Exercise To Do Well And To Do Good – #3

by Hans Hageman

Okay, here it is! Why does our exercise DVD have the name “Sulaxmi” instead of “the Brownstone Fitness Exercise Method” or “Hans’s Hour Of Power”? Well, it has to do with my belief that there are no coincidences and our effort to do a little good in the world.

The Path

A former personal training client named Monica introduced me to Shashi and Suri Mehta in 2000. This meeting was the culmination of a series of conversations with Monica that had happened a decade earlier. The conversations centered on the state of girls education in a place called Gomti Nagar – the neighborhood in Lucknow, India where Monica had been raised.

During this visit to India and Gomti Nagar, I met a number of very poor Muslim and Hindu families. We talked to them about our plans for a school – a school for girls. A few families seemed interested but most were suspicious and less than enthusiastic. It was a different country and culture but these visits mirrored my experience back in Harlem when I had started my first school. I walked in faith then and felt the same pull in this place. After a few more days of visiting and conversations with my wonderful hosts, they agreed to donate some land they had been holding. I agreed to wire them my life savings to build a school building and fund the first couple of years. The Sulaxmi School for Girls was born.

The Name

Suri came up with the name. “Su”comes from the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, arts, and science -Saraswati and “laxmi”(or Lakshmi) from the Hindu goddess of prosperity and health. For ten years the school has been working with about fifty Hindu and Muslim girls, ages 5-12, who come from a community where there is close to zero literacy for females. We’re obviously a small drop in this ocean but that’s okay. For me, it’s an expression of my faith. I know we are changing a few lives but the literacy skills, job training, and health awareness developed at Sulaxmi will have exponential effects as these young women raise their own families. Bernadett runs our small Salus Foundation to provide ongoing support.

The Mission

Brownstone Fitness is our for-profit effort to bring changes to our training clients and for people around the world. Big plans – I know! We believe that it is an effort that can help us make a larger impact than we ever could have made in our nonprofit work.

That’s the plan. The Sulaxmi Exercise Method is our initial effort at doing well and doing good at the same time. When you buy our DVD you are doing the same thing. It costs $14.95 plus shipping and a portion of the proceeds goes to support the work of the school. We’re pleased with this first product. We have a mission to improve health and fitness around the world. So go here now. You might want to invest in your wellness. You might want to do some good. I’m guessing there are a number of you who want to do both. Ahhhh! A strong, sexy body and a strong,sexy heart – what a combination.