Yoga Barn Hosts World Yoga Fundraiser and Raises $5,500 for Local AIDS Prevention Sunday, Sept 9th / 8am-8pm, at the Yoga Barn, UbudOn September 9th, 2012 BaliSpirit attracted over 300 guests and raised close to $5500 to support a local HIV/AIDS education and prevention initiative. The first ever Yoga Aid Challenge community and charity fundraising event was led by an international lineup of presenters at Ubud's the Yoga Barn. Yoga, meditation, sound healing, Thai massage, hoop jam and ecstatic dance, among other offerings were featured in support of the all-day event. The Yoga Aid Challenge connected together 200 events in 20 countries to create a massive worldwide yoga relay, with an aim of raising $1 million in charity donations from 20,000 participants worldwide. Indonesia's only rep, the historic Yoga Barn, will donate proceeds to the charity group known as Ayo! Kita Bicara (Let's Talk About) HIV/AIDS—a key school awareness program that has aided dozens of schools in Bali with interactive education workshops, testing, counseling, live entertainment, media campaigns and other measures to help curb the alarming spread of HIV/AIDS island-wide. "I am so grateful to the yoga community, which created and now sustains this essential program for Balinese youth," said Wiwik, Coordinator of Ayo! Kita Bicara HIV & AIDS. The event featured a special 108 salutations to the sun in honor of the charity, led by 9 different yoga instructors. Before commencement, a special prayer was offered in honor of the late kirtan artist and frequent Yoga Barn presenter, Geoffrey Gordon, who recently passed away. Event co-organizer, Daphne Tse praised the international event's success, "We've shown the world today that yoga has a lasting transformative power—for individuals and the community." Ayo! Kita Bicara HIV & AIDS is also supported by Desa Seni: A Village Resort (Canggu) through annual yogathon fundraisers (the next Desa Seni fundraiser is scheduled for March 2013). To view online donations raised, visit: For more information about Ayo! Kita Bicara HIV & AIDS, visit the BaliSpirit Festival website: http://www.balispiritfestival.com/ayobicarahivaids.html Text By Shervin Boloorian Bali Rock Band Navicula to Tour Borneo and Combat Deforestation Throughout their 17-year career, rock band Navicula has consistently used music as a medium to raise awareness about Indonesia's gravest environmental crises. Now the Bali-based artists turn their attention to safe-guarding the country's dwindling forests. Last year, Navicula released the single 'Orangutan' as a free download, to broadcast the endemic threats to this species. The group subsequently addressed the fate of Sumatran tigers, whose numbers have declined to only 400, through the song 'Tiger! Tiger!' These, and other tracks aimed at deforestation and Indonesia's wildlife, will featured on the band's seventh album, scheduled for release early next year. This month Navicula take their music activism to the epicenter for Indonesian deforestation: Fresh off a tour of Canada, Navicula is headed deep into the isolated backlands of Borneo (Kalimantan) to experience firsthand the devastating impact of deforestation on Indonesia's marginalized communities and its rare wildlife. Through a crowdfunding campaign launched last June on Kickstarter.com, Navicula raised more than $3,100 to carry out their multi-province tour. On 17 September, Navicula joined Greenpeace Indonesia's deforestation awareness team 'The Eye of the Tiger' to travel by motorbike through both unspoiled and decimated landscapes through central and western Kalimantan, performing at local schools, NGO offices, and community centers throughout their journey. Their tour is additionally supported by the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) and the Indigenous Peoples' Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN), who will facilitate meetings between Navicula and marginalized communities in conflict with mining companies and palm oil plantations in the region. To access Navicula's Official Borneo Tour Press Release (in Indonesian), visit: To contribute to Navicula's ongoing fundraising efforts for the Borneo Tour, visit: https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/7MLO8?srid=c4143a5bbbf1474baa7e53d30b3e56d5 The Yoga Barn: Expanding Sustainably and ResponsiblyWelcome to Bali … may you be inspired by its beautiful mountain scenery, the warmth of its people, it's deep culture and spiritual wonder … there truly is something magical here, especially in Ubud, and preserving this island's natural wonders is a priority at The Yoga Barn. You may have seen or heard about the Yoga Barn's new plans to expand, we are sensitive to our footprint and with concerns about keeping Ubud the way it "used to be"—keeping the rampant development, the congested traffic, the vanishing rice fields to a minimum is a shared responsibility for all. The Global Yoga Mala 2011Cross the borders of your mat, studio, style and form of yoga … Be a part of the Global Yoga Mala ! The purpose of the Global Yoga Mala for Peace is to unite the global yoga community from every continent, school or studio to form a "mala around the earth" through collective practices based upon the sacred cycle of 108 on September 24th or 25th, Fall/Spring Equinox as the yoga world's offering to further UN International Peace Day. Gathering yoga, meditation, dance teachers from all over the island of Bali leading 108 Sun Salutations, Tibetan Bowls, Crystal Bowls, Kirtan, Thai Massage, Restorative, Yin, Iyengar, Flying Yoga, Adults & Kids Yoga, Silat & Aikido, African & Ecstatic Dance … and more! In conjunction with Taksu Spa and the entire Bali yoga community, The Yoga Barn helped to raise over $2,500 for two local charities:
Click here for more information about Global Yoga Mala Day and Global Yoga Mala Wrap Up Charities We SupportThere are many many local projects to help with if you are interested. In addition to our Ayo! Kita Bicara HIV/AIDS and reforestation programs, BaliSpirit& The Yoga Barn have spent tens of thousands of USD to support other local community programs including: IDEP, BumiSehat - natural woman's birth clinic, the Sumatran Orangutan Society, SenangHati – a charity for disabled Balinese, and YayasanWidyaGuna - a children's orphanage, just to name a few. To get involved or find out more information about these and other great causes, visit the BaliSpirit website:http://www.balispirit.com/ngos/ SOSA Scholarship Program
The School of Sacred Arts hold 200-hour Yoga Alliance approved yoga teacher trainings at The Yoga Barn twice each year, and offer scholarships for qualified Indonesian applicants who wish to become certified as yoga teachers in a professional program with international standards. To date, SOSA has graduated 7 Indonesian teachers, all of whom are now teaching throughout the island. In this way, SOSA is generously giving back to the island that hosts its program. Well done SOSA! 2011 Ubud Writer's Festival - Book Launch @ The Yoga BarnOur official launch of Rick Pursell's book, Cause No Harm, brought in 4+ guests for an inspirational talk and practical tips on how to create more harmony-less harm. The event took place @ Yoga Barn on Saturday October 8th. Full Press Release attached. Thank you so much Rick ! |
