Yoga fundraiser for ‘Yolanda’ rebuilding slated in Los Angeles

• Yoga, song and dance sessions with Filipino American teachers and artists
• To benefit  Save the Children Haiyan Children’s Relief Fund

LOS ANGELES, California — Natalie Macam of Tiger Wave Yoga will hold a fundraiser at Mahasukha Center on Sunday, March 2 and 4 at 7 p.m. for children in the Philippines affected  by super typhoon “Haiyan/Yolanda,” the strongest recorded typhoon to make landfall, with over 11 million people affected.

The donations will help support Save the Children’s Typhoon Haiyan Children’s Relief Fund. Save the Children is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit that aims to give children a healthy start, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm.

According to Macam, the organizer, “The event will be an introduction to the rich

cultural heritage of the Philippines through yoga, song and dance. It will be an opportunity to share the rich folk traditions of the Philippines with the Eastern spiritual traditions of Yoga. For those who have little or no knowledge of the Philippine culture, it will provide a means to connect and learn about the culture. Ultimately the intention is to help the victims of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines and share the Philippines to the world.”

This three-part event will feature yoga with live music. Filipino-American yoga teachers Amy Valdez and Macam will be guiding the yoga class against the backdrop of music from Chant/Mantra vocalist Christine Jugueta and Ron Quesada from Kulintronica who will be playing Kulintang, a Philippine indigenous instrument.

Yoga will be followed by “Kapwa” Kirtan Jam. “Kapwa” means “togetherness.” Kirtan is a vocal expression of devotion and prayer. This jam session will combine fun “kapwa” drum jam with ancient devotional bhakti yoga practice called “Kirtan.”

The interactive responsive form of kirtan uses ancient repetitive simple Sanskrit mantras that are sung out by the leader (commonly accompanied by musicians) and then repeated a chant will be a Tagalog-Sanskrit chant Maha Mahal. Maha in Sanskrit means “Great.”

“Mahal,” a derivative of Sanskrit, in Tagalog means “love and expensive,” and together these meanings unite as “Great Love.”

The last part of the event will feature Philippine folk dance performances by “Pamana,” the children’s dance troupe from Kayamanan ng Lahi Philippine Folk Arts and Barkada, a cultural dance troupe from Cal Poly Pomona.

Program Times: 4 p.m. – Yoga with Live Music; 5:30 p.m.; “Kapwa” Kirtan Jam 6:15 p.m. – Philippine Heritage Showcase; admission is $20 and presale tickets available through Event Brite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fundraiser-for-typhoon-haiyans-save-the-children-relief-fundtickets-10588924759

Contact: Natalie Macam www.tigerwaveyoga.com