Helping India Breathe Again

“As Covid-19 rages, India gasps for breath.” – Deccan Herald

Over the past few weeks I have been reading articles on the growing wave of Coronavirus in India and their desperate need for oxygen. Naïve me, I thought oxygen was an abundant resource, certainly not something that a hospital could fully run out of. But that has been the case in India. Over the past several weeks, with active caseloads over 3.5 million and broken medical supply chains, parts of India have become incredibly vulnerable. I have been heartbroken to read about the families desperately seeking concentrated oxygen to help their loved ones live another day, or that people were losing their lives just minutes before a delayed oxygen tanker could replenish a depleted hospital.

Navigating Coronavirus has been difficult for us all, with the uncertainty, stress and anxiety taking its toll on our minds and bodies for well over a year now. For me, Yoga was a major part of my survival strategy. The time I spent safely on my mat moving my body and connecting those movements to my breath created a sense of calm and control. It is just another reason why I have been so moved and called to action to do something to help the people of India. That the people living in the home of modern yoga are struggling to breathe, while the practice of Yoga has helped so many others connect to their breath, is hard to make sense of.

In reading more about India and the fundraising efforts many have put into motion I came across the group “Mission Oxygen.” They are an organization raising funds to donate Oxygen Concentrators to hospitals, nursing homes and medical care facilities. Together as a community, Irene Leigh will be donating a part of every sale made in the month of May to help support this initiative. If you would like to learn more about this organization, please go to the following link. If you can’t make it in the shop, and/or would be interested in making a private donation, every bit helps!

 

Link to Mission Oxygen donation page:

https://www.ketto.org/fundraiser/mission-oxygen-helping-hospitals-to-save-lives

Learn more about India’s oxygen concentrator supply:

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2021/05/05/989461528/why-is-india-running-out-of-oxygen

Learn more about the global implications of India’s Covid-19 crisis. https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2021/04/india-covid-19-crisis/618691/

 

May 14, 2021 — Lindsay O'Connor

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