How Our Yoga NonProfit Started

2021-11-11T17:56:45+00:00

Have you ever wondered how to start a Yoga nonprofit in Canada?  25 years ago, a small, committed community of Yoga teachers wondered if they could teach Yoga in BC prisons. Today, Yoga Outreach Society, a Yoga nonprofit, is a registered charity that offers up to 1000 classes a year in prisons, mental health facilities, addiction recovery centres, and Transition Houses for women who have experienced violence. This is the story of how this influential Yoga nonprofit first started. Yoga teacher Sandra Sammartino demonstrates headstand at her Kairos Studio in the early 90s. The Inspiration In the early 90s, [...]

How Our Yoga NonProfit Started2021-11-11T17:56:45+00:00

Can yoga help teens with trauma beat addictions and stay out of jail?

2019-02-07T10:07:40+00:00

Imagine lacking the ability to self-regulate in a place where you are denied a privilege every time you break a rule. And your usual coping methods - drugs or alcohol - are gone, cold turkey. This is the story for many teens with substance issues when they are incarcerated. Why? Trauma. When kids grow up with abuse, significant poverty, neglect, violence or other dangers, coping strategies are limited to survival mode. This means they’re at a severe disadvantage when trying to overcome addictions or avoid conflict with the law. Yoga Outreach conducted a review of trauma studies and found that three [...]

Can yoga help teens with trauma beat addictions and stay out of jail?2019-02-07T10:07:40+00:00

Yes. Volunteering makes you better.

2019-01-07T17:28:53+00:00

  According to Statistics Canada, 12.7 million Canadians, are happier and healthier than the rest. They also have better career prospects and an extremely high chance of captaining a pub quiz team over age 90. Why? Because they spend a few hours a month volunteering.   Volunteering makes you stronger.    If you’re like many with a sedentary day job, you’ll struggle more with ailments like painful posture, weaker bones, and higher blood pressure as years go on.   But not if you volunteer. Sorting hampers at a food bank or taking seniors to appointments gets your blood pumping and keeps [...]

Yes. Volunteering makes you better.2019-01-07T17:28:53+00:00

Girls Only – How trauma changes the brain

2018-12-06T16:00:22+00:00

Girls’ brains react differently than boys’  Girls process trauma differently than boys. Apparently, estrogen prompts a larger area of neurons to fire during adverse events, leading girls to remember traumatic incidents for longer and with more intensity than boys.   You might remember Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s recent testimony that the reason she could remember the faces and laughter of the two young men who tried to rape her when she was 15 was because of chemicals released by the brain during stress. It’s why those memories haven’t faded or stopped affecting her behaviour 40 years later.     Faced with [...]

Girls Only – How trauma changes the brain2018-12-06T16:00:22+00:00

Rika Lange on Volunteering with Justice Involved Youth

2018-04-20T10:04:07+00:00

How did you get involved with yoga outreach? It was through a friend who was volunteering with Yoga Outreach after taking the core training. I had just completed my teacher training and wanted to volunteer with Yoga Outreach.   What were your thoughts of the Core Training? It was outstanding …one of the best trainings that I have done. The space that Nicole created to learn in was amazing, and the information taught made sense; it really applies to so many situations.   What was your first impression of Yoga Outreach? My first impression of Yoga Outreach was through the Core [...]

Rika Lange on Volunteering with Justice Involved Youth2018-04-20T10:04:07+00:00

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