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Empowering communities through the healing, calming, and transformative benefits of yoga
Chandigarh: In a powerful celebration of International Yoga Day 2025, the Roundglass Foundation has launched a 3-day yoga camp across 300 villages in Punjab, bringing the profound physical, mental, and emotional benefits of yoga to over 3,000 participants from districts like Ludhiana, Ropar, Patiala, and Mohali.
This expansive initiative is part of the Foundation’s ongoing Yoga Program, a grassroots movement aimed at improving rural health and wellbeing through yoga. Currently active in 172 villages, the program is already impacting the lives of over 4,000 women and children. It does so by identifying, training, and empowering local women to become certified yoga instructors—called Yoga Changemakers—who lead regular community sessions focused on flexibility, strength, emotional balance, and inner peace.
“Yoga has helped me manage stress, improve my stamina, and gain confidence,” says Simran Kaur, a Yoga Changemaker from Fatehpur village, whose journey from homemaker to elected Sarpanch in 2024 began with her participation in the program. “It gave me not just better health, but the strength to lead.”
Each Yoga Changemaker holds sessions five days a week in accessible community spaces like gurdwaras and temples, guiding groups of 20–30 women and children through practices such as asana (physical postures) for strength and balance, pranayama (breathwork) for calmness and clarity, and meditation for inner focus. These sessions are not only improving individual health but also building a deeper sense of community connection.
The health benefits are clearly visible. Reena Rani, 32, from Kotala village, shares, “After just 10 minutes of daily meditation and breathing exercises, I feel mentally refreshed and less anxious.”
Meanwhile, Harjeet Kaur, 70, from Goh village, says, “I used to rely on painkillers daily. With regular yoga, the aches are more manageable, and I feel stronger despite my vision issues.”
Beyond improving health, the Yoga Program is helping bridge the wellness gap between urban and rural India. While city dwellers often have access to yoga studios and trained instructors, rural populations are now discovering its ancient healing potential through locally-led classes. The Foundation ensures that yoga becomes a part of daily rural life, promoting preventative health, self-care, and long-term wellbeing.
The 10-week training curriculum developed by Suchint Kaur Sodhi, senior yoga teacher at Roundglass Foundation, blends classical yogic practices with guidance on hydration, nutrition, rest, and lifestyle balance—reinforcing yoga’s holistic benefits.
“The Yoga Changemakers are not only leading health transformation in their communities,” says Vishal Chowla, Leader at Roundglass Foundation, “but also experiencing personal growth—gaining financial independence, community respect, and a deeper sense of purpose.”
With trusted local women at the helm, the program fosters trust, participation, and sustainability—key to lasting rural change.
As the world marks International Yoga Day, Roundglass Foundation’s work demonstrates the true spirit of yoga: a practice that heals, empowers, and unites. In Punjab’s rural heartland, yoga is not just a wellness activity—it’s becoming a way of life, reshaping the future of community health from the ground up.
