WELLNESS: TOWNSHIP YOGI
If more spas and health clubs went out into their communities, they would engage people who, after a few sessions, might be more inclined to make the effort to attend classes
We also hope the film will show the
power that yoga has to help change lives – hopefully making some government departments sit up and take notice of yoga as a potential tool to help communities.
How effective has the project been? At the start I saw benefits for individuals – a way of them coping with the social issues in townships. But then I began to see the potential for yoga to change others through a ripple effect: the positive effects filtering into neighbourhoods and then into broader communities. We haven’t tried to quantify results,
although we’re now running formal research across a couple of social areas. So far we’re continuing with the project because people tell us how yoga is helping them change their lives for the better, or because we see small changes happening in communities. We’re not saying it’s directly attributable to yoga, but when people tell us how they’ve changed since
Basic yoga clothing is provided as many people in the classes don’t have anything appropriate to wear
doing yoga, and so do their families, then we know we’re achieving what we set out to achieve with the project.
What can spa and fitness operators learn from your experience? The main reason the Township Yogi Project works is that yoga is brought into the heart of the townships. If more spas and health clubs went out into their communities, they’d engage people who, after a few sessions, might be more inclined to make the effort to attend classes. It’s also about making things accessible
and relevant. When our volunteer teachers take people through the yoga poses, they often relate them to activities people do in their everyday lives. For example, uttanasana (standing forward bend) is something women working in the fields do all the time, so teachers refer to this when showing them how to do the pose correctly.
Locals have embraced the classes and demand is great – there’s potential for a rollout across Africa in years to come
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What are your immediate plans for Township Yogi? We’ll continue with the formula we have: identifying townships where poverty, crime, violence, unemployment, drug abuse, HIV/Aids and TB are rife. We then set up venues and classes and eventually hand them over to township teachers who’ve qualified through us. For now, we’re focused on setting up as many yoga classes as possible, because
the demand and need is so great. We’re teaching at schools, in community and church halls, and even in the yards of township teachers. Further down the line, we’re looking to establish a dedicated yoga centre in Inanda.
What about in the long-term? Five years from now, I hope the Township Yogi Project will be running in countries bordering South Africa, and that the power of yoga will be spreading throughout southern Africa. We’re already looking at setting something up in Namibia. Ten years from now, I’d love to see yoga
happening regularly in every township in South Africa and its neighbouring countries. That would be amazing.
Would it work outside Africa? Definitely. It’s a simple principle and one that can work anywhere. There are similar townships in South America and many other Third World countries which would certainly benefit from a similar model. Wherever we take the Township Yogi
Project in the future, I hope to be able to impact families, neighbourhoods and broader communities and bring about lasting, positive change. l
Kate Cracknell is the editor of Health Club Management magazine Email: katecracknell@
leisuremedia.com Twitter: @HealthClubKate
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