“I think meditation is a good way to relieve stress. Before I started taking the class I would have a lot of problems because of my temper. But, now I can control my temper thanks to the yoga class. When I first started taking the class, I didn’t like to go. Now I look forward to my Thursday meditation. Speaking from my experience, I think meditation can help a lot of uptight people if they give it a try.”
“My home is really chaotic, and I used to get stressed as soon as I stepped in the door. Thanks to the teachings, the minute I get home I can go into a small space I set up for myself and do the breathing. Then I can face the drama in my house in a calmer way.”
“Every emotion goes away. It’s just me. Nothing can interrupt me or come in the way.”
“The class is not just about yoga and meditation. It is about how to feel good inside, try some new things and learn to be stress free.”
“I feel like the focus that this class requires you to have/practice … has helped take my mind off of everything else that has happened to me in the past 24 hours. In my opinion that is a good thing. Given the circumstances I am truly grateful. I have no intention of running from what’s bothering me, but not worrying about it for once feels nice.”
“Kimberly is about four feet tall, wiry and full of pent-up anger and energy. The first thing she said to me was not ‘hello,’ but ‘I’m gonna throw you out the window.’ She was a time bomb. Over the next few months, I saw tremendous change in all of the girls who attended my classes, especially Kimberly. Then, one morning, about 10 minutes into class, the door flies open, a girl runs in, gets into Kimberly’s face and screams terribly nasty things to her. The class goes into chaos and all the girls run out the door. I found Kimberly in another room and beckoned her back to the room with the yoga mats. ‘Let’s look at how you reacted. What did you do, Kimberly?’ Kimberly said, ‘I didn’t do nothing, but I wanted to punch her in the face.’ I asked her, “What would you have done a month or two ago?” Kimberly says, ‘I’d a beat the s*** out of her.’ I asked, ‘What stopped you today?’ Kimberly took a breath and said, ‘Myself.’”
“It is the last moments of this class that really strike me as we ask the girls to reflect on the concepts of patience and perseverance: ‘Can you think of a time when you weren’t patient?’ Talia, age 14 responds, ‘Yeah, when I was upstate [in a locked detention center], I didn’t have no patience. I just wanted to be out. But then when I was out, it was like I was still locked up. My mind was still locked up. In your class I don’t feel locked up.’”
“In our opening go-around, I invited folks to tell a story how they were fearless and had courage. I talked about the beauty of our true selves when we don’t operate from a place of fear. Our sessions are very much storytelling sessions for the youth, and I think this is how we’ve been successful in getting them to participate so strongly. They so desperately want to be heard.”
“After the movement part, Ralph asked if we could do the full-body scan because he learned last week how much it relaxes him. So I said, ‘Sure, but on one condition: Everybody needs to try really hard to not fall asleep.’ Tariq replied, ‘Why don’t we lay down and put the strawberry we used in mindful eating on our nostrils and make sure it stays there so we cannot fall asleep because we need to balance it?’ During the guiding of the meditation, I gave extra attention to being mindful of the sensations near the nostrils. Halfway during the meditation two guards came in the hall, but the guys stayed focused.”
“The biggest thing that leapt out to me was the evidence of how the students were ‘owning’ these practices and skills. This came in a couple different ways. Some students spoke about doing yoga or meditation outside of class (off the mat). For these students, mindfulness was becoming normalized in their life — something they could draw on, use, tap into — a resource.”
“Thank you for all the work you do for our kids. Your staff has shown them how to cope with trauma and any anxiety that they are dealing with or have been with all lives.”
“Participants in the group share how they are able to apply what they are learning in the group to their lives within their own communities. Some say the benefits of challenging themselves physically in class has increased their skill and agility in sports such as basketball, while others feel the practice has contributed to a sense of personal accomplishment that pushes them to continue to challenge themselves and improve their life conditions. All participants agree that they are better able to manage their emotions and communicate on a more positive level. Participants groan and moan with smiles on their faces as they rise to each week’s new challenge.”
“There is the class clown who preferred to entertain his peers rather than participate in the group. His observation of the change in those that have taken this group seriously has inspired him to do the same. Each week he pushes himself to meet the challenges presented in the weekly exercises. His progress in class allows him to help newcomers to the group learn the techniques and exercises.”
“I know I say this often, but we are so pleased with all of our Lineage Project instructors…. They have been extremely flexible (no pun intended), patient and giving with our schools and with the children we serve. They are true to the mission and consummate pros. It is my hope that we can continue and hopefully grow this work as we move forward. Thanks for all Lineage does for us.”
“I thoroughly enjoyed the training and will use all the tools I gained with my kids in the Bronx and Harlem. I hope to work with you all in the future. You are all amazing and insightful! I would like to spend more time under yoga teachers such yourselves who are using yoga not for just the physical aspects, but more for the healing aspects.”
“Although incarceration is such a depressing topic, the instructor talked about it seriously but in a way that gave hope. I felt empowered afterwards.”