WE ARE BRINGING THE ANCIENT SCIENCE OF YOGA TO SERVE PEACEBUILDING IN COLOMBIA. OUR PROTOCOLS ARE DESIGNED WITH A NON-CONFESSIONAL, DIFFERENTIAL, AND TRAUMA SENSITIVE APPROACH.

Shakti Program: yoga for the emotional recovery of female victims.

Program made thanks to the Mayor’s Office of Medellín (Secretary of Women+ ISVIMED) and the Bolívar Davivienda Foundation.

It is a strategy aimed at the emotional recovery of women victims of different types of violence through yoga, pedagogy for peace and corporal narratives. To date, 250 women victims of the Ciudadela Nuevo Occidente in Medellín have been treated. The project was developed within the framework of the project “Women, memories of war, protagonists of peace” which seeks to create spaces for the construction of a culture of peace with a gender approach woven new ways of relating in everyday life. The strategy was evaluated by the Pontificia Bolivariana University.

SHANTI PROGRAM – Reparation and responsibility for youths in the juvenile detention system (SRPA in Spanish) through yoga and dance

This program is made possible thanks to the support of the Fundación Bolívar Davivienda and the ICBF.

Since 2015, the Shanti program has been implemented in 9 cities in Colombia with imprisoned youths in the ICBF juvenile detention system. Thanks to the project, the participants have increased their perception of individual well-being/emotional health, lowered aggression, depression, anxiety and stress scores, and developed inner skills to outline their life project. The project also includes the relatives of the young people with whom we work. All participants are provided with self-care and care tools, as well as guidelines to support the life project designed by the youths.

VIVEKA PROGRAM -Yoga for coexistence-

This project is carried out thanks to the support from the Bolivar Davivienda Foundation and Prosperidad Social.

The Yoga for peaceful coexistence project was developed in the context of the program Vivienda de Interés Prioritario from the National Government, which seeks to contribute to coexistence skills through a Yoga Program. The project Yoga for coexistence demonstrated that through Yoga the variables that have the most impact within a community can be improved.

AHIMSA PROGRAM -Yoga for reparations-

This project is carried out thanks to the support from the Bolivar Davivienda Foundation and the Unidad para la Atención y Reparación Integral a las Víctimas.

The program has been carried out since 2013 serving 400 victims of the armed conflict in 9 municipalities recognized through justice and peace laws (Barranquilla, Mampuján, Sabanagrande, San Juan Nepomuceno, Soledad, Aracataca, Fundación, Reten y Zona Bananera). The intervention seeks to reduce the emotional suffering of the participants and contribute to the social tissue reconstruction in communities affected by violence. A study was performed in charge of Universidad de los Andes with the objective to measure intervention impacts. The study results are statistically significant and we will soon publish the results of the research.

AHIMSA PROGRAM -Yoga for reconciliaton-

This project is carried out thanks to the support from the Bolivar Davivienda Foundation and the Agencia Colombiana para la Reintegración

The program has been carried out from 2010 to 2014 serving demobilized soldiers diagnosed with PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) in the cities of Bogota, Medellin, Barranquilla, Bucaramanga, Armenia, Villavicencio. The sessions consist of diverse Yoga practices to manage and understand their symptoms and recover functionality. A study was performed in charge of the Universidad de Los Andes with the objective to measure intervention impacts. The study results are statistically and clinically significant and were published in the International Journal of Yoga Therapy.

SANTOSHA PROJECT – Yoga for the peaceful coexistance at school-

Santosha was carried in alliance with Productos Ramo, Pavimentos Colombia S.A.S and Universidad de Los Andes.

Together with Universidad de Los Andes, Dunna has been executing since last year Santosha Project. This children and adolescent-centered project is part of Dunna’s educational initiative which objective is to foster peace-building throughout yoga. A total of 186 children and youth coming from low-income and violent contexts have taken part of an intervention based on integral yoga.

AHIMSA: TERM OF SANSKRIT ORIGINS WHICH MEANS ABSENCE OF VIOLENCE. IT IS ONE OF THE YAMAS DESCRIBED IN PATANJIALI’S YOGA SUTRAS, AND IT DENOTES A GENERAL ATTITUDE OF WELLBEING TOWARDS THE WHOLE WORLD.