OFF THE MAT, INTO THE WORLD™

Laurel has become involved through her teacher, Seane Corn, in a non-profit organization called Off the Mat, Into the World™.  For more information, you can check out www.mydowntownyoga.com/seva/seva-home.html

About Off the Mat, Into the World….

Off the Mat, Into the World™ was born out of the joint vision of Hala Khouri, Suzanne Sterling and Seane Corn.  Their purpose was to find leaders in the yoga community and to help them find their purpose, create community and take action together.

THE ENGAGE NETWORK

Off The Mat is part of a larger effort called The Engage Network.  Engage is a network of circles of people – from yoga studios to book clubs to moms groups who come together to find purpose, build community and be part of creating social and environmental change.  Engage was founded by a team of people who were working with Julia Butterfly Hill, an incredible woman who sat for 738 days in an ancient redwood tree to stop the destruction of the forest.

What I will do to Change the World

Off The Mat, Into The World™ has offered a leadership challenge, which feel called to participate in. I will journey to Cambodia, a place where children have a very difficult time. They are born into a country that has one of the highest rates of child prostitution, domestic violence, and child labor in the world. Many of the children live in garbage dumps, foraging for their lives, and often selling their bodies for food.

But there is hope for these children. A group called the Cambodian Children’s Fund (www.cambodianchildrensfund.org) provides food, education, and job training to children on an ongoing basis through its five orphanages and outreach programs. A group of yoga leaders from around the United States are traveling there to participate in changing these children’s lives through working with them hands on. We also will leave a financial legacy. Our group has raised so far a half million dollars. In addition to saving lives, I will be challenged to step up and become an emerging leader in the yoga community.

I have reached my goal of raising $20 000 in one year for these children and travelled to Cambodia in February to volunteer with these children. If you’d like to know more about the trip, you can check out our blog on the Yoga Journal Website http://blogs.yogajournal.com/cambodia/ …. Enjoy!