IY Travel Impact Program
We believe that yoga and travel have the power to transform both ourselves and the world around us. This has been our mission statement since 2008 and is the foundation of our IY Travel Impact Program. In addition to promoting global perspective and cultural enrichment, we feel it is imperative that travelers give back to the people and places we visit.
One of International Yoga's differentiating values is our strong commitment to our partnerships overseas, many of whom we have been working with for over a dozen years. We work closely with them to identify local organizations and projects that support their communities, economic goals and environmental preservation initiatives. Every International Yoga retreat includes a meaningful donation to a local organization or non-profit. Please see the details for your specific retreat to learn about how we create positive impact wherever we travel.
"International Yoga empowers retreat participants to give back, supporting Yoga Gives Back’s mission to uplift underserved women and children in India, the birthplace of yoga. Through its generosity, vision, and commitment to Seva, International Yoga embodies the true spirit of Karma Yoga. What a great work you do—your impact on this world is meaningful, and thanks to your vision and action that includes Yoga Gives Back, we are truly blessed."
— Kayoko Mitsumatsu, Yoga Gives Back
"Thanks to International Yoga and its travelers, we’ve transformed our Peruvian mountain community by building a kindergarten with modern facilities and providing school supplies and shoes for children. During the pandemic, we installed satellite internet to ensure learning continued. We are forever grateful to Pachamama and International Yoga for making this possible."
— Valentin Baca, Valentin's Pachamama Journeys
NON-PROFITS WE SUPPORT
Yoga Gives Back supports women and children in India—the birthplace of yoga—through micro-loans and education programs that address poverty and social inequality. While millions around the world benefit from yoga as self-care, many in India still lack access to basic opportunities. As part of our Travel Impact Program and as a proud Resilience Partner, International Yoga is committed to the ongoing support of Yoga Gives Back’s mission to create lasting social impact and reach #OneMillionYogis—empowering communities through the transformative power of yoga.
We have been partnering with Valentin Baca Baños, a Peruvian native, for over a decade. His tour company, Valentin’s Pachamama Journeys, is strongly committed to supporting social projects that help local people and the economy in Peru. They partner with humanitarian organizations to supply shoes, hats, medicine, and other needs to local children and their families. As part of IY's Travel Impact Program, a portion of your trip price will be donated to a local school that Valentin has built to support the children in his Sacred Valley community. We will have the opportunity to visit the school during our trip and donate additional supplies.
In partnership with the Mayan Mother's Fund, 100% of our donation will go toward buying food for local Mayan women in Santa Cruz La Laguna whose families are in the greatest need of financial support. 21 years after the end of a civil war that took the lives of 200,000, and estimated 95 % lost by the indigenous peoples in Guatemala, little has been done to bring justice or economic opportunity to the indigenous Maya. Most of the eight million indigenous Maya people who live in Guatemala suffer from poverty. Poverty affects indigenous Maya women the most. One in three indigenous Maya women has no access to health or reproductive services. More than 70% of their children are malnourished.
Funding education through tourism is at the heart of ABOUTAsia — it's the very reason they were founded. With the firm belief that luxury travel can simultaneously change the lives of the world's most and least fortunate, all of their profits are donated to ABOUTAsia Schools, which to date supports over 50,000 children across 108 Schools in Siem Reap through targeted educational programs. By choosing to travel with IY and ABOUTAsia you are already helping to make a difference.
Amal Center is a non-profit organization dedicated to the empowerment of underserved women through restaurant training and job placement. Amal's ultimate goal is personal transformation through the development of job and life skills for their trainees to eventually achieve economic and social stability. Amal helps their graduates find jobs in restaurants, hotels, riads, or private homes that will allow them to become financially independent. Amal is a self-sustained social entity that strives to make positive changes in women's lives in Morocco.
OutRight Action International works at the international, regional, and national levels to research, document, defend, and advance human rights for LGBTIQ people around the world. We partner directly with human rights defenders, allies, and organizations to produce reliable data on the experiences of LGBTIQ people around the world, and support research-based advocacy and capacity-building to promote the human rights LGBTIQ people everywhere.
The Chiwong Monastery Sangey Trust is dedicated to preserving one of Nepal’s most sacred cultural and spiritual centers in the Solu Khumbu region. In this remote Himalayan area—where monasteries serve as schools, community hubs, and guardians of Buddhist tradition—resources are limited, making upkeep a constant challenge. The Trust supports resident monks with food, housing, and education, and offers scholarships for local children who might not otherwise have access to schooling. Its efforts also include restoration work, solar electrification, and sustaining Mani Rimdu, one of the region’s most important Buddhist festivals. Through IY’s partnership with the Chiwong Monastery Sangey Trust, we provide annual support that helps sustain this sacred site, uplift the Sherpa community, and preserve a living lineage of Himalayan Buddhism.
Since 2015, Thread Caravan has been facilitating cultural art workshops in rural communities plagued by high street dog populations. Out of this initiative, Caravana Canina naturally emerged to address pressing community needs. With a focus on spaying and neutering as a long-term solution to combat neglect and abuse, the project has also provided crucial care such as feeding, vaccination, deworming, fostering, and adoption. Over 159 dogs have found new homes, 484 have undergone spaying and neutering procedures, and countless others have received essential care in Mexico.