Rod Stryker Joins Forces with Yogins United to Get Out the Vote

June 24, 2020 | News

Dear Friends in Yoga,

This is a critical time in American society, and the fast approaching November election threatens to exclude many eligible voters. As yoga teachers and students, we recognize that every vote and voice is needed to ensure wise and responsible leadership.

One of the central teachings of yoga is the truth of our interdependence. In these times — too frequently marked by dividedness and a lack of compassionate leadership — many of you have wondered how you can help.

Here, we offer two critical activities to get you started:

  • Register to vote, and sign up for an absentee ballot through Vote.org. Over thirty states support no-excuse absentee voting, and many others are now considering whether to allow COVID-19 as a legitimate excuse. 
  • Get your friends and family to register, sign up for an absentee ballot, and vote.   

Want to do more? There’s so much you can do, and it doesn’t take much time. Here are some action steps to take today: 

  1. Volunteer for voter registration, encourage absentee sign-ups, and support voter engagement:
  • State Voices: Reach out to discover volunteer opportunities with this network of nonpartisan state coalitions representing hundreds of grassroots organizations. 
  • National Voter Registration Day (Sept 22): Join in to receive training on how to support voter registration. This is especially important as remote and absentee voting becomes prevalent this year.
  • Vote Early Day (Oct 24): Become a partner and assist with mail and in-person early-voting options. Inspired by National Voter Registration Day, and anchored by a number of large media and tech companies, this org will provide toolkits and training opportunities for impactful work, including recruitment of election workers.
  • When We All Vote: Learn more from the best-resourced, truly nonpartisan, c3 voter engagement organization.  
  1. Sign up to be a poll worker:

Voting problems are made markedly worse or are mitigated to a substantial degree based on the quality of local poll-workers. And, chronic shortages of election workers nationwide results in long lines at the polls.You can sign up to be a poll worker using this form and be connected to your local elections office.

Our collective involvement leading up to the November election can really make a difference.

Please forward this letter to yoga teachers and yoga communities throughout the United States and encourage them to get involved in whatever way feels right for them. And thanks for joining us!

With compassion and blessings,
108+ Teachers of Yoga & Ayurveda

Click Here for more about Yogins United

and Click Here to see Yoga Journal’s recent article, “Do Politics Belong in Yoga?”