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Building Connections and Community Through Jivamukti Yoga®

How HaChi Yu is Transforming Wellness, Expanding Jivamukti Yoga®, and Crowdfunding the Vision

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Devin: What is your superpower?

HaChi: Connection, a skill tied directly to her yoga practice.

Jivamukti Yoga® is more than a workout; it’s a way of connecting with the world. In this episode of the Superpowers for Good show, HaChi Yu, Director of Jivamukti Yoga® New York, shared her passion for fostering deep connections—not just through yoga practice but through a broader vision of community and inclusivity.

“Yoga actually means union or to yoke, which means to create a connection,” HaChi explained. She described Jivamukti as grounded in the Sanskrit concepts of “Jeeva,” meaning soul, and “Mukti,” meaning liberation. “We are all trying to reconnect to our true potential and our true nature, which we believe is goodness,” she said.

HaChi’s mission extends beyond the physical practice of yoga. The studio serves as a hub for building relationships, learning, and healing. Jivamukti Yoga®, founded in 1984 in New York City, emphasizes a philosophy of interconnection: to oneself, to others, and to the earth.

After navigating the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to the closure of her Los Angeles studio, HaChi returned to New York and opened a small studio in Chinatown. Now, she is expanding to a larger 5,000-square-foot flagship location in Brooklyn. HaChi described the new space as one that will “allow us to host multiple studios for meditation, yoga classes, readings, and events simultaneously.”

To bring this vision to life, HaChi is raising funds via a regulated investment crowdfunding campaign on Honeycomb Credit. She views the campaign as an extension of her yoga philosophy. “The community is not separate from the business,” she noted, emphasizing the collective nature of sustaining inclusive wellness spaces.

Supporters can join the campaign by visiting s4g.biz/jiva or scanning the QR code featured during the episode. Crowdfunding allows people to contribute to meaningful projects with even modest investments, aligning with HaChi’s vision of accessible and inclusive participation.

Jivamukti Yoga® is more than a physical practice. It’s a reminder of shared responsibility and the power of community. Supporting this expansion is an investment not only in yoga but in a more connected and compassionate world.

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tl;dr:

  1. Jivamukti Yoga® emphasizes connection as the foundation for personal and community transformation.

  2. Founder Sharon Gannon and David Leif launched Jivamukti in NYC, fostering a yoga lifestyle since 1984.

  3. After COVID closed her LA studio, HaChi reopened in NYC and is now expanding to Brooklyn.

  4. HaChi is using Honeycomb Credit crowdfunding to raise capital, embracing her community-first philosophy.

  5. HaChi identifies connection as her superpower, teaching others to forge meaningful bonds across differences.


How to Develop Connection As a Superpower

HaChi believes her superpower is connection, a skill tied directly to her yoga practice. “Yoga means to link, it means to connect,” she explained, adding that her ability to connect with others transcends physical yoga. She focuses on fostering connections between people, cultures, nature, and shared human experiences. Her goal isn’t to highlight individual differences but to celebrate similarities, saying, “What makes us the same? Not what makes us different.” This focus allows her community to thrive and underscores her belief that connection is the foundation of wellness.

Years before transitioning into yoga, HaChi was a professional ballerina. During one of her retirement performances, she panicked moments before stepping on stage in stilts. Overwhelmed with fear, she voiced her hesitation to the stage manager. When her director noticed her struggle, he addressed the audience directly, bringing transparency to the challenge she faced. This act of connection—being seen and supported—helped her proceed with confidence. The incident reinforced HaChi’s belief in the power of connection to overcome fear and foster growth.

Tips for Developing the Superpower of Connection:

  1. Listen Deeply: Focus on what’s behind a person’s words with empathy and attention.

  2. Foster Inclusivity: Look for common ground to connect across differences.

  3. Be Vulnerable: Ask for help when needed—it builds mutual trust and understanding.

  4. Cultivate Awareness: Pause to reflect on shared humanity before responding.

By following HaChi’s example and advice, you can make connection a skill. With practice and effort, you could make it a superpower that enables you to do more good in the world.

Remember, however, that research into success suggests that building on your own superpowers is more important than creating new ones or overcoming weaknesses. You do you!

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Guest Profile

HaChi Yu (she/her):

Director, Jivamukti Yoga® New York

About Jivamukti Yoga® New York: Educational center offering haven for physical, mental, emotional health and well-being through mindfulness practices.

Website: jivamuktiyoganyc.com

LinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/company/jivamukti-yoga-nyc

Instagram Handle: @jivamuktiyoga.nyc

Other URL: invest.honeycombcredit.com/campaigns/Jivamukti-Yoga

Biographical Information: HaChi Yu is a native New Yorker with over three decades of experience across the performing arts, arts management, and the international yoga community as a performer, teacher, and cultural entrepreneur.

HaChi spent two decades as a Principal Dancer with Feld Ballets/NY (1993–2013) and on Broadway, including the international tour of FOSSE. Her professional experience extends into arts administration, production, and small-business management.

A senior teacher in the Jivamukti Yoga lineage, HaChi holds advanced certification and is the sole U.S. licensee of the Jivamukti Yoga® method. She facilitates international teacher trainings, including a 300-hour program in partnership with Jivamukti Global, and founded the first Jivamukti Yoga studio on the West Coast in Los Angeles (2018–2020). She is a 500-hour Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher (E-RYT 500) and a certified instructor in Gyrotonic® and Pilates.

HaChi is the founder of Jiva NYC LLC and Jiva Liberation Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to making yoga, mindfulness, and contemplative practice accessible in New York City. Her work is rooted in the belief that mindfulness and wellness should not be a luxury — it is essential for the health and well-being of a community to fund spaces that address loneliness, isolation, and stress. She creates welcoming spaces for these practices: places where people of all backgrounds can find stillness, community, and a path back to themselves. Through education, training, and leadership, she has spent her career building and maintaining those third spaces and bringing ancient wisdom traditions into meaningful dialogue with contemporary urban life.

Personal Facebook Profile: facebook.com/hachi.yu.1

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