KAUY Chhayleang
Chhayleang was born in a village in Prey Veng province where she was the oldest of four children. Due to her family’s poverty she and her siblings left early and moved frequently in search of work. “When I first heard the phrase ‘four corners of the Earth’ I thought of myself and my siblings because we were scattered in four different directions,” explains Chhaylean. She was homeless when she began practicing yoga, but her life began to change for the better quickly. She graduated university with a degree in medical biology in 2016 and is now the program manager for the Yoga department at AZAHAR Cambodia. She completed the 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training course in 2017 and this year she completed the 300-hour Jivamukti Yoga Teacher Training class in India.
www.azaharfoundation.org
KHUN Raty
Raty was introduced to yoga when she was 13 and living in an orphanage in 2010. Now she has two jobs at the foundation: yoga instructor graphic designer. Her first class was with Yogeswari, the founder of AZAHAR Foundation. After her introduction to yoga she began taking weekend classes at a Yoga center in Phnom Penh, continuing for four years. Her classes were supported by the Foundation. She returned to the Foundation in 2015 for Peace-building studies. Later she completed a 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training couse with support from the Foundation. She continues to develop her professional development by studying Fly Fit Yoga. “What I enjoy most are the smiles that start appearing on people’s faces after they join a class,” Raty explains. “I like seeing students learn new poses for their bodies and also to see how mindfulness becomes peace of mind.”
www.azaharfoundation.org
KOEM Nith
Nith is best known for his fluid shifting of styles. He has studied Jivamukti, Astanga Vinyasa, Vinyasa Flow and Fly Fit. With AZAHAR’s support he completed a 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training course (Yoga Soul Body Fit) at Yoga Alliance UK. As a teacher he is praised by students for his ability fuse body and mind. “I try to focus on helping students feel connected to their bodies. This helps calm the mind and brings the world closer. The feeling of connection, to myself, other people and everything around us is one of the rewards of practicing yoga. Once you achieve this the first thing you want to do is share the connection,” he explains.
www.azaharfoundation.org
MEK Sreylin
Sreylin graduated from the Royal University of Agriculture where she majored in Renewable Energy. She is an administrative officer at the Biogas Technology and Information Center of Cambodia. On the weekends she is a student in AZAHAR’s Peace and Yoga Teacher Training prograShe has completed the 100-hour Yoga Teacher Training course and is ready to begin the 200-hour course. Sreylin also teaches a community class at AZAHAR’s studio in Phnom Penh.
www.azaharfoundation.org
MENG Sophanmai
Sophanmai was living in an orphanage when AZAHAR Foundation founder Yogeswaris began teaching yoga in Cambodia in 2008. Now she is a yoga instructor and receptionist at the foundation. “My life has become more meaningful since I started practicing yoga. Now I teach yoga because I want to share these feelings with other people. I want to show them how to feel more meaning in their lives.”
www.azaharfoundation.org
NON Sreynoch
Sreynoch began learning yoga in 2014 and quickly experienced the spiritual and mental benefits that flow from pranayama, asana and meditation. She is now a yoga instructor at AZAHAR’s studio in Phnom Penh. Her teaching style focuses on increasing strength, flexibility and balance. “I encourage students to break limitations, beginning with those on the mat,” Sreynoch says. “I want more Cambodians to experience the benefits of yoga, especially those that increase physical health, wellness and strength.”
www.azaharfoundation.org
VATH Soveth
Soveth graduated from Pannasastra University of Cambodia with a degree in International Relations. She works is project officer and social yoga teacher at AZAHAR Cambodia. During her weekends she studies yoga at the AZAHAR Center in Phnom Penh. 2019 was an important year for Soveth. She completed a 100-hour Yoga Teacher Training course in early 2019 and followed up with a 200-hour course, which she completed at the end of last year.
www.azaharfoundation.org
VUN Em
Em began practicing yoga at the AZAHAR Foundation in 2015 when she began studying in its Peace program. With support from the foundation she completed the 200-hour Yoga Soul Body Fit Teacher Training couse in 2017. She has received training in several styles of yoga, including Jivamukti, Ashtanga Vinyasa, Vinyasa Flow, Fly fit and Hatha. She completed a 300-hour Jivamukti Teacher Training course with support from the foundation. As a teacher she says she focuses on physical and “inner” strength. “I want students to be able to tap the reservoirs of energy that flow from feeling healthy and relaxed, both in the body and the mind,” she explains.
www.azaharfoundation.org