Souljourn Yoga Foundation is a US 501(c)3 non-profit that creates transformational yoga retreats and teacher training programs to raise awareness and funds for young women’s education around the world. Our name is inspired by seva, the Sanskrit word for and yogic principle of selfless service (the soul), sojourn, which captures the essence of being in a place and time, and yoga, which is union, balance, and connection.
Our Experience
Our retreats go beyond the everyday predictability of group travel and provide enhanced contact and authentic experiences for all our participants. We connect directly with local communities—we share conversations over meals, participate together in yoga and art workshops, and learn about each other's daily lives in unique and enlightening ways. We visit communities where this connection has the power to help all participants thrive.
Yoga has the opportunity to universally inspire kaivalya—to connect people across spaces, to empower their development, and to promote economic self-sufficiency.
A deeply powerful element of yoga is that it does not adhere to one particular belief system or community; it is a fluid bridge for anyone and everyone to connect to their internal well-being.
It is through this core observance and respect for community and collaboration that we are able to connect.
Currently, more than 130 million young women around the world are denied an education, which also means they are often denied the right to make their own fundamental choices—choices that could improve their overall well-being through access to better opportunities, decisions regarding their health, and increased gender equity.
A young woman with safe access to an education also is less likely to be endangered by violence, child marriage, and premature pregnancy.
At Souljourn Yoga Foundation, we use our time and resources to advocate for women’s equal access to education, opportunities for empowerment, their own space to breathe, connect, and thrive. We provide these benefits through diverse workshops and teacher immersions within communities where equal opportunities are not always available, on or off of the mat.
A $300–$500 donation per participant goes directly to our girls’ education partners on the ground. As a way to change the donor/recipient relationship to allow for more heart and mind, we also volunteer with these local organizations during our retreats.
Since 2016, we have successfully raised tens of thousands of dollars for young women’s education around the world.
Through our yoga teacher training program, we train local women to teach yoga and mindfulness so that it is culturally adaptable for their communities. Many of these young women have academically rigorous schedules and an immense pressure to succeed, as it not only impacts their own future, but also the future of their families. With so much stress and pressure resting on their shoulders, our programs give them the space and time to flourish.
We have teamed up with some incredible organizations across the globe. Take a look:
