Niroga Violence Prevention Program Feedback

Responses by incarcerated youth when asked: 'If you have taken a Niroga Yoga class, what did you learn from it?'

• "I learned how to control my body and how to breathe calmly."
• "Breathe and let go. I felt relaxed, calm, and complete."
• "It helped me get inside. Breathing right helps you think right."
• "When I take deep breaths to get me through whatever it is I am feeling - when I say the serenity prayer, it helps me know that I cannot change certain things, but the thing I can do is take full advantage of it."
• "I learned how to om shanti shanti and bring peace to inner and outer self. I learn yoga poses to calm myself down like the half wheel or pigeon, crow, and many others, etc."
• "I calmed down by just lying in child’s pose or I might just have to sit by a teacher."
• "When somebody is getting on your nerves, just take the time to calm yourself down by just not listening to the negative and always be a positive person."
• "When the girls in the unit pick on the minor she does not respond, instead she focuses on her breathing and tells herself that it is not a big deal."
• "I learned to listen to myself. It calmed me down when I can’t get my way."
• "I sit there and close my eyes and listen to the quietness."
• "I was sent to the reflection room for no reason, I breathed instead of going off."
• "I learned that you’re supposed to clear your mind and take deep breaths."
• "I just learned to stay focused and follow directions."
• "I calm down when I am angry by taking deep breaths, closing my eyes and picturing a light."
• "Just thinking twice calms my thoughts down and just brings me to where I am in the present moment."
• "Someone was trying to start stuff, I just say it ain’t worth it and breathe…or when I wake up too early and it’s too dark to read I do yoga oms and stretches to calm my anxiousness."
• "I learned some stretches to help stretch certain parts of my arms and legs that I didn’t know how to before and how to relax myself (very helpful). I tend to get real anxious or excited all the time."
• "I got high off life- tingling and right-headed. By breathing I controlled myself that way."
• "When I’m upset my heart pounds and my eyes tear up. By taking deep breaths my heart calms down and my 'upset tears' go away."

Feedback from Alameda County Juvenile Justice Center (ACJJC) Staff

"This generation of juvenile delinquents is exposed to an inordinate amount of violence. Either as direct victims of violence or as witnesses to violence, today’s urban youth in low-income communities live with fear as an everyday reality. This fear gets transformed in different ways. For some, they become aggressive, impulsive, irritable, and act out in ways which enhance their self-esteem. But by acting out, they also put themselves at risk of further harm. At the heart of this self-destructive acting out is a loss of inner awareness. Youth, or anyone for that matter, who are recovering from traumatic exposure or who are exposed to ongoing life-threatening situations, become outwardly focused. Yoga helps youth return to their breath and their own souls. While running a therapy group for girls in the Day Treatment Program at Juvenile Hall, I’ve watched the girls remind each other to breathe. In individual therapy work with the same population, I’ve been able to use the language of yoga practice as a short-hand to help my client pause. One girl in particular initially hated yoga. Although she initially rejected the mat during an offer of an individual yoga session, she was eventually able to see from this act her own refusal to calm down. She had practiced yoga in group sessions, and thus, she had this experience to reflect upon during therapy. In the past, she had used heroin, self-mutilation, and prostitution to calm herself down, but she was eventually able to see that she could calm herself in less harmful ways including practicing various yoga asanas (poses). Her ability to develop internal awareness and to self-regulate her emotional state was a turning point. Affect regulation is a sign of normal psychological functioning and well-being. I have observed yoga being effectively used to help youth restore their breath and calm themselves and thus move toward affect regulation."

–Janice Thomas, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist, Guidance Clinic

"Anthony (Niroga Yoga Corps teacher) did a class early in the week Tuesday and the boys treated him like they do most new teachers - lack of respect, talking, not participating etc. When I returned on Friday, the boys were totally involved in class. Boys who rarely participate e.g. come in and lay down were doing 90% of the poses. There was little or no talking and the boys were also leading poses. Prior to the beginning of class the unit was in chaos and I was preparing myself for a difficult class but it turned out great. Thank you for your consideration in this matter."

–Yahru Baruti, LCSW, Senior Psychiatric Social Worker, ACJJC

"For me, yoga being offered at the workplace is evidence of a tangible commitment and practical application of the County’s principle of promoting employee health and wellness. Practicing yoga is a step towards taking care of myself, and taking care of myself translates into increased productivity at work. It is clearly a win-win situation. This weekly class has quickly become a priority and a part of the work week I cherish and look forward to. Knowing that my employer makes this class available to me at my work site and free of charge, promotes employees feeling valued and appreciated, and that steps are being made to have the work experience be a positive one. In the midst of a demanding, and often chaotic environment, this is quite refreshing."

–Debra Mendoza; Juvenile Probation Officer, Investigations

Journal entries from a 16 year-old alternative high school student and gang member, in conversation with a Niroga teacher

What do you want to get out of this class?
"What I want to get out from this yoga class is kind of peace and know that I have it, because everything that we do in this class helps me to be peaceful, relax and is very good because around me are so many stressful problems and when I am in my yoga class I feel that all these problems disappear from my life. And another thing that I really like from this class and helps me to stay in Peace is all these positions that we do, help me a lot to be relaxed."

What do you think 'Be the change that you wish to see in the world' means?
"For me this means that if I want the rest of the people to be good then I have to be good and being the example for the rest of the people, so if they see that somebody is trying to be good they gonna start being good."