Live Be Yoga | Stories From The Road – Flint, Michigan

Transcript

mindfulness and yoga programs in Flint community schools are being showcased on the national stage cruise with Gaia and yoga journal made a stop in Flint today on their six-month tour of the country we've all heard about Flint Michigan just probably not for the right reasons the infamous lead in the water storyline has dominated national news for an extremely long time but that's not why we're here we came to Flint to tell a very different story one that exemplifies the profound impact that yoga and mindfulness can have on all lives in all communities no matter the circumstances this is their story every kid needs yoga and mindfulness I think that that's probably not gonna surprise people but I think kids in Flint really need it Flint kids are gonna have some special needs in the next couple years and being able to address them with a holistic approach with an approach that's natural and accessible to anybody is going to be a huge benefit to them breathing is the most important thing in life or just in your class in life and in class before this I couldn't get him off the game I couldn't get him off line on the phone now it is this he comes straight in he's doing this work now it's it's obvious I see more of a change in him it's a ongoing thing with all the schools because it helps them prepare in the morning for class you know gets them motivated even if they haven't been exposed to let in the water Flint can still be a stressful place to grow up I think there's going to be anxiety for a lot of kids just growing up here and seeing how people's lives are affected by by the lead in their water there are kids who are afraid to touch water afraid to bathe things like that and giving them some tools to keep in their toolbox to stay calm and stay focused it's going to be invaluable you know we've had a student talk about he lost his grandmother and how he was able to use mindfulness to help him deal with those feelings personally I usually hear that my students are angry and that mindfulness has helped them to not react in a way that doesn't serve them so I was angry and so instead of hitting my brother I tried mindfulness and I was able to walk away that is so powerful because our kids are so angry sorry it feels like if you didn't do yoga in the morning it feels like you're so cramped up but like if you do yoga in the morning you don't be all cramped up what is my importance mean to you mindfulness is close your eyes then someone has to ring the bell then put your hands on your belly you breathing without then you just look for your bliss like if your mind starts leaving it you bring it back there's a lot of bad news about Flint but I think it overshadows sometimes the fact that people in Flint just keep going we just figure it out and pick pieces up and lift each other up and keep going so I want that to be the news that gets out about Flint next that yeah of course we're putting yoga in schools we're not spending time you know in victim mode we are going forward and building things stronger and we're ready to be you know the inspiration for other schools all around the country and I hope y'all will use yoga and he was mindfulness every single day