I’m not a yoga teacher; why Would I take this training? If you are considering attending our training, it is more than likely you are someone who works professionally with at-risk youth. Our training will help you understand from the perspective of a yoga teacher. Yoga teachers offer the practice of yoga as a way for a person to connect with their body and with their inner spirit. The breathing and postures we teach you may find useful when working with youth in highly stressful situations, such as court appearances, transitioning from incarceration back home, etc.
I’m a Social Worker/Mental Health Professional and I love yoga, how would this training help me? We know the positive impact yoga has on a young person suffering from trauma and abuse. To many people, the benefits of yoga are very much out of reach. To them, it’s only practiced in studios in upper class neighborhoods with chanting and incense. And for child welfare professionals, the benefits of yoga may be limited only to themselves. Our training could be a bridge between these two concepts: yoga as a personal practice and yoga as a means towards helping young people in a gentle yet powerful way.
Do I get a certificate? What does it allow me to do? All training participants will receive a certificate of completion, to add to their portfolio of trainings. It shouldn’t be considered a formal certification to teach yoga, rather, a confirmation that you took this training with URY.
How are community development, activism and outreach discussed? Understanding where these kids come from is integral to understanding how they got arrested and placed in juvenile hall. Understanding how they got to juvenile hall is important to understanding how yoga might help them. Many of the communities these kids come from suffer from lack of resources, a crippling sense of isolationism and tough economic challenges. All of this leads in turn to high rates of violence, drug use and other problematic behavior. Yoga is a powerful tool to counterbalance these negative factors and instill self-healing, self-care and self-empowerment in a person. URY is certainly not out to solve the world’s problems: but we just might help some individuals recognize their value in this world. A regular yoga practice could lay the groundwork for anyone to find the strength to address key challenges in their lives and break the cycles so many are entangled in.
What is mindfulness? For the purposes of our training, we define “mindfulness” as a way of behaving that incorporates the tools yoga provides to: have strong focus and concentration, a sense of calm, skillful responses to difficult emotions, increased empathy for others and decreased stress and anxiety.
What is somatic training? “Soma” is the Greek word for “body.” Somatic training is commonly defined as building body-awareness and connectivity. We will be exploring this in our training, as there are many parallels in what we do in a yoga class to what is done in somatic training with physical therapy.
How are children who are sexually trafficked involved with the Probation Department? Commercially Sexually Exploited Children and Youth, or “CSECY” are involved with the Probation Department because they are often arrested for being sold for sex. The average age is 12-18 years old. Fortunately, the Probation Department does not see them as criminals: they are seen as victims of abuse. Much is being done in Los Angeles County to transition these children out of the delinquency side and over to the dependency side of the justice system. By this time next year, it is more than likely than no CSEC youth will find themselves in a juvenile hall or a detention camp. Rather, they would likely be in a foster home or a specialized group home of some kind, getting the help they need to overcome their trauma.
What is trauma sensitive training? Emerging research has shown that virtually all of the children that are incarcerated in this country have experience some form of significant trauma in their lives. This is essentially the reason for their perceived anti-social behaviors and action. Oftentimes, they aren’t even aware of the extent they have been traumatized or how it governs their behavior, thus breeding fear, anxiety and resistance to anything that might come close to them. URY has developed specific approaches to teaching yoga that incorporates a high level of sensitivity to the influence of trauma.
If I’m a yoga teacher already, why do I want to attend an UpRising Yoga special training to work with disenfranchised youth? Much of what you have learned about teaching a yoga class might be challenged if you ever have the honor of teaching a class in juvenile hall. Those who have taught for us understand that this is not a standard yoga class. Our teachers don’t know why those kids are there, what they have done or what they have been through. The kids are also not placed there by any choice of their own. Our manual includes some key information as to how to approach these kids in a non-threatening yet effective way.
Why join UpRising Yoga? If you are a certified teacher, we have many opportunities for involvement, ranging from just volunteering from time to time up to teaching full time for UpRising Yoga. We ask our teachers to assume administrative tasks (time allowing) and to promote our program to supporters.
How is a policy advisor able to help me understand this work? It’s critical for us to interact effectively with those who can influence what is being done on the broader, system-wide level to serve at-risk populations. Oftentimes the challenges they see at the “bird’s eye view” are very different from the challenges encountered by those who work with these groups directly. They can be potential advocates of yoga being accepted as a healing modality in the juvenile justice system.
What if I paid to attend the training but I have to cancel? If you find yourself unable to attend an event, please alert us as soon as possible. Cancellations 21 or more days prior to start of an event will receive a full refund (minus a $9 paypal fee). Cancellations 8-20 days prior to start of an event can receive a partial refund or credit (20% penalty). No refunds or transfers are available for no shows or cancellations within 7 days of the start of the event.