Stories

Poems

This is a beautiful poem written by a young sister who reluctantly attended her first Yoga class with major attitude going on. She refused to do anything the teacher said in class. Afterwards, the teacher said it was okay, but that he wanted her to do only one thing that would get her "feeling good". She didn't believe him, but she learned the breathing exercise anyway and hurried out of the room. Two weeks later, she returned to the class and handed the Yoga teacher this poem, and with a big smile confessed that that one little breathing exercise he gave her had changed her life. She no longer smoked weed or crack and she was starting to feel good about her self.

Getting High on a Train

Can you feel it? Can you feel it?
It's the air, man...air.
I breathe it in... Blow it out...
Breathe it in... Blow it out again...
Boy, this air makes me feel high...
So high... I know I can fly...
Getting high on a train stimulates my heart, lungs and brain
Without causing me sickness... without causing me pain...
To get my high I don't need to smoke crack or take smack...
All those drugs plain out whack...
I need my body to stay in tact...
So that I can play ball... so that I can run track...
I don't need to take coke to make me feel dope...
To get my high... I just breathe...
And all my stress... so sweetly relieved...
What's did he say?... what's that I hear?...
"Next stop 42nd and Time Square?"...
That's my stop... I get off there...
It feels good to meditate air...
On the train for only one fare...
Getting high on a train...

— Shani D. 16yrs

Stories

“Hi! I’m Erika and I have been attending Yoga Classes at two of LA County’s Juvenile detention facilities. I have learned a lot about myself and the other young adults incarcerated in those places. It is both inspiring and sad to see so many intelligent youth just now trying to do something with their lives. I look at them and think that it could have been me in there or some of my friends. I feel so lucky! I want to do everything I can to help keep people out of those places. I also learned that 2,833 children drop out of school; youth account for 18 percent of all violent crime in the U.S.and 33 percent of all serious property crime. I believe Yoga for Youth can have a dramatic impact on the lives of a lot of people and can offer an effective and affordable alternative to detention and police centered crime prevention programs.”