Hindu music singer inaugurates project to spread yoga in Brazil's
favelas
[July 10, 2025]
By ELÉONORE HUGHES
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Dozens of Brazilian yoga aficionados saluted the
sun in unison in a Rio de Janeiro favela for the inaugural class of a
free course allowing residents of the low-income community to qualify as
yoga teachers.
Krishna Das, a renowned American vocalist born Jeffrey Kagel and known
for his performances of Hindu devotional music known as kirtan, led a
spiritual practice and attendees prayed, sang, clapped and even danced.
“I felt like I was in another world,” Luciene Costa Gonzaga de Andrade
said at the event Wednesday. “The mantras transcend the souls and
transform sadness into joy. It was magical.”
Hairdresser Costa Gonzaga de Andrade, 54, is one of 20 people from
Rocinha, Brazil’s most populous favela, or low-income neighborhood, who
have signed up for the free training program offered by the Yoganaya
International School and the company Mude.
She started practicing yoga to alleviate pain in her lower back. She
used a cane for three years, but the ancient practice allowed her to
regain mobility. Standing on her feet all day is a struggle and she was
delighted to learn how to teach yoga.
“It’s a course that would be very expensive for people who, like me,
have a low income,” she said. “Who knows, maybe in the future I’ll quit
the salon and just teach classes.”
The 14-month project aims to train around 180 new teachers from favelas
in Rio and Sao Paulo, who will then carry out paid internships in their
communities. Participants receive uniforms, yoga mats, speakers and
microphones, as well as stipends and support when entering the job
market.
Yoganaya International School founder Renata Mozzini said she created
the project specifically for favela residents to pierce the “bubble of
elitism.”
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A woman sitting in the lotus position wears a shirt that reads in
Portuguese, "Be strong like a mother from the outskirts" while
meditating during a Transformation Project yoga class in the Rocinha
favela, in Rio de Janeiro, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Bruna
Prado)
 “People here often feel like yoga
isn’t for them. They think yoga is for those with money or who have
life figured out. But the truth is that it’s for everyone,” she
said, pointing to an existing yogi community in Rocinha with classes
run by “Yoga na Lage,” or Yoga on the Rooftop.
Organizers got wind of the South American tour by Das and invited
him to the first class with the Rocinha group, which was open to the
public.
At least 150 people attended, with many mats touching during the
class in an open space owned by a restaurant with a spectacular view
of the Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon and Rio’s mountains including the
Corcovado, where the famed Christ the Redeemer statue is located.
“Tonight was so rich and sweet. It was just beautiful,” Das told The
Associated Press afterward. “It’s just a joy to interact with them
and to sing and to encourage them to continue because there’s so
many obstacles and difficulties to try to overcome.”
Daniela Moraes, who has a stall on the beach and is training to
become a teacher, has listened to Das many times on YouTube and was
moved to see him sing live. The 47-year-old from Rocinha said the
performance being in the favela made it even more special.
“Seeing him shouldn’t be something exclusive,” she said.
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