Violence. Vulnerability. Mistreatment… Meditation? No, it’s not a game of which word doesn’t belong — it’s the prototypical path to healing followed by teenage participants in the Art of Yoga Project, a local nonprofit that’s taught yoga, writing and art to hundreds of girls in the California juvenile justice system since 2002.
Working with women in free clinics and Planned Parenthood facilities, family nurse practitioner Mary Lynn Fitton was discouraged by her female patients’ negative body images, as well as the high number of teen pregnancies she encountered. Bereft of positive, proactive emotional tools for dealing with years of sexual and physical abuse, many of the teens she saw seemed all but destined to repeat the cycle of violence and addiction.
“In my clinical practice, I was never sure if the girls would take the medications I prescribed or say no to drugs,” said the auburn-haired 20-year yogi. “Without care for their bodies, there was little way I could help.”
The mother of two elementary school-age children was intimately familiar with yoga’s power to increase self-awareness and self-control. What began as a seed idea to engender self-respect in a few of her patients has blossomed into a full-time crusade for Fitton, now founder and executive director of the Art of Yoga Project.
“When I heard that girls had been found doing handstands in their cells after they’d been so resistant to participating, I was overjoyed,” Fitton recalls. “It’s incredible to think that the girls are starting their own home practice and have the same good feelings I have about being in my own skin when they practice yoga.”
Castilleja School, a private middle and high school for girls in Palo Alto, has recently signed on to teach the curriculum, joining other affiliates including a juvenile facility in Duluth, MN, and a homeless youth outreach program in Portland, OR. Last month, the organization expanded operations from its San Mateo base to San Francisco. Yoga classes begin soon at Juvenile Hall, with volunteers set to teach writing and art this fall. Those interested in lending support can contact Fitton at [click to e-mail].
— Emily Goligoski