My Little Zen | Not for profit yoga in the UAE helping Africa

Bridging Communities. Uniting hearts. Enabling access.

We travel to Africa to empower developing communities through in-person yoga classes, technology and workshops.

The future is technologically advanced but deeply human.

Learn how we are harmonising humans and machines with a distinctive fusion of power skills and technical readiness.

At My Little Zen, our vision is to create a future where technology and humanity harmoniously coexist, shaping a world that is both innovative and compassionate.

We believe in the transformative power of yoga and technology, and we strive to inspire global change in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Thank you for joining us in building a world of thoughtfulness, where technology and yoga come together to uplift communities and empower individuals. Together, we can shape a future that embraces innovation, compassion, and holistic well-being.

Our Process

Our work is funded by donations and profit from our themed yoga events which we run in the UAE and across the world.

Step 1: In-Country Visit

We work with in-country partners to identify underdeveloped communities in Africa who would benefit from yoga. We then travel to conduct in-person yoga classes and workshops.

Step 2: Equip & Connect

We equip our partner communities with a device and internet connection so that we can maintain sustainable access to yoga beyond our visit.

Step 3: Free Online Classes

Once our communities are connected with the device and internet, we use mindful technology to develop physical and mental wellness through free online yoga classes.

We use yoga as a tool to connect developing African communities through technology and humanity. The profit from our events funds our work in Africa.

Why Yoga?

Yoga and mindfulness have been shown to improve both physical and mental health. Yoga promotes physical strength because it allows muscles to move in new ways. Yoga relieves stress and anxiety, giving a sense of accomplishment and promoting a stronger mindset.

SDG 4 - Quality education

The United Nations have called on all of its member states to adopt the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development - a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. There are 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries - developed and developing - in a global partnership.

Our Connecting Africa Project specifically targets the following SDGs:

SDG 5 - Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

SDG 9 - Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovationn

By working with My Little Zen, you are contributing to the above SDGs and making a positive impact on society.

Yoga Resources

We equip our collaborating communities with:

We collaborate with established yoga brands to provide resources such as yoga mats. Our next step will be to source yoga wear so that our communities can practise comfortably.

Equipping Communities (Essentials)

1 x tablet
1 x tablet case to protect the device
1 x tripod
1 x Bluetooth speaker
1 x 4G router
1 x local sim card
1 x solar powered charging pack for communities without electricity (if required)

Tree pose grows confidence.
It roots me in this world.

Encourages Self-Love and Self-Care

Improves Memory and Attention Span

Improves Self-Control

Increases Self-Confidence and Self-Esteem

Reduces Stress and Anxiety

Promotes Mindfulness

Improves Flexibility, Balance and Posture

What are the benefits of yoga for children?

We work with schools across the globe to combine yoga with a cultural learning experience.

We start by listening to you. We hear what you would like your students to gain from our yoga programme. We learn about your curriculum objectives, ethos, vision and goals of your school.

We then run a series of 6 yoga workshops, which are tailored to the needs of your school. Our workshops provide the foundations of yoga with a focus on key postures (asanas) and alignment.

Upon completion of the 6 workshops, we curate a unique online experience as we globally connect schools through yoga.

Participating classes are invited to join our students in Africa for a collaborative online 'yoga flow' event, sharing energies to create a fusion of movement, breath, mindfulness and overall alignment. Our experience goes beyond yoga practice as learners explore new cultures and further cross-curricular links through My Little Zen learning resources.

How are we funded?

Our work is funded by the profit from our themed yoga events and schools, like you, who purchase our schools package.

By purchasing our schools package, you are helping to equip a school in Africa. You can read more about this on our "Connecting Africa" page.

Step 1: In-Country Visit

We work with in-country partners to identify underdeveloped communities in Africa who would benefit from yoga. We then travel to conduct in-person yoga classes and workshops.

Step 2: Equip & Connect

We equip our partner communities with a device and internet connection so that we can maintain sustainable access to yoga beyond our visit.

Step 3: Free Online Classes

Once our communities are connected with the device and internet, we use mindful technology to develop physical and mental wellness through free online yoga classes.

Our process for connecting schools in Africa with you

Read through our slide doc and learn about our work and plans

Inspiring global change through movement, music and technology contributing towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The primary focus of My Little Zen is to equip developing communities with technology, enabling them to receive the gift of yoga and create a global community that flows for a cause.

Pathways of Yoga

Karma Yoga

Raja Yoga

This powerful concept of yoga couples compassion and devoted, selfless action to inspire universal friendship that connects the world.

This physical practice of yoga includes the familiar styles of Hatha, Ashtanga and Vinyasa yoga, which keeps the body and mind healthy and strong.

All exercise can boost both your physical and mental well-being as it lowers your stress hormones,releases endorphins and brings more oxygenated blood to the brain.

Yoga can bring added cognitive benefits on top of the physical practice as it places emphasis on meditation and breath work which is known to develop attention, awareness, thoughts and language, strengthening brain and memory function.

The philosophy of yoga also contributes to overall well-being as it encourages benevolent qualities such as the practice of gratitude, compassion, humility, calmness, forgiveness and acceptance. This is particularly important in contexts where individuals are learning to overcome trauma.

Aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, My Little Zen uses the physical practice of yoga (Raja) as a tool to action change (Karma) in underdeveloped communities.

The United Nations have called on all of its members states to adopt the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development - a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. There are 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are "an urgent call for all countries - developed and developing - in a global partnership"

Read more about the SDGs here: https://sdgs.un.org/goals.

My Little Zen is working towards SDG 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation

With an initial focus on connectivity as a tool to deliver yoga, our Programme will enable developing countries to access wider educational platforms – providing communities with opportunities to transform their lives as we work towards achieving the Sustainable Development Agenda.

The UN SDGs are deeply interconnected, relying on each other for success.

By introducing My Little Zen technology packages, we are impacting health and well-being through yoga; promoting the empowerment of women through technology; we have opportunities to provide educational packages, which in turn promotes economic growth, resulting in zero hunger.

STEP 1: IN PERSON YOGA WORKSHOP

We travel to our communities which are currently in the Serengeti region of Tanzania including a number of FGM safe houses. Once we are in the communities, we deliver an in-person workshop which consists of pre-teaching key yoga postures and alignment in Swahili, which are then integrated into a creative Vinyasa flow.

Step 2: Equipping Communities

During our visit, we equip our communities with technology such as an iPad, a case, tripod and speakers. For the communities without internet, we connect them with a 4G router and sim card and top up their data remotely.

Step 3: Mindful Technology

Once the communities are connected, we deliver weekly online classes ensuring a sustainable and impactful model post visit.

Technology is being used in a mindful way as we are teaching our partner communities ‘yoga’ – the essential foundations of life. Once the essential needs of love and care have been built through yoga, our technology model could also be used for access to online education which will then positively impact society.

Community Spotlight

At least 200 million girls and women alive today have been subjected to FGM, based on the latest available data from 31 countries, where the practice is concentrated.

Click to listen to how yoga is helping the girls at Hope

Hope for Girls and Women provides a safe environment for girls escaping female genital mutilation (FGM) and gender-based violence in Tanzania.

Girls often arrive at Hope’s safe houses late at night with just the clothes they have run away in. Those arriving on foot have had to navigate from remote, rural villages in the dark.

The yoga classes provided by My Little Zen encourages self-love and self-care whilst developing overall well-being.

Actual Numbers: February 2022 - September 2022

In country Visits

Communities Connected

Online Yoga Classes Conducted

Girls Impacted

162

December 2022 Target Numbers

In country Visits

Communities Connected

Online Yoga Classes Conducted

Girls Impacted

146

300

Q1 - 2023

In country Visits

Communities Connected

Online Yoga Classes Conducted

Girls Impacted

326

600

We work with schools across the globe to combine yoga with a cultural learning experience. Through a series of workshops, we curate a unique online experience as we globally connect schools through yoga. Participating classes are invited to join our students in Africa for a collaborative online 'yoga flow' event, sharing energies to create a fusion of movement, breath, mindfulness and overall alignment. Our experience goes beyond yoga practice as learners take part in a skill swap as they explore and learn about new cultures and further cross-curricular links through the My Little Zen Programme.

Schools Yoga Packages