Bringing yoga and meditation to prisons and rehabilitation facilities

The United States incarcerates 2.25 million people. Very few prisons have yoga and meditation programs, and few teachers are oriented or trained to teach to population of inmates. That's why Give Back Yoga is partnering with the Prison Yoga Project (http://prisonyoga.com) to support and expand the practice of yoga and meditation in prisons and rehabilitation centers through the publication of "Yoga: A Path for Healing and Recovery" by James Fox. James developed the Insight Prison Project’s yoga and mediation program at San Quentin State Prison and has been its coordinator and principal teacher since its inception in September 2002. He has taught yoga and mindfulness practices to at-risk youth in juvenile detention, a residential treatment facility for boys, and a community program for gang prevention.

Helping girls heal from the traumas of sexual abuse

Street Yoga volunteer and Americorps Member Jaime Hedlund is teaching yoga classes for girls at the Morrison Family Sexual Abuse Treatment Program in Portland, Ore (http://www.morrisonkids.org/programs/fsatrec.aspx) with Give Back Yoga support. The FSAT program offers group treatment for sexually abused girls ages 4-18 years, and their non-offending parents and siblings. Healing from the ravages of abuse involves a holistic intervention. “Yoga is the perfect complement to the therapy they are already receiving," Jaime says. The program offers tools for the girls to create safety and security within their own bodies. Yoga mats were donated through NIKE's CARE program.

Jaime says:

“We recognize that healing starts with instilling personal strength and safety.  Once girls start to develop these characteristics, they can begin to safely go outward.  Consequently, in our movement and activities we often illustrate the contrast of turning inward (with breathing, relaxation, yoga postures, art, and writing) as opposed to going outward (moving and dancing through the room with scarves, doing group/partner activities).  The themes for the eight-week session include: safety; boundaries; strength; assertiveness; intuition; power; trust; and community. Your gift has allowed us to bring healthy snacks each week for the girls.  We serve dried apples, almonds, cucumbers and cucumber water, and fresh fruit (apples, grapes, strawberries).  This is a very special moment for the girls before we start class.”

Changing our world by changing hers
 
One in four women is sexually molested by age 18 according a 2005 CDC Report on Violence Against Women. Wellspring for Women in Duluth, Georgia. is a safe place where women receive hope and healing from childhood sexual abuse and other destructive behaviors. Typically ranging from 20 to 35, these women have been devastated by drug and alcohol addictions, self-mutilation, depression, and working in the commercial sex industry – behaviors mostly stemming from the core issue of childhood sexual abuse. http://www.wellspringliving.org/. Give Back Yoga and NIKE’s CARE program are supporting yoga teacher volunteer Cybele Steen in offering weekly yoga classes for these women in transition. “After graduating from yoga teacher training in 2004, I had a vision that I’d be working with troubled people--especially women." Cybele says. "Thank you Give Back Foundation for having the passion to help yoga teachers like me to offer my passion of yoga to those who otherwise might never get the opportunity to experience such a life changing philosophy and practice.”

A safe place to begin again
Women at the Salvation Army West Women and Children’s Shelter in Portland, Oregon are struggling to heal from abuse and put their lives back together, often while mothering children. They voice their interest in yoga to shelter staff. As a result, Street Yoga volunteer Roxanne Thomas will be teaching at least 15 women in a weekly class with support from Give Back Yoga and environmentally friendly Kulae (http://www.kulae.com). She will incorporate journaling to help them process and articulate their yoga experience and connect them with the emotions and events in their lives. She aims to help the women develop strength and assertiveness to prevent future victimization, achieve a deeper understanding and respect for their bodies and improve their self-image. She hopes to give them the tools to be more mindful and calm in crisis situations and to be more mindful parents and caregivers in their relationships with others. "Thanks to your generous support, the lives of many women will be positively impacted through weekly yoga and journeling sessions," says Roxanne.

Making a difference with mat donations

In October, when Holly McDevitt marked two years of bringing yoga to West Chester, Pa, her classes got a boost from mats donated by Give Back Yoga. Holly's mission is to bring yoga to children from lower-income families, which she is doing through the program “Children Creating Bridges," a local daycare center. "When I first introduced yoga, the children—ages ranging from 5 to 9-- were using (gym-type) floor mats,” Holly says. “The thick mats made it difficult for the group to do balancing postures." Another challenge was that older and younger children were mixed together in a class of 25. Holly divided the class in two, separating the children by age, and allowing those who were not interested to take up an alternative activity. Now with appropriate equipment and age groupings, “I have noticed an inner peace comes over them; they become calm and quiet," Holly says. "The teachers, who are extremely supportive, commented that they have never seen the hyperactive children so still and peaceful. The benefits also include positive feedback from the center’s teachers, and (I’m pleased to) hear that the children are pulling the mats out on their own time to do a practice at school, or at home.”

Supporting walkers in the fight against breast cancer

Thousands of women and men come together each year to raise money for Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure and the National Philanthropic Trust Breast Cancer Fund. Then they take their commitment to end breast cancer one step further and walk 60 miles over the course of three days. In 2008, Give Back Yoga, in conjunction with Beryl Bender’s The Hard & The Soft Yoga Institute, supported volunteer and crew assistance at walk sites nationwide. Char Grossman, a volunteer for the Cleveland 3-Day walk, described the scene there:

“As walkers entered the home spot, which was the Cuyahoga County Airport field, they received extensive cheers, tears and applause. They then walked over to an area called "Stretch", where I was located. Between hams, quads, calves etc. I had the opportunity to do extensive individual therapy, meditation and gentle yoga classes. 1200 people walked on Friday and 1400 were there on Saturday. The stories shared each day were heartwarming… Personally, it instilled that I can help individuals with yoga therapy.”

Nourishing senior citizens with health goodie bags

Senior citizens in two upstate New York towns are provided access to fresh fruits and vegetables they would not normally be able to afford. Once a week, a Give Back Yoga volunteer picks up boxes of donated produce from the supermarket, separates it into recycled bags and delivers it to the nutrition programs at the local Senior Centers. Laurie Bonomo, who started this project in partnership with a local supermarket, reports:

“Because of their limited fixed incomes, many times [senior citizens] have to make a choice between food and medicines. So naturally, with the high price of produce, it is rarely, if ever, on their list. It is truly a “treat” for them.”

Building blocks for teens