Thank you for taking the time to visit the Mid Atlantic Yoga Association's (MAYA) website.

Beginning in October 2010, MAYA dramatically changed its focus. MAYA formed a partnership with the Give Back Yoga Foundation located in Takoma Park, MD. Together, MAYA and GBY make grants intended to directly benefit groups of individuals who may not otherwise have the opportunity to experience the benefits of yoga and to initiate programs that will last beyond the grant period. Grant guidelines and application forms for the MAYA-GBY partnership can be found online at GBY's web site: www.givebackyoga.org.

Since the program was initiated, grants have been made to:

• produce Vets Yoga CD with interviews of vets whose PTSD after care includes yoga and a 20 minute restorative yoga practice;
• produce iRest Yoga CD for use in programs at DC Veterans Hospital, Walter Reed, and the National Navy Medical Hospital;
• provide yoga mats and props for a yoga program at the MD Correctional Institution for Women; and
• provide yoga mats for a yoga program for mothers and their children in Kensington, MD.

With this change in focus, MAYA no longer registers individual members. MAYA does encourage donations to its grant program. Potential donors may contact Bob Patrick, kyyogi@roadrunner.com for additional information.

May 18-20th, 2012, the Yoga Service Council and Omega are joining forces to offer the first annual Yoga Service Conference.

This gathering at the Omega campus will bring together the nation's leading teachers using yoga and mindfulness practices to help people change their lives in underserved and vulnerable communities. Faculty include Seane Corn, Kelly McGonigal, Beryl Bender Birch, BK Bose and many other revolutionary leaders, including Dr. Gabor Mate, respected physician and best-selling author of When the Body Says No: The Hidden Cost of Stress.

You can learn more about both the Yoga Service Council and the conference at www.yogaservicecouncil.org. You can also visit this site to apply for scholarships.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Mid-Atlantic Yoga Association and Give Back Yoga Foundation Announce Joint Grant Program to Promote Yoga in Metro Area

Alexandria, VA - October 30, 2010 - Thousands of dollars in grants will be awarded in 2010 and beyond to deserving individuals and nonprofit organizations that can help make the study and practice of yoga more accessible, especially to the underserved communities in DC, Maryland, and Virginia.

These grants will be made possible thanks to a new partnership formed by the Mid-Atlantic Yoga Association (MAYA) and the Give Back Yoga Foundation (GBYF). The organizations announced the details of the plan on October 30, 2010.

MAYA is a nonprofit founded in the 1980s to support yoga teachers and their students in the greater DC metropolitan area. "We believe that everyone can benefit from the transformational potential and health giving benefits of yoga in all of its aspects. And together we want to make yoga more accessible for all," said Jennifer Crescenzo, MAYA's president.

With deep roots in the yoga community, MAYA is best known for its annual Yogathons and co-sponsoring both DC and VA Yoga Week. For many years the group helped yoga teachers purchase liability insurance and has hosted teachers from India and elsewhere at its retreats.

The Give Back Yoga Foundation supports and funds certified yoga teachers in all traditions to offer the teachings of yoga to underserved and under-resourced populations. Its work has recently targeted yoga for incarcerated offenders who wish to change their approach to life and for U.S. military service members returning from Iraq, Afghanistan and other combat zones as they transition back from theater and attempt to reconnect with themselves, their friends, and their loved ones.

Grant guidelines and application forms for the MAYA-GBYF partnership can be found online at GBYF's web site: www.givebackyoga.org. Questions about the guidelines and the application process may be emailed to info@midatlanticyoga.org or to info@givebackyoga.org. Those without access to email may telephone Ms. Crescenzo at (202) 683-4075 or Jill Minneman, a MAYA board member, at (202) 237-0246 or Mr. Rob Schware, a board member of the Give Back Yoga Foundation, at (301) 792-5352. Applications will be reviewed by the boards of both nonprofit organizations and grant awards will be announced every four months, Crescenzo said.

The grants are intended to directly benefit groups of individuals who might not otherwise have the opportunity to experience the benefits of yoga and to begin programs that will last beyond the grant period. Grants are not expected to pay salaries or wages for those implementing the grant or to help grant recipients obtain yoga education or meet certification requirements.

Press Contacts:

Mid- Atlantic Yoga Association
Jennifer Crescenzo, President, (202) 683-4057
info@midatlanticyoga.org

The Give Back Yoga Foundation
Rob Schware, Co-Founder and Board Member, (301) 792-5352