As we celebrate International Yoga Month, Onzie has asked our beautiful influencers from around the world to share with us what yoga means to them in their home countries. The overwhelming synergy of their answers is that yoga is a community; it brings people from all walks of life, all fitness levels, all genders, demographics, and religious backgrounds, to create a safe place for growth, support, and enlightenment. We loved hearing international influencers share their yogic journeys and share what yoga means to them!

@shiziks - Serbia

I am sure that being a yoga teacher and practitioner in Serbia, is a lot different than in many other parts of the world. Serbia, a country of people who in the past decades have been victims of wars and massive inflation, is a part of the world that does need transformational powers of yoga. In the past few years yoga has experienced a massive expansion here.

Although yoga is used mostly for physical benefits, every day awareness of therapeutic and awakening powers of yoga are growing. Strong traditions of the country have shaped opinions of what yoga is, what it should be and who should be practicing it, and that leads to yoga being seen as a physical workout for women and older people. I am happy to see that classes are filling up with a younger population and half of them are male!

Being a yoga teacher and student in Serbia is rewarding as it means seeing the change happening with widely opened eyes, because every journey starts with a single step.

@Claudia_Casanova - Italy

I discovered the power of the yoga community in Italy. Being part of yoga family means meeting new people, finding motivation and inspiration, sharing goals, my progresses, but also my troubles, and having a place of safety and support to turn to.

In Italy, the yoga culture is growing so fast. In the last few years, the number of yoga centers has doubled, and some yoga styles like Rocket, Dharma, Power yoga, etc. are easier to find. In the main cities, like Milan, it’s easy to find yoga events, masterclasses, workshops and festivals.

I think (and I hope) that in the next years the number of yogis will increase in Italy, as already happened in some countries like the US. I love to think that people will become aware of how much yoga practice could affect their lives in a positive way. It’s not so easy to find our balance when we live in chaotic cities, and we have stressful jobs and lack of time for ourselves. I think people will understand that yoga can improve the quality of their lives.