How One Traveling Jacket Brought Two Missions Together in the Yoga Community
Read about two organizations that are working to create more equality, empathy and understanding among people across all social structures.
Live Be Yoga ambassadors Lauren Cohen and Brandon Spratt are on a road trip across the country to sit down with master teachers, host free local classes, and so much more—all to illuminate the conversations pulsing through the yoga community today. Follow the tour and get the latest stories @livebeyoga on Instagram and Facebook.
Before I left for the Live Be Yoga tour, a student named Sophia Kokores in San Francisco gifted me a black Levi’s jacket with white lettering printed on the back which read: “OTHER PEOPLE MATTER.” Kokores explained the concept to me – that a jacket could spark conversation and inspire an #otherpeoplematter mindset. She asked me to be an ambassador, in honor of the six-month journey I was about to take.
“Taken from the field of positive psychology, the phrase ‘Other People Matter’ means that our relationships with others are fundamental to a life well lived,” said Kokores. “In our current climate, though, we see the word ‘other’ and we automatically go to that which makes us different, that which separates us and divides us.” Kokores, the visionary and founder of OPM Collective, believes that a jacket can change the world. As a new ambassador for OPM, I was given the assignment to pass on pass on the jacket to someone I felt embodied the essence of this vision of connection and community.
A Minneapolis Man with a Vision
When I sat down with James Orione at One Yoga in Minneapolis, I sensed I had found the perfect recipient for the jacket. During our conversation, we talked about diversity and inclusion, how to make yoga more …