Kayoko Mitsumatsu
Founder, Executive Director, Awakened Executive Contributor
As an avid yoga practitioner in Los Angeles, Kayoko Mitsumatsu founded Yoga Gives Back in 2007 to express her gratitude for the gift of yoga in her life.
“Yoga grounds me to the core on a daily basis with meditation and asana practices. Slowing my breath and clearing my head is the most import effect of yoga in my life. It teaches me mind-body connection and therefore, it helps me achieve my goal of living life to its fullest,” stated Kayoko.
Inspired by the micro-financing innovations of Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Dr. Muhammad Yunus, Kayoko realized that “For the cost of one yoga class, you can change a life.”
In its 18th year, Yoga Gives Back has provided more than 3,000 underserved mothers and children with micro-loans and educational funds in Karnataka and West Bengal, India. Yoga Gives Back’s growing global campaign has reached numerous US cities and 30 countries globally, supported by over 150 Ambassadors who are leaders in yoga and mindfulness communities.
Prior to moving to the United States in 1992, Kayoko was a producer/director for NHK Japan’s National Public Broadcaster, working on prime-time current affairs and documentary television programs and with cultural attachés at the Embassy of Japan in London. Her passion for documentary filmmaking’s ability to bridge diverse cultures and share the voices of the voiceless is rooted in a perspective gained from years of living abroad, including in Australia, Brazil, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Kayoko visit India almost every year and has been filming real stories of Yoga Gives Back’s fund recipients in India since 2007 as YGB Films, which chronicles the harsh realities of underserved women and children in India, as well as how Yoga Gives Back’s global community support has transformed many lives with real impact and hope. Connect with Kayoko at www.yogagivesback.org.
Recent Articles
Yoga Gives Back: Transforming Lives in Mother India for the Cost of a Single Class – An Interview with Kayoko Mitsumatsu
For Kayoko Mitsumatsu, what began as a personal exploration of yoga philosophy and social entrepreneurship blossomed into Yoga Gives Back—a nonprofit that channels the cost of one yoga class into microloans, education, and empowerment programs for women and children in India. As a documentary filmmaker turned changemaker, she has harnessed the generosity of a global yoga community to bridge the gap between practice and purpose.