A few weeks ago, Hermosa Beach residents Max Albert and Isabella Dente were hanging out at the famous Cloud Gate at Millennium Park in Chicago when something serendipitous happened.
As they were taking a photo of the reflective chrome bean, a familiar-looking woman in bright blue spandex sprouted up in perfect Sirasana, a vinyasa yoga pose similar to a headstand. When the two stepped up to get a closer look, they realized it was Riva G., a celebrity yogi they’d been admiring for months.
The Yoga Box began as a hobby for the young couple to stay inspired by curating photos of their favorite yogis taking on challenging poses. Just four months since starting their instagram account, they’ve amassed almost 8,000 followers around the world, including Riva G., who warmly greeted them upon introductions. Now the two want to do something more with the virtual community they’ve created — starting in their community, the South Bay.
“We just thought, ‘Why not?’” Albert, 22, said. “We wanted to start narrowing it to areas where we can see the difference. We can keep expanding the community by giving back.”
This week, The Yoga Box is launching a month-long food drive campaign for the L.A. Food Bank. It’s partnering with LYFE Yoga and SOHO Yoga in Hermosa Beach and Harmony Yoga in Redondo Beach, where there will be handmade wooden boxes for canned and boxed donations.
If all goes well, the two plan to expand to other surrounding cities on a monthly basis.
Dente, a Redondo Union High graduate originally from New Jersey, said it took one class for her to fall in love with yoga. She’s now been practicing regularly for three years.
“I got addicted,” Dente, 20, said. “It silences your mind and allows you to focus on yourself and go within yourself, while exercising at the same time. It’s helped me get through a lot, with where I want to go and what I strive to be.”
For Albert, his mother encouraged him to do yoga as a child. He rediscovered it several months ago and is getting back into a regular practice.
“There’s a physical strain when you’re doing yoga,” he said. “You can make it challenging or you can make in relaxing, but either way it relaxes the mind. It makes you calm and at peace. It takes away a lot of my worries and stress. You bend into it and let it go.”
All donations will be dropped off at the Los Angeles Food Bank at the end of the month. For pickups, contact theyogabox@yahoo.com. For more information, visit instagram.com/theyogabox or facebook.com/theyogabox.us.
