Yoga as Youth Empowerment

Often in a school setting, systems of support are built and created for young people who are struggling in some way. Student athletes may be the focus of positive attention and also receive pressure to reinforce toxic gendered stereotypes. How to build self-efficacy, esteem and leadership with young men using a modality that reinforces positive ‘feminine’ ideals of strength and flexibility? 

Robin is trained as a yoga instructor with the Niroga Institute and believes that our most important tool toward wellness is remembering to breathe. Robin specifically chose to work in schools following her time with incarcerated youth to disrupt the flow of the school to prison pipeline so prevalent in communities of color. Robin had previously completed her yoga teacher training community service commitment by offering classes to both men and women inside the Santa Rita jail.

In 2016, Robin began supporting the small football team at Madison Park Academy in East Oakland through weekly yoga classes and warming up the team for each game. Players learned basic yoga sequences, fostered a culture of collaboration and focus and increased their skill in being able to recognize and regulate their difficult emotions.  

This collaboration with the school’s athletic department helped to grow a Mentoring program for the Middle School students. The High School football players had a free period and gravitated to Robin, who coordinated the mental health support systems for the school. Services were at capacity and the High School student athletes were interested in supporting the younger students toward their success as both students and community members in a challenging environment. 

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