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| Street Yoga Happenings, August 2010
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In This Issue
· A Note from Mark Lilly, Street Yoga Founder and President
· Announcement: Job Opportunity at Street Yoga
· (Street) Yoga in the World: Program Updates · Upcoming Workshops and Events · Gratitude · Get Involved · Support Street Yoga |
 | A Note from Mark Lilly, Street Yoga founder and president
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| | Friends,
I've been working with a group of Street Yoga folks building out
our programs for sexually abused youth and their caregivers. It's
going very well, and our efforts will be highlighted in an
upcoming article in this fall's International Journal of Yoga
Therapy.
On the ground, this has taken a new direction for me personally,
as I've just started teaching a group of boys who all share two
things in common: 1) they have all committed sexual offenses
against other people, more often than not against siblings; and 2)
they have all experienced sexual abuse, physical abuse, or
neglect - sometimes all three - during their childhood. Their
ages range from 13-17.
During the first class about a third of the boys (4 out of 12)
were way into it, having had some positive exposure to yoga
before. Another third of the group tried it, and a third
participated at the bare minimum. We worked hard, starting in
plank pose, then warrior and going strong through diverse
sequences for 60 minutes. We ended with a nice savasana. By the
second week, all 12 did most of the class.
The class is very grounding for me. It's a good workout; the boys
are funny and respectful and awkward and when we hit those moments
of Street Yoga togetherness, all of us rising tall in Warrior
Pose, I remember why I do this. I love it!
On some level, I truly believe this work will lead to fewer rapes
and sexual assaults in the future. Even one fewer is a start. But
until then, each breath reminds me that we are all connected, all
in it together, and all capable of great and far-reaching change
within ourselves.
Blessings,
m
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| Announcement: Employment Opportunity at Street Yoga
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Now accepting applications for Acting Executive Director
Hello Friends,
I am pleased to announce that I and my family will be welcoming our
third child this January. Because of my desire to spend some months at
home with my baby and my family, I am going to take a 6-month leave of absence as the Street Yoga executive
director that will take effect in November 2010.
We are looking for an Acting Executive Director during my leave. I have posted a job description here.
Mark Lilly welcomes cover letters and resumes for this position. Please send to marq@streetyoga.org. We look forward to welcoming new energy and new ideas. I will continue to stay abreast of Street Yoga happenings and will be around to provide guidance as needed to the the acting director.
Warmly,
Adrienne Boxer
Executive Director
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| (Street) Yoga in the World: Program Updates |
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Street Yoga in Mysore (Yoga Capital of the World)
by Suresh Srinivas, teacher and board member
Mysore
is a city in Southern Indian state of Karnataka and is well known for
the famous Mysore Ashtanga Yoga. It is a popular yoga destination and is
recognized world wide as an important center for yoga. You can see
students from many different countries coming to study here. I
visited the city for a few days visiting family. While it is a famous
center for yoga, the city houses some beautiful palaces and also has
numerous old age homes and orphanages where people are not able to enjoy
the benefits of yoga. So I decided to bring the Street Yoga to them. I
taught some yoga to the kids at the orphanage and taught breathwork at
the old age home.
Karunaya Mane (House of Compassion in the local Kannada language) is a safe
Karunaya Mane (House of Compassion) students  | haven for destitute kids and is run by Operation Shanti (www.operation-shanti.org).
There are 51 kids living there. I visited the kids there. I havent had a
warmer welcome anywhere. They were very cheerful and full of energy.
All they needed were unconditional love and what was in my bag
(chocolates!) :). They were very noisy too. They took me around and I
visited the 2nd floor which houses the boys. They showed me their
drawing, and their living area and continued noisy. I asked Tracy if I
could teach them some basic Yoga to calm them down. I made them sit in a
circle and we started with some simple movements working with the
breath (inhale circle arm up and exhale heart center). I got them to do a
seated cat/cow next, we moved to some seated twists. Several of them
were checking in with me if they were doing it right. I next got them to
do some AUM chanting and we finally had them in Shavasana and the place
was so quite for a minute or so. The bliss of silence. It was a very
short 15 min class. I have promised to come again and teach them on two
Sundays longer classes in leiu of my Sunday teaching at Outside In.
Another
day I paid a visit to the Bharati Theerta Vrudhashrama a old age home
also in Mysore. There are 35 people in this old age home. My
mother-in-law visits this place regularly and brings music to them. I
noticed that the energy level was not too high. I talked to the manager
and asked him if they would like a class to bring more energy. The idea I
had in the back of my mind was the Ancient teaching of the Pranayama or
Breathwork which is one of the key components of yoga. I came back
later in the evening and was surprised to see over 15 people assembled
for my class. I had to teach it in the local language Kannada. I had to
brush up on my more intricate kannada skills. I incorporated some simple
breathing that Dr Andrew Weil teaches in the "Breathing the Master Key
to Self Healing". I started with a 1 minute meditation on the breath, we
then got the prana (breath) moving with some simple seated movement
postures. I then talked about the 4 qualities of the breath ("Deeper",
"Quieter", "Slower", and more "Regular") and emphasized how this could
heal the body as well as bring more energy. It was a very interactive
class, I kept getting questions some of which was very challenging. We
first explored how to make the breathing deeper and several of them
chimed in with idea. We then explored belly breathing with the crocodile
posture and seated belly breathing. I moved on to helping them with the
"Relaxing" breath. We practiced how to make the breath regular with
Alternate Nostril Breathing and the most difficult of them the Bellows
Breath. I ended the class with full breath and AUM chanting. They were
all very grateful for the time.
With
this experience I am very hopeful that Yoga as a Service through Street
Yoga can reach the largest underprivileged population of the World. |
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Wild Flowers at Salvation Army White Shield, Portland
By Jillian Wood, Street Yoga instructor
"Class is great, I love working with this group. They are much more focused and willing to explore postures and ideas which they originally resisted. They love meditation and I use it to reward their focus through asana practice. I've been working specifically with body awareness/acceptance/body appreciation after speaking with staff about certain issues with body image/eating disorders that some of the girls are dealing with. We've also talked about things we are proud of ourselves for accomplishing/overcoming and how we can acknowledge positive new patterns in our lives." Wild Flowers is a lockdown, 90-day residential program for girls, ages 11-18, who have
demonstrated unsociable and unstable behaviors. Many girls have PTSD,
abusive pasts, reactive detachment disorder, histories with gangs,
prostitution, drug dealing and mental health issues. For more information about Wild Flowers at Salvation Army White Shield, visit Street Yoga's programs page. |
| Upcoming Events |
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YoYo Yogi celebrates its grand opening
Saturday August 14 with a benefit for Street Yoga
and Trillium Family Services
YoYo Yogi's official grand opening in the Pearl is August 16, but they're hosting a grand opening celebration Saturday August 14 that includes donation yoga and music from noon to 9 p.m. - You'll find the full schedule of events here. YoYo Yogi is partnering with Street Yoga to sponsor an ongoing class at Trillium Family Services.
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BOLLYWOOD IN THE PEARL!Join us on October 9 for our third annual Fall Into Gratitude Celebration
 Street Yoga's third annual Fall into Gratitude event, Bollywood in the Pearl, will be hosted at Yoga Pearl (925 NW Davis St).
From 6 - 7pm, Tiffany Cruikshank will lead a yoga class accompanied by live music provided by DJ Anjali and the Incredible Kid. From 7 - 8pm, groove to live music on the dance floor, with music and dance lessons provided by DJ Anjali and The Incredible Kid. From 8-10pm, enjoy a silent auction, and bid on great items from Pearl businesses. Food provided by Prasad, wine by Ardiri, cocktails, and music. Tickets are $40 and include all activities, food and entertainment. You can purchase at Yoga Pearl, or purchase your tickets securely via PayPal.
Bollywood In The Pearl Prasad Menu
Beverages:
Sparkling Iced Ginger Tea
Hot Alberta Street Chai with Coconut Milk and Honey
Appetizers:
Toasted Spiced Chickpeas
Honey Roasted Mixed Nuts
Zucchini Hummus (raw) with Sliced Cucumbers
Main:
Tandor Vegetable Skewers with Raita
Chholar Dal with Coconut Jasmine Rice
Indian Spiced Delicata Squash with Freshly Stewed Applesauce
Dessert:
Raw-inspired dessert created by Rawdacious
Coconut mousse with chocolate truffles |
| Upcoming Street Yoga Teacher Trainings
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We offer a weekend teachers' training for community members interested in learning how yoga
serves vulnerable young people and their families, not only homeless
youth, but also young people who are faced with challenges stemming from
overcoming the pain of sexual and physical abuse, homelessness, mental
illness or familial substance addiction and other traumas.
Trainings are open to experienced yoga teachers as well as those new to yoga.
In the past we've had massage therapists, nurses, social workers,
teachers and many others join us for a weekend of connection, learning
and soul-building.
We now offer CEUs through the Yoga Alliance and the
National Association of Social Workers for the SY Training. Also, early
bird discounts are available - sign up today.
Please note that the San Diego training has
been canceled. If you are in Southern California, please check out the
L.A. training in October. The revised training schedule for 2010 is:
· Portland, OR August 27-29, 2010; (new time and venue) Sign up now. · Washington, DC September 10-12, 2010. (Note: This training is full)· Los Angeles, CA October 1-3, 2010 Sign up now. · Toronto, ON Nov 12-14, 2010 Sign up now.
· New York City, NY January 14-16, 2011 Sign up now.
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| Gratitude! |
| | So many wonderful individuals, organizations, and businesses have
supported Street Yoga this year; we are continually filled with
gratitude for their generous support.
· Many thanks to lululemon athletica Pearl District for making Street Yoga the beneficiary of their first 5k/10k race in Portland! The event raised $1000 to support our programming.
· The Bhaktishop packed their July kirtan with yogis singing it out for Street Yoga! They generously donated all proceeds from the monthly event, and this offering was matched by an anonymous donor.
· Santosha Yoga in NW Portland celebrated their grand opening August 1 with an open house including a yoga class benefitting Street Yoga. Their continued support of Street Yoga includes giving us all the proceeds from their Saturday morning donation classes.
· Integra Telecom recently gave Street Yoga $200 as part of their "Community Matters" program.
· Anusara clothing, in partnership with the Give Back Yoga Foundation, made a generous donation of yoga clothing.
· Manduka asked you to "Post a Yoga Miracle" on their Facebook page to earn mats for Street Yoga, and your miracles were abundant! We received 50 awesome mats from the company.
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| Support Street Yoga
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 Drink Street Yoga Tea!
If you haven't tried our new tea, you definitely should, as it is now available for purchase, and it is fantastic. Street Yoga
Tea is a sweet, refreshing hibiscus blend that calms and clarifies.
Hibiscus, the red flower sacred to Ganesh, contains vitamin C and is
beneficial to meditation. Street Yoga
tea also has calming chamomile, rosemary for concentration, peppermint,
cardamom and cinnamon for digestion, lemongrass for its antioxidant
properties, and stevia and licorice for taste. This tea is beneficial
and safe for all, including children. To purchase our tea, click here.
 Sport a Street Yoga T-shirt!
Why not kick back, relax and sip that tea in one of our great t-shirts, a new design featuring Street Yoga's take on Ganesh. The theme of the t-shirt is Triumph - in women's sizes, we have light pink, light teal and gray tanks, as well as light green Ts (shown left), and in men's sizes we have light blue and army green - you can purchase them here. Look fabulous and support Street Yoga all at the same time!
Donating to Street Yoga
We
deeply appreciate your support. Any contributions you can make will
help us help the youth, one breath at a time. If you want to donate
directly, please click here.
Thank you, many smiles and blessings to you all! Namaste.
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Contact Information
www.streetyoga.org
503-232-0362
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