Australian_Yoga_Journal_2016_08_09_downmagaz.com

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Off the Mat INTERVIEW Africa Yoga PROJECT AYJ august/september 2016 yogajournal.com.au 84 We caught up with Renee Canzoneri to chat about how she took her practice off the mat to empower and inspire yoga students in Africa. Inspired by the practice of yoga, Renee let go of her corporate fashion career to teach. Her passion for yoga and mindfulness has taken her around the globe, learning, practicing and working with some of the world’s best teachers – including completing her 500hr training with Baron Baptiste in the USA. Renee teaches to empower her students, and create possibility both on and off the mat. What inspired you to take your yoga practice off the mat? RENEE Yoga for me is about so much more than the asana. Of course the physical component is key, and offers an access point to the deeper lessons available, but the real impact of it has been on my relationships and in my life. We learn such valuable lessons on our mat, and insights we can take to shift our perspective and lives. Off my mat is where I have experienced the real power of the practice, and I want to be a part of that journey for others. AYJ Why do you want to bring people together through music? RENEE Africa Yoga Project was the inspired creation of Paige Elenson and Baron Baptiste, two of my greatest mentors.They spoke with me about AYP at a training a few years ago, and it sounded exactly like the kind of community project I wanted to get involved with.The organisation works to expand youth employment throughout Africa, using the powerful methodology of Baptiste Yoga to create self-sustaining leaders who teach yoga and empower their communities. Baptiste Yoga combines physical practice, meditation, and selfinquiry. It’s designed to empower students by giving them the tools to uncover their potential, reveal their authenticity, tap into their passion, and transform the most PHOTO: LULULEMON AUS/NZ; BILLY SADIA
significant areas of their life. It’s a practice that creates and inspires possibility. For me it’s not just a style of yoga, it’s a way of being; of living in discovery, being in the moment-to-moment recognition and letting go of the limiting beliefs that don’t serve me.There’s a beauty and strength that’s accessible once you give yourself permission to be unapologetically you, and it’s from that place you can create magic in your life, and really be for others. AYJ How did you use your yoga practice to ground you during this time? RENEE As I wasn’t able to practice much during the program, I discovered that even 10 minutes in the morning grounded me in where I was and what we were up to, and the physical grounding offered the access point to emotional grounding. They say ‘you can’t pour from an empty cup’, and so in making sure I held space for my experience, I was able to step off my mat clearer to hold space for theirs. AYJ How can people get involved in Africa Yoga Project? RENEE There are so many ways to get involved (and I couldn’t recommend it more)! Beyond the teacher training program, you can get involved as a mentor, or take part in a Seva Safari in Kenya. For those interested, head to www.africayogaproject.org and see what speaks to you. Everything you need to know is there, and the staff behind it are incredibly helpful if you have any questions. AYJ What did your venture as part of the project involve? RENEE This year, I worked closely with Paige and the co-facilitators to develop and deliver the 200hr teacher training program. There’s also Seva work beyond the in-class teaching and discovery, where we learnt how to teach yoga to special-needs children, spent time building desks and painting with the students, and taught yoga at some of the AYP outreach locations in schools, rehabilitation centres, and women’s shelters. AYJ What were your first impressions of Africa? RENEE It’s pretty interesting to go to a place where you can drive 20 minutes and see lions! I was lucky enough to see a lot of Kenya, and the country is so expansive and beautiful and almost surreal. It was when I was watching giraffes crossing a trail that I realised Kenya isn’t just another country, it’s a place full of wonder that inspires paintings and books and documentariesthere’s so much magic to see and be part of. AYJ What was it like to teach there? And how did it differ from your experiences of teaching at home? RENEE You know, it’s funny, I really thought I would need to be different somehow, and yet part of the beauty of yoga is that it’s accessible, and its benefits and teachings are universal. We are all the same, we all have the same self-doubt, we all suffer from fear, we all want people to like us, we all compare.It might manifest differently in day-to-day life, but ultimately being there reminded me of our humanness, and the likeness of the human spirit from person to person regardless of circumstances. What I loved most about it was their willingness to play in their practiceto go for it, not just physically, but emotionally. The students are so beautiful and expressive, cheering and clapping, encouraging each other. We’re a little bit more restrained here. august/september 2016 yogajournal.com.au 85
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