Our Mission
Hello!At My Comunidad, we strive to create authentic spaces of safety, where all identities and abilities are seen, validated, and uplifted. My Comunidad Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit committed to expanding equitable access to yoga and wellness in underserved communities, while honoring and preserving the South Asian roots of the practice.
Our mission is to create inclusive, culturally grounded, and truly accessible spaces where yoga serves as a powerful tool for mental health, healing, and personal empowerment.
To us, Yoga is far more than physical movement. It is Meditation, Mindfulness, Connection, and most importantly…Community. We are dedicated to moving beyond the often commercialized lens of Western yoga to reclaim its depth, cultural integrity, and healing potential.
Our programs are designed to serve people of all genders, identities, sexual orientations, religions, abilities, and backgrounds, because yoga should meet people where they are, in the bodies and stories they bring.
We believe wellness is a universal right, not a privilege.
Our Story
Clarissa Cota, the founder of My Comunidad Foundation, first came to yoga seeking relief from a back injury. What she discovered was something far more expansive…a tool for mental health, emotional processing, and ancestral restoration. As her practice deepened, so did her awareness.
Yoga studios were often expensive, located in already privileged neighborhoods, and lacked representation across race, age, ability, and background. At the same time, a more personal truth began to surface: the experience of feeling unseen was rooted not just in the wellness industry, but in her own story of cultural dilution and assimilation.The daughter of an immigrant father from Sonora, Mexico, and a mother with Indigenous roots shaped by colonization, Clarissa was raised between worlds. Like many second, third, and fourth generation People of Color, she never felt fully “enough” in either identity.
My Comunidad was born from a longing of not just physical healing, but for belonging.
The name My Comunidad became a reclamation: a healing blend of Spanglish roots, ancestral echoes, and the layered identities that make up the BIPOC experience.
As My Comunidad grew from small pop ups to shared spaces, it found many homes to adapt to meeting the needs of its community. In 2023, Clarissa met Amanda, a wellness advocate and seasoned teacher, who began teaching and supporting the board on the operations side. With a strong background in administrative and community programming, as well as a shared story of being whitewashed by the American dream, Amanda quickly became a vital partner in the evolution of My Comunidad. Together, they found common ground in their lived experience of healing from assimilation and reclaiming identity through community care. Their collaboration deepened, and officially became business partners, merging heart, vision, and skill to expand the reach of My Comunidad’s work. Today, My Comunidad Foundation stands as both a wellness space and a love letter to those raised in the hyphen between languages, cultures, and histories. Here, community isn’t defined by borders or binaries, it’s nurtured by connection, visibility, and care. At My Comunidad, everyone belongs, exactly as they are.
- Clarissa & Amanda