About Yoga Stops Traffick

About Yoga Stops Traffick

Yoga Stops Traffick is an annual campaign uniting yoga practitioners across the globe to take a stand against human trafficking. People can take part by running or attending donation based yoga classes, in person or online. We also ask people to organise their own community events or support us by signing up as a regular donor. The funds raised support Odanadi Seva Trust, a pioneering anti-trafficking organisation based in Mysore, South India. Odanadi works for the rescue, rehabilitation and reintegration of trafficked women and children. For more than 30 years Odanadi has been committed to providing a safe haven for survivors of human trafficking, sexual exploitation, slavery and domestic abuse.

Yoga Stops Traffick was set up in 2010 by a group of volunteers who wanted to do something to help. On March 12th 2011 our 2nd annual event, was led by a group of young Odanadi residents from the entrance gates of the iconic Mysore Palace, many of whom are survivors of slavery, domestic abuse and forced prostitution. Through the common language of yoga, 3,000 people around the world united in support of Odanadi’s work and rolled out their mats in homes, beaches and mountaintops on the same day. From the home of Ashtanga in Mysore, a worldwide event was born.

Ashtanga Yoga is of huge significance to the young people of Odanadi. As part of their rehabilitation program, it has allowed them to reclaim their bodies; build physical and mental strength, and restore a sense of peace, confidence and self-worth.

By standing alongside them, you will be demonstrating your solidarity and support, as well as sending a message of defiance against a world which allows these horrific abuses to take place.

Now is your chance to make a difference, take part in Yoga Stops Traffick.

Odanadi currently runs two residential rehabilitation and reintegration centres in Mysore, housing up to 100 women and young people at any one time.

Every resident has a different story to tell: many have been rescued from the hands of sex traffickers, others from abusive homes, child marriages or domestic and commercial servitude.

At Odanadi residents are provided with the skills they need to heal, empower, educate and eventually reintegrate themselves back into mainstream society. Odanadi’s unique psycho-social therapy programme has become accepted as best practice both within India and internationally. Odanadi’s method is carefully tailored according to each individual’s needs and can entail a wide range of activities, from psychological counselling to art therapy, drama, karate, yoga and acupuncture.

Research shows that almost a quarter of trafficking victims are re-trafficked, which is why it is so important for residents to be well prepared for life outside the walls of Odanadi. Odanadi’s aim is to reunite trafficking victims with their families and to give them the necessary tools to face mainstream society as strong, confident, empowered individuals. 

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About Human Trafficking

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How you can help

Get involved in one of our events or find out more about how you can take part here. We welcome any individual or group who would like to hold an event and donate and we share information about our events on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.

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PHOTOS FROM YST EVENTS ACROSS THE GLOBE

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