The Holistic Life Foundation – BHNN Guest Podcast – Ep. 118 – Let Your Light Shine Pt. 1 with Guest Host David Devine

Welcome to the first episode of three special episodes where guest host David Devine speaks with the founders of The Holistic Life Foundation – Ali Smith, Atman Smith, and Andres Gonzalez – about empowering yourself and others with the help of mindfulness and meditation.

The Holistic Life Foundation is a Baltimore-based nonprofit organization committed to nurturing the wellness of children and adults in underserved communities. It was founded by Ali Smith, Atman Smith, and Andres Gonzalez. Through a comprehensive approach that helps children develop their inner lives through yoga, mindfulness, and self-care. HLF demonstrates a deep commitment to learning, community, and stewardship of the environment. HLF is also committed to developing high-quality evidence-based programs and curriculum to improve community well-being. Preorder their new book, Let Your Light Shine, to learn more about how mindfulness can empower children and rebuild communities.

The Beginning of the Holistic Life Foundation

The work that started the holistic life foundation began with earlier generations. Ali and Atman Smith’s parents were interested in a holistic lifestyle; they were involved in meditation, yoga, and veganism. When Ali and Atman were born they were thrust into this world as well. They describe having to do transcendental meditation before school and being vegetarians. After their parents divorced they lost their commitment to these practices. Later, in college, they ended up forming a book club with their new friend Andres. They pondered philosophy, astronomy, creation theories, and other deep questions. Eventually, they found a book on Kundalini and discovered the ‘superpowers’ you can get from meditation and yoga. A teacher at their college helped support these kundalini studies and became their mentor. They knew that they needed to give back in someway to help alleviate the suffering of the planet. 

“What’s the purpose of life? It’s connecting your universal consciousness with your individual consciousness and just trying to ease a lot of pain through these practices. That’s what we saw. It strengthened us mentally, spiritually, physically, and emotionally. We knew this was a technique or tool that could help others too.” – Atman Smith

From Football to Yoga (11:25)

Andres and Ali were offered jobs coaching youth football. This is where the whole idea of teaching kids yoga came to be. Their first program was teaching fifth-grade boys to do yoga after school. The transformation they saw with these boys was evidence to them that these practices work. It went beyond anecdotal stories of teachers or gurus and transcended their own personal experiences. They saw the kids have less detention, fewer fights, and more compassion for each other. They knew that if they could help these kids so much in just a year’s time, the potential for more programs was boundless. The kids were able to go from throwing footballs, running around and being chaotic, to doing breathwork and yoga. They were able to be peaceful.

 “Man, if I had gotten these techniques and learned this stuff when I was little, like in the fifth grade, I would probably BE superman already.”  – Andres Gonzalez 

Tune into Ep. 169 of Here and Now for a Ram Dass lecture on The Many Forms of Yoga
Deep Practice (19:05)

After the experience of teaching kids, Atman, Ali, and Andres created the Holistic Life Foundation. They knew they needed to form a non-profit in order to qualify for grant funding. Until they had a deeper plan to move forward, they spent a lot of time with Atman and Ali’s Uncle Will. He was a great spiritual influence on their lives and taught them all forms of yoga so they could teach anyone from four years old to ninety years old. They learned Hatha, Pranayama, Kundalini, Bhakti, and the practice of embodying yoga in everyday life. They were completely immersed in deep practice. Yoga did not have to be a physical act anymore, it came off the mat and seeped into everything.

“Yoga is not something that you do, it’s something that you are.” – Ali Smith 

To hear from another trailblazer in inclusive yoga, listen to Ep. 185 of Metta Hour with Jacoby Ballard