportunity to plan for the next phase of development of Anahata's work in Rwanda, exploring options for more in depth trauma recovery and teacher training that will reach a broader scale.

Our Long-Term Commitment...

Includes continued presence in communities and target regions, ongoing support for the teachers we train, recruitment of additional teachers as needed, and constant evaluation of the impact of our programs and whatever modifications may be needed to improve and adapt to changing circumstances. Anahata International is committed to the sustained social change that can only come from equipping communities with practices and educational programs that can ultimately sustain themselves. We will assist local teachers trained by the STRETCH program in making contacts with small business development organizations to learn how to earn a sustainable income through teaching yoga to a variety of populations. And we will work with locals and other development workers to establish yoga community centers -- locally–managed and self–sustaining centers that provide regular yoga classes and outreach programs.

Our Vision for the Future...

Concentrates on building, maintaining and assessing Anahata International's work in Rwanda over the course of the next year, then gradually extending our work to other post-conflict areas such as Bosnia, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Somalia, Burma, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Peru, and Bolivia. Each subsequent year we will identify a new region in which to establish new HEART and STRETCH programs, bolstered by the experience on the ground in Rwanda while attendant to the unique culture and circumstances of each new community we engage. Anahata International will continue to support and fund additional teacher training and education through a combination of non-profit grants, corporate and individual donations.