PRESS RELEASE: Yoga and Mindful Meditation Program at Juvenile Hall
SAN FRANCISCO, CA—November 3, 2008—In collaboration with the San Francisco Zen Center, City Youth Now is sponsoring a seven-week long yoga program for boys at the Juvenile Justice Center. Yoga Practitioners will be coming in weekly to teach these youth different ways to bring some calm to their lives.
Yoga is much more than stretching and flexibility for girls, as many of the young men initially thought. Yoga is much more complex. It is a system of physical and mental practices that originated in India more than three thousand years ago. Its purpose is to help each one of us achieve our highest potential and to experience enduring health and happiness. Yoga teaches the detained youth to breath, to find balance, to meditate, to increase flexibility, and develop strength. Because of the work that yoga achieves on both the physical and mental level, it has the potential to effect therapeutic change in troubled youth.
These practices help develop self-control and the ability to deal with difficult thoughts and feelings. Meditation is a skill that applies greatly to how we deal with our lives. Learning to control our physical selves gives us the confidence to deal with the larger challenges in life, which many of these young men are struggling with daily.
About the San Francisco Zen Center:
San Francisco Zen Center's Community Outreach Department has been offering yoga and meditation in a variety of settings, including the San Francisco County Jails, for a number of years. We are currently expanding our program, so that we can offer these free classes in a wider range of settings to those who may benefit from these practices. The yoga world is a growing community especially here in the bay area, and a big part of taking one's practice deeper is by giving back. http://www.sfzc.org/
About City Youth Now:
City Youth Now supports youth in the San Francisco foster care and juvenile justice systems by providing funds for services and programs that promote stability and personal growth. www.cityyouthnow.org
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Press Contact:
Brittany Jarabek
Executive Director
City Youth Now
brittany@cityyouthnow.org
