Support Iyengar Yoga Detroit's Solidarity Fund!

Iyengar Yoga Detroit Collective embodies a radical, revolutionary approach to yoga and community, inspiring practitioners locally, regionally, and internationally. As a cooperative, we defy the commercial, capitalist appropriation typical of the yoga industry. We embrace Healing Justice principles , centering people of color, queer folks, people with disabilities, low-income folks, and others who may feel marginalized in yoga and healing spaces. Your financial support will help us sustain and enrich our transformative programming!

Give to our Solidarity Fund to support these programs:

1. BIPOC Apprenticeship Program: We make the long and comprehensive training required to become a CIYT (Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher) accessible. Iyengar Yoga students of color with at least a year of consistent study can apply for this 2 1/2 year program which includes full scholarships for classes and workshops, monthly study groups, and one-on-one mentoring. In the second year, apprentices can start assisting classes and begin supervised teaching. In the third year, they will be actively coached in preparation for certification. Not only is this program totally free of charge for BIPOC apprentices, but we also provide monthly honoraria for those needing financial support to participate. This honoraria can be applied toward transportation, childcare, housing, or any other basic needs that must be covered in order to be fully present on this challenging path.

2. Teacher Education Program : The commercial yoga industry provides certification for anyone with thousands of dollars of expendable income. Instead, we host small cohorts of devoted practitioners, and focus on personal mentorship, over several years, on a Community Gift basis. Our ongoing study groups provide continuing education even beyond certification, and attract serious Iyengar Yoga teachers and practitioners from around the world, as well as locally.

3. Community Gift Program: Typically, high quality yoga instruction, especially Iyengar Yoga, is unaffordable to many. Other times, low-income practitioners have to devote extra effort and compete to receive scholarships. Our Community Gift Program is open to everyone, with no application process. We encourage FINANCIAL SOVEREIGNTY--determining for yourself where you fit on the financial spectrum, and COOPERATIVE ECONOMICS--recognizing our interdependence and collective well-being. We encourage everyone to give according to their capacity and their conscience. Those who are middle class and up can pay on the higher end, so that those who are lower income can still participate, receive support, and feel free to pay on the lower end.

IYDC recognizes the value of labor, both paid and unpaid. Our community members give their time and energy generously in order to run these programs. We do so in recognition of the importance of this work: spreading Iyengar Yoga not only as personal wellness, but as a means to evolve society and create the world we long to live in. Our goal is not to build capital but to practice healing justice.