Yoga Freedom Project Brings Awareness to Sex Trafficking With Jan. 31 Event in NYC

Proceeds from the yoga event benefit the Somaly Mam Foundation. Mam (pictured) has decicated her life to helping end sex slavery after being sold to a brothel as a girl.

While removing our shoes before yoga class one day, we noticed a poster for the Yoga Freedom Project, created by Off the Mat NYC and the Somaly Mam Foundation (SMF) to bring attention throughout the month of January to the issue of sex trafficking. The project culminates with a two-hour yoga class on Jan. 31 at Twelve21, 12 West 21 St. in the Flatiron District, with a lineup of nine of New York City’s top yoga teachers. For those not in New York, we also found ways you can help bring awareness to this important — and often overlooked — global issue. An estimated 27 million people currently are enslaved throughout the world, and one to two million children will be sold into slavery within the next year.

The Somaly Mam Foundation is dedicated to ending slavery, rescuing and empowering survivors and lending support to shelter and rehabilitation programs globally. Namesake and co-founder Somaly Mam was sold to a brothel as a 14-year-old girl in Cambodia by a man posing as her grandfather. After being forced to watch her best friend brutally murdered, Mam escaped and dedicated her new life to helping others. Her full story can be found in her memoir, The Road of Lost Innocence (Spiegel & Grau, 2008); a portion of the proceeds benefit the foundation.

Participating yoga studios have been selling Mam’s book as well as tank tops ($25) commemorating the upcoming yoga event. The tops are available with or without the list of participating studios and instructors, who will lead the two-hour class in about 10-minute intervals, according to Heather Snyder, co-creator and organizer of the Yoga Freedom Project. The teachers include Elena Brower of Virayoga, Tricia Donegan of Bikram Yoga Lower East Side, Sri Dharma Mittra of Dharma Yoga, Dana Flynn of Laughing Lotus, Cyndi Lee of OM Yoga, Alan Finger of Ishta Yoga, Suzanne Sterling, Jodie Rufty and Sierra Bender. Tickets are $50, plus a small service fee if you purchase them online, and benefit the Somaly Mam Foundation. The class starts at 7 p.m. (doors open at 6:30).

Raffle tickets will be sold for $5 at the door for a chance to win the following prizes: a certificate for Deep Root Massage, a Bikram Yoga Lower East Side monthly unlimited pass, a Dharma Yoga poster, private yoga with Eric Stoneberg, Karma Warrior Clothes, a Sierra Bender workshop, Virayoga T-shirts, an Ishta 10-class card and signed book, a Yoga Vida monthly unlimited pass, private instruction with Marjorie Nass, Electric Yoga clothing and mat and a Hyde Off the Mat tank top. After the class, there will be a reception with light snacks.

No plans to be in New York City that day? Check out the SMF events page and PROJECT FUTURES events listings, or find out how you can take action, from participating in online campaigns to hosting an event. Donate online to SMF or visit the Empowerment Store and purchase an item made by a slavery survivor, such as the silk Empowerment Necklace ($25) or Freedom Scarves ($50).

Mam’s story has opened our eyes to modern day slavery, and we’re inspired to see so many styles of yoga unite for a worthy cause! Are you inspired to raise awareness about human trafficking?

Photo credit: Courtesy Yoga Freedom Project

Tags: Activism, Alan Finger, Cambodia, co-founder, Cyndi Lee, Dana Flynn, Dharma Mittra, Dharma Yoga Center, Eddie Bauer Holdings Inc., Elena Brower, Empowerment Store, Eric Stoneberg, exercise, Flatiron District, Heather Snyder, Hospitality/Recreation, Human trafficking, Jodie Rufty, Marjorie Nass, Meditation, Mind-body interventions, New York, New York City, online campaigns, Sex trade, Sierra Bender, Slavery, Somaly Mam, Somaly Mam Foundation, Suzanne Sterling, Tricia Donegan, USD, yoga, Yoga Freedom Project, Yogis