Yoga Journeys: Giving Back To Life with Kayoko Mitsumatsu and Belinda Carlisle

Kayoko Mitsumatsu founder of Yoga Gives Back and Belinda Carlisle of The Go-Gos share with Brad their journey of awakening and how Yoga influenced their lives. First up, Kayoko Mitsumatsu shares her journey as a documentary filmmaker, and her realization that she must serve the women of India who face extreme poverty on a day-to-day basis. Through the YGB micro-loan program and SHE Scholarships, Kayoko shows us first hand what a tiny donation can do to impact the lives of people thousands of miles away...and this year's Namaste Award Winner: Belinda Carlisle. “We are truly proud to honor Belinda Carlisle as the recipient of the 2024 Yoga Gives Back Namaste Award, for her advocacy for animal welfare and human rights as a co-founder of Animal People Alliance, whose mission is to provide high quality and compassionate care, of the highest standards, to neglected street animals in India and Thailand. They also employ vulnerable people from the community and pay living wages that help them improve their standard of living,” says Kayoko Mitsumatsu. Belinda Carlisle joins us for the second half of the interview as she shares her worst moment of addiction, her Kundalini rebirthing, to co-founding The Animal People Alliance, and of course, The Go-Go's induction into The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. This is an amazing interview with 2 extraordinary women. ABOUT KAYOKO MITSUMATSU: In 2006, as Kayoko Mitsumatsu began to learn yoga asana and philosophy, it hit her that something needed to be done to help others, especially the underserved women and children in India, the motherland of YOGA. "I was benefitting so much from the daily practice of Yoga, I had to give back. I shared this idea with my yoga teacher and the studio manager who all supported the idea. That’s how Yoga Gives Back was born with our mantra — For the cost of one yoga class, you can change a life." Previously Kayoko was a producer/director for documentary programs at NHK (Japan’s National Public TV) since 1984 and Cultural Attache at the Embassy of Japan in London.  Website: www.yogagivesback.org ABOUT BELINDA CARLISLE: Belinda Carlisle is an American singer and songwriter who gained fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, the most successful all-female rock band of all time, and went on to have a prolific career as a solo artist. Belinda is the co-founder of The Animal People Alliance whose mission is to rescue stray animals in Kolkata, India and Chiang Rai, Thailand. Host of Awakened Nation: Brad Szollose