2022 Grant Recipients 

We are so excited to award the 2022 Kundalini Beyond Borders to the following grant recipients. 

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Ariane Rocha Mesquita/ Siri Haridevi Kaur

Mexico

Economist, former executive from a banking corporation, I’ve worked for 13 years in the financial market until surrender to my soul calling and started doing SEVA giving Kundalini Yoga in a Shelter for Women Survivor of Domestic Violence in Mexico City two years ago, this represented a turning point in my career and I’ve decided to specialize myself in Women’s health issues through Yoga (Stress and Trauma), Natural Gynecology and Ayurveda. I am currently teaching kundalini yoga clases and workshops on woman self care practices and giving private consultations on Natural Gynecology.

Bernasho Thandi Sikalangwe

Mozambique
Once upon a time in the early 2000’s, I felt an impulse to look for yoga and I didn’t even know what it was. I was led by a deep desire to move my body. Martial arts, dance or any physical discipline could have done the trick but somehow I insisted on trying yoga. At that time in my country it was impossible to find yoga classes. Mine is an officially declared christian nation and this has shaped what is acceptable or not in Zambia, an arid desert for yoga!
 
On my way to college one day, I noticed the words “Rajyoga Center” on a big fancy wall with a shiny gate. I was intimidated by the high scale grandiosity of the aesthetics and never dared to go for fear that I could not afford it. I gazed at this centre almost everyday for two years on my way to college. Nearing graduation with the possibility of getting a job before me, I strapped my boots and dared to ‘window shop’  because I would soon be able to afford to pay for yoga classes.
 
Standing at the gate of the Raj Yoga Center, this white haired Indian petite sweet man told me the classes were given for free! Six months later I was done with lessons from my first teacher and my body still craved movement as I mostly sat to mediate at Raj Yoga when I was not discussing philosophy with my teacher.
 
Peter Mclee Mhone was an immensely gifted teacher and between us, it’s hard to say who found the other once I was done at the Raj Yoga centre. This man guided me and taught me all he knew without reservation. His death six years later drove me back to the lessons of Raj Yoga in attempt to heal my grief. 
 
Whatever good I have encountered, wherever my feet have stepped in growth, anyone of good will have met since and the woman I have become today since I met Peter I owe to him. 
 
Today, 16 years after meeting the first of my many teachers, I am a Hatha yoga teacher, An Ayurvedic therapist, a meditation teacher, a Kundalini yoga teacher. Above all this I am a cluster of the  unconditional generosity and benevolence of all my great teachers to whom I will forever be indebted to. 

John Guchua

Kenya

John arrived in the world of yoga practice in 2009 when he was looking for a transition to a different type of practice and adventure after more than a decade of being trained as a contemporary dancer. In his first class where he was introduced by a friend, John was instantly inspired by the practice of yoga and the positive therapeutic vibration the practice gave to him for both mind and body.

Six years later, John has become an experienced registered yoga teacher with diverse certifications, skills and experiences. He has completed his 200hr teacher training with the Africa yoga project (under the methodology of Baptist power vinyasa yoga), has become a certified yoga alliance and kundalini yoga teacher with the kundalini research institute (under the teachings of yogi bhajan) and is a certified AYFIT (Acro-yoga) teacher. He also works with children with various disabilities both from his community and various NGOs. He also currently appears weekly on national Kenyan television with his own yoga classes.

In addition, he has studied the art of alignment and assist with Paige Elenson. He accredits all his teachers – Paige elenson, Ravinder Kaur, Gobinda Singh, Sat Darshan Singh, and mentor Lisa Wade. John also continues to enhance his practice by self-practicing, attending workshops and yoga conferences, and he encourages leads and empowers students to tune in to connect with themselves, creating increased physical and personal awareness.

Beyond a yoga practitioner and teacher, John has remained true to his roots as a dancer and visual arts. He is therefore very passionate about the combination of yoga, art and dance and its benefits for self-expression and transformation, strength and flexibility, fostering discipline on and off the mat and its healing possibilities. He took this a step further by becoming trained as an art and yoga therapist and consultant.

As a result of this passion, he founded Yogartec company in which he hosts art and yoga therapy workshops across Nairobi, Kenya. He works for companies, tourists staying at various top hotels, students from across Nairobi and members of NGOs working with local disadvantaged communities and as well as members of his own community as a volunteer, sharing the practice of Kundalini yoga for free to the disadvantaged groups e.g. People living with Hiv/Aids, pregnant women and children, John’s classes are enjoyable, thoughtfully and artistically designed to have a therapeutic effect for the students participating. The classes are paced with kundalini yoga (kriyas) and movement with a strong emphasis on proper anatomical alignment, breath, flexibility and yogic philosophy and awareness. His intention is to also provide an open space for his students to quiet the mind and strengthen the body to cultivate a transformative self-experience. In John’s classes, there is space for everyone from beginners to seasoned practitioners with all sorts of backgrounds.

Julia Gabor

Ukraine
I have lived in several European countries and worked in leading positions in world leader multinational companies when I connected with kundalini yoga, which made a tremendous difference in my relationship with myself and with others, the Teachings and the practice transformed my management and life style. 
For over 4 years I have supported people releasing what is in the way to follow their own truth and take a massive jump in their lives. I have been providing individual support for people in crisis, executives with addiction challenges.
 
I teach online classes to international groups and one-on-one on ADHD, PTSD, nervous breakdown, depression, chronic fatigue, lung cancer and addictions. 
 
My daily disciplined practice has sustained a deep commitment to the Teachings of Kundalini Yoga. Furthermore I have a strong commitment to be present for people in a vulnerable situation and to share the Teachings in order to have a tool to face anxiety, fears, insecurities and get a clear goal and strategy to move on. 
 
My Trainings:
  • Level I (Barcelona, Budapest, Madrid, Verona)
  • Level II (Barcelona, Ljubljana, Verona, Budapest, Truske, Stuttgart) 
  • Level III (PT)
  • Leadership and Success KRI certified training (Ljubljana, Milano, Barcelona, Budapest)
  • KRI workshops (Madrid, Roma, Sicilia, Milano, Budapest)
  • Sat Nam Rasayan (Madrid)
Who I learned from: Sadhana Singh (Italy), Karta Singh (Spain), Shiv Charan Singh (Portugal), Sat Sangat (Italy), Gurudass Kaur (USA), Simran Kaur (USA), Ambrosio Espinosa (Spain)

Kaylene Dyinawil 

Australia

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Frank Ininihazwe

Burundi

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Azahara Maria GarciaA

United Kingdom 

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Akarat Sivaphongthongchai 

Thailand

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Caryn Lerman 

United States 

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 Florencia Griselda

Chile

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