With Nothing Beyond Her Reach

As a nurse practitioner working with adolescent girls, Mary Lynn Fitton saw many troubling things in her clinical practice: anxiety and depression, unsafe sex, eating disorders and self-mutilation.

As a yoga instructor, Mary Lynn was aware of the benefits of breathing, which brings oxygen to the brain for better decision-making, and meditation, which teaches you to focus. She had a feeling both practices could help these troubled girls.

So she combined the two worlds, introducing yoga to at-risk girls in East Palo Alto, Calif., and Ashland, Ore. Mary Lynn had high hopes, but even she was amazed to see just how much yoga helped the girls work through physical and emotional issues.

"They needed to learn to have an awareness and care about themselves,” Mary Lynn explained. “Yoga gave them the tools to help themselves in the moment."

This discovery inspired Mary Lynn to create The Art of Yoga Project as a pilot program in 2002. The proprietary yoga and creative arts curriculum combines a vigorous yoga practice, which includes mediation and breathing techniques for self-calming, with creative expression.

"Many programs focus on health education," Mary Lynn said. "We wanted to start with an individual, and her thoughts."

Boosting girls up

Today, The Art of Yoga Project helps over 500 young women each year. The girls, who range in age from 12 to 18 years old, are incarcerated in one of three Northern California juvenile justice systems. Participation in the program is part of their rehabilitation plan — in some cases it's even mandatory.

"We are trying to reduce recidivism and keep teen girls out of the justice system."

Mary Lynn continued, "If you talk about bringing yoga to jails, it sounds fluffy, but it's incredibly practical. Combining yoga principles and self-expression brings the girls to self-awareness, self-respect and self-control. These are all necessary for behavioral change."

The girls arrive in the juvenile justice system because of a range of transgressions — simple aggravated assault, running away and even gang-related homicide. At least 70 to 90 percent have also been sexually abused.

"We want to bring them to accountability," Mary Lynn said, "but it has to be therapeutic, and it has to be trauma-informed because of what they've already been through."

An exercise in trust and expression

Teachers are given extensive training to help them understand the baggage the girls bring with them. For most, the very first hurdle is to learn to trust themselves, and then the people around them.

"The biggest thing for them, in yoga, is being that close to other people and feeling safe. So many girls say that they lie there (in savasana pose) with their eyes closed, and they’re afraid of getting jumped," explained Mary Lynn.

Another discovery for each girl is that she has the power to establish her own boundaries.

At the start of each class, the girls put their heads down in child’s pose. The teacher reminds them to, "Raise you hand if you don't want to be adjusted today. It's your body, and you have a choice about being touched." A new girl will frequently raise her hand, and then later express how strange it felt to have that choice — often for the very first time in her life. And it's a triumph of trust between the teacher and student when a girl decides she’s ready to allow that contact.

"In a yoga class, we ask the girls to get into their bodies and feel and look around. This can be terrifying for them, because their coping mechanism has always been to dissociate."

Instead of internalizing these feelings, girls in The Art of Yoga Project have access to creative outlets, including art assignments, poetry slams and performing arts exercises. They've even done yoga demonstrations.

"We use yoga as a medium to model what it looks like to be a healthy woman, and work together with other women. For most of the girls, it’s the first time they’ve seen a connection between women instead of competition." Mary Lynn said.

Mentors make the difference

The biggest challenge for The Art of Yoga Project is helping the girls maintain their yoga practice after they are released from the juvenile facility.

A "Take it Home Program" provides each girl with a yoga mat and bag, a deck of Yoga for Teens cards and a journal so she can continue writing. The program also gives her a list of local yoga studios offering free or scholarship classes.

But it's hard to keep new behaviors alive in old environments.

"If they walk back into their violent, impoverished communities, how can they continue their practice?" Mary Lynn asked. The Art of Yoga Project is launching a new mentoring program that they believe will counterbalance the influences of the "old way."

"Mentoring has been proven to be the most effective method for helping youth. One healthy individual makes all the difference," Mary Lynn said.

Ready to help?

The Art of Yoga Project is looking for women in the communities it serves who are willing to commit a minimum of 18 months to their mentoring program. You don't need to know how to do yoga, just be willing to learn.

"It would be great to learn the postures together!" Mary Lynn suggested. She also encourages women who are writers and artists, and are willing to guide a young girl during this huge transition, to consider becoming a mentor.

"It's very challenging, but unbelievably rewarding. My mentee called me the other day, just to tell me she was happy. I started to cry on the phone. If you knew the sad, hard times she'd been through — it was worth all of the effort to hear how far she’s come in less than a year."

More ways you can help:

Donate!

If you're outside of the Northern California area, or being a mentor is more of a commitment than you can make, consider the timeless gift of cash. The Art of Yoga Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so your donations are tax deductible. There is even a PayPal account so you can donate quickly and easily online.

Volunteer!

The Art of Yoga Project is always glad to hear from yoga teachers who are interested in working with at-risk girls.

"And please let people know that we always have a call out for yoga teachers of color! Many of the girls in the program are Latina or African-American, as well as Caucasian and Pacific Islander. It's incredibly powerful for a girl to be able to see herself in the person leading the class." Mary Lynn said.

Take a yoga class!

Many yoga teachers donate the proceeds from a specific class will go to a nonprofit. The Art of Yoga Project is lucky enough to benefit from the generosity of several local yoga teachers like Bob Riccomini who dedicates the proceeds from his Monday night Vinyasa basics class at Downtown Yoga Shala in San Jose, Calif., to the nonprofit.

In Palo Alto, Calif., Mark Sierra also donates the proceeds of classes he teaches at Yoga Source.

Want to teach a class for The Art of Yoga Project? You can do it on your own and donate the proceeds through their PayPal account, or contact The Art of Yoga Project for more information.

Learn More!

Visit The Art of Yoga Project website to learn more about the program, including a video with testimonials from graduates of the program that will make even the toughest character get a little misty.