Liora Kessel – PYP Israel
Co-founder and Director
Leora Kessel, BA Criminology, has over 25 years of experience working with young women and men at risk. She has 14 years of experience as Founder and Director of the Women’s Courtyard Foundation and the social business venture Women’s Courtyard at Tel Aviv Port. She is a graduate of the Senior Yoga Teacher Training Course—Vijnana Yoga.
I believe in our ability to reduce suffering for ourselves and others. I have learned through my years of practice the tremendous power of yoga to heal pain, calm the mind, and reveal the natural inner forces of each and every one of us through body, breath, and consciousness. Following my teacher training, I knew I wanted to bring yoga as a tool and a way of life to the many people who live in survival mode, day in, day out. Today, after several years of working with prisoners, young women at risk, and women in the cycle of prostitution, I understand the powerful effect of yoga that begins with practicing together and goes on to permeate practitioners’ daily life. I follow yoga rehabilitation projects in prisons around the world and see Yoga for All as leading the way in Israel. I believe in a just and better society, and in our ability to influence and transform society from within.