Have you met our “sister” yet? We are proud and so delighted to introduce you to the life-changing work of The Yoga Foundation.

The Yoga Foundation is a leading not-for-profit providing research-based programmes to support the mental health of at-risk groups.

In the early part of the new millennium, founder and director of The Yoga Institute, Dr Michael de Manincor (counselling psychologist and one of Australia’s longest serving yoga educators) wanted to find a way to connect the life-affirming benefits of yoga with those experiencing disadvantage and hardship.  

His wish was not only for yoga to be accessible to those who might otherwise miss out, but importantly for yoga to be offered to people facing a range of challenges in a way that made them feel safe, comfortable, included and free of any sense of judgement.

In 2009, our not-for-profit sister organisation – The Yoga Foundation – was born.

The Work of The Yoga Foundation

A fully independent organisation, The Yoga Foundation serves as a central hub for like-minded people and groups to work together collaboratively, with the common interest of preventing at-risk people in the community from failing through the cracks by improving their wellbeing and quality of life.

Underpinning the work of The Yoga Foundation was Michael’s own findings in his PhD research into how yogic techniques could be applied to treat mental health conditions, especially anxiety and depression.

Being able to provide hard evidentiary data on the benefits of yoga, and specifically the bespoke programmes delivered by The Yoga Foundation, remains at the core of how the foundation successfully partners with so many other groups and people in the community, and provides sustainable programmes to those who really need it.

For the last decade, The Yoga Foundation has been lead by executive Jessica Hobson whose role as CEO continues to expand The Yoga Foundation’s reach to people in need.

Evidence-Based Programmes and the People They Can Benefit

Working with government agencies, NGOs and service providers in the health and disability sectors, The Yoga Foundation’s focus is on supporting the mental health of vulnerable people and helping to positively change their experience of life.  This is done by creating evidence-based, tailor-made yoga programmes for a variety of people and groups including:

• veterans with PTSD
• people affected by homelessness,
• women affected by domestic violence,
• at-risk youth,  
• people with persistent and long-term mental health challenges,
• people in the criminal justice system, and
• refugees and asylum seekers,

The Yoga Foundation’s evidence-based programs offer a ‘whole of person’ approach and are designed to support people physically, mentally, emotionally and socially as they recover from mental ill health, domestic & family violence, addiction and trauma.

Want to Learn More or Get Involved?

1. Warm and open your heart:

2. Visit The Yoga Foundation website here

3. You can donate or sponsor a programme here (The Yoga Foundation is a registered charity, and all donations over $2 are tax-deductible).

4. Contact the team at The Yoga Foundation or subscribe to their newsletter here

With gratitude and love

Written By Nicole Small, The Yoga Institute