Yoga as Medicine – For the World

Tiffany Cruikshank, creator of Yoga Medicine and featured in 24Life, is paving the way for ancient Eastern insight and modern Western practices to work together for good health for the individual—and now, for women at risk.

“My mom ran a homeless shelter when I was a kid,” Cruikshank says, “And it’s always been really important to me to give back to the community.”

At Nike, where she launched an acupuncture and yoga program for employees, she was introduced to the problem of human trafficking through Nike’s charitable efforts.

“It really changed my outlook and was something—as an empowered and educated woman—that I felt in my core” needed her help, Cruikshank says. “Eighteen million of the 40 million people trafficked worldwide are in India, and as someone who makes yoga their life, it felt really important for me to give back to this culture that’s given us so much.”

To tackle this problem, Cruikshank and her student Kira Grace, who has a successful yoga clothing line, formed the Yoga Medicine Seva Foundation. The nonprofit runs a shelter in India that rehabilitates women and empowers them through yoga but, more importantly, through finding the meaningful vocational skills that bring them above the poverty line.

In June 2019, watch for the Tiffany Cruikshank line at KiraGrace.com. Cruikshank and Grace are launching the collection to benefit the Yoga Medicine Seva Foundation, which will receive all profits from sales of the elegant tops and bottoms designed by Cruikshank and produced by Grace.

Cruikshank says the women who benefit from the foundation’s programs “can support themselves and their families, and it’s incredible to see the confidence, the happiness. … And to watch what these girls do when they come out the other side is life-changing.”