A Warrior Among Us
Ela Wojtowicz
When we met Ela Wojtowicz at the Florida Yoga Journal conference, we immediately knew we were standing face to face with a warrior. After hearing about Ela's pledge to the Global SEVA Challenge with our non-for profit partner, Off The Mat, Into The Worldâ¢, we wanted to help spread the word!
The Global Seva Challenge is an annual international service project that builds community, fosters awareness and action around global issues, and raises funds to support communities in crisis. This year, hundreds of leaders around the world are working together to raise $1 million to preserve the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest and protect the rights of its people.
Ela responded to the summons and truly stepped up as a leader in her community to raise awareness for this year's project. Her own story has ushered her to the forefront of this challenge with an undaunted spirit. Ela was born with cerebral palsy which restricts the function of her body and causes simple movements like walking to be incredibly demanding. But instead of considering her circumstance to be a disability, Ela has embraced and transformed it into a beautiful ability â one that has taught her remarkable perseverance, compassion, gratitude, and how to walk to the beat of a different drummer. Although cerebral palsy affects her balance and ability to do certain asana, she has not only been practicing yoga for five years, she is also a certified yoga teacher at the 200 hour level.
Ela's mission statement uncovers her strength of heart:
"My mission is to help those that have a physical challenge or limitation realize that our physical challenge is not what defines us. It is what we teach others around us with a positive attitude that we can do anything no matter how it may look to the person next to us in class or in life. Yoga is not for the super flexible, it is for those that want to better themselves mentally, emotionally and spiritually."
Find out more about Ela's amazing story here.
If you would like to help Ela take on this year's SEVA challenge, please donate using the link below:
KiraGrace has a long-standing partnership with Off the Mat, Into the World⢠to foster mentoring programs for emerging leaders. The sale of our gorgeous Warrior T-Back Tank benefits Off the Mat, Into the World's Project Springboard, a program dedicated to emerging projects that generate, activate, and accelerate high impact social change. Find out more about our joint campaign here.
If you enjoyed this blog, check out: "Definition Reclamation Project: Words From a Warrior," "Be Her Now: Powerful Words from Octavia Raheem," "Beautiful: Kathryn Budig's Collection Inspiration," and "What is the Difference Between Yoga Pants & Leggings?."
