Yoga Gives Back (YGB), a non-profit organization with a mission to mobilize the global yoga community to empower women and children in India, has just presented their 2016 Namaste Award.
“The Namaste Award recognizes special people who have gone beyond the practice and teaching of yoga to incorporate noble humanitarian service, which helps make the world a better place,” YGB founder Kayoko Mitsumatsu explained.
This year the award went to the film director David Lynch for his uplifting work with the David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education and World Peace. David Lynch Foundation provide free-of-charge Transcendental Meditation instruction to children in inner-city schools, veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, the homeless, and women and girls who are victims of violence. The practice of Transcendental Meditation helps to transform the lives of these at-risk populations by alleviating stress, increasing resilience and improving their mental and physical health. 
The award was presented to Lynch at a Yoga Gives Back fundraiser, which took place on September 25th and launched the organizations’ annual global fundraising campaign which includes 150 events in over 15 countries and heightens awareness of the realities faced by the poor, especially women and children in India.
“For the cost of one yoga class, you can change a life” is Yoga Gives Back’s mantra. The organization currently funds with micro-loans and education scholarships nearly 900 mothers and children in Karnataka and West Bengal, India.
Sources:
https://siliconeer.com/current/namaste-award-recognizes-those-who-serve-others/
http://yogagivesback.org/
