Troubled Youth Discover Yoga

Some of our youth are in danger of being without a real means of handling their lives in a healthy way. Those that have already missed a step and are now in camps and detention centers are struggling to find their way. These incarcerated youth are more vulnerable of returning to the lifestyle that got them in this situation the first time, if they are not given viable options.

Fortunately there are organizations like Y.O.G.A. for Youth who are creating the opportunity for troubled youth to regain confidence and an improved self-awareness through the practice of yoga.

Since 1999 through a grant from the California Endowment, a group of committed yoga teachers began their efforts to bring yoga to at risk youth in urban areas and in detention centers. Currently they have chapters in Los Angeles, San Francisco, NY, Washington DC, and Chicago.

According to their site: “Y.O.G.A. for Youth is a program to teach at risk children and teens yoga so they may understand that they have a place in our society and that it is possible to overcome certain hurdles in life. “

With their ongoing commitment to the youth in our detention and jail systems, these young people are being offered alternative methods to reduce stress, and hypertension. It is thought that from this these vulnerable youth will find a new sense of self worth and better understanding of their real potential.
[tags]youth, yoga, troubled youth,hypertension[/tags]