My Experience Working with the Newark Yoga Movement

Photo Credit: Newark Yoga Movement

Tranquil tunes surrounded the dimly lit room as the yogis lied peacefully on the wooden floor in savasana. Young kids ran throughout the hallway outside the quiet room as the light shined through the doors. The room looks like a typical dance studio with mirrors stretching from the ceiling to the floor at The Clubhouse, a local community center in the central ward of Newark. But once a week, it transforms into an inclusive space of a peace and tranquility for the practice of yoga with the Newark Yoga Movement.

Last semester, I had the opportunity to create a multimedia story for my journalism class. Yoga immediately popped into my head as my topic. From combating my anxiety and depression as pre-teen after losing my father to managing the daily stress as a college student, yoga has always been a constant in my life. I have witnessed the power of yoga as a way to transform the body, mind and soul. My innocent curiosity for yoga as child has evolved into an ever-changing practice. Nonetheless, before working with the Newark Yoga Movement, I would constantly go to yoga studios and be the only person of color in the room. This blew my mind and made me wonder why I didn’t see myself and others represented within these spaces.

As a student at Rutgers University in Newark, I’ve developed a love for the city beyond the blocks of my campus. This city has challenged and shaped me over these three year and I wanted to make this story not just about my yoga experience but about the city that impacted me. I choose to study the diversity and inclusion of yoga within the Newark community and how the Newark Yoga Movement is tearing down these walls that have marginalized people by moving yoga beyond the traditional studio and providing accessible yoga to Newark’s children and its community.

Yoga has become a popular form of exercise in the western culture over the past few decades. Yoga provides endless physical and mental benefits such as reducing stress, anxiety and improving concentration. Unlike, other forms of exercise that have a competitive aspect, the practice of yoga is an inward experience for the individual that focuses on the breathe. Nonetheless, mainstream yoga has been depicted as a practice for the privileged that has become inaccessible due to the high cost of classes, expensive equipment and the lack of diversity and inclusion. In addition, various demographics of people have been marginalized such as people of color, low-income families, plus size individuals, and the elderly.

I discovered the Newark Yoga Movement during my research and was instantly drawn to the mission of the organization. Newark is the largest city in New Jersey yet is so often overlooked and forgotten. Debby, the founder, saw the potential of yoga as a tool to enhance the educational experience for Newark students and create a positive change in the community. She took on the challenge of a neglected school system and provided students with an accessible way to improve focus, concentration, and increase confidence. Yoga is not about the intricate poses or having perfect balance, it’s about the breathe. It always comes back to the breathe. Intentional breathing in yoga is a powerful force for the mind, especially when applied into schools.

I had the opportunity to go to Sussex Avenue Renewal School and observe the school based yoga classes. I was mesmerized by the shift in emotions of the students by the end of the class. One of the yoga instructors brought a singing bowl to her classes and allowed each child to produce the meditative vibrations. As each child moved the wooden stick around the top rim of the metal bowl with deep concentration, a soft sound of vibrations filled the room. There was a sense of amazement from both the students and the teachers that such a beautiful sound that could be produced as a feeling of relaxation and ease came over them.

Yoga truly is for everyone at the Newark Yoga Movement. From classes at the LGBTQ community center to senior citizen yoga, this organization has worked to make yoga accessible and inclusive to everyone. They work with each school to create a unique program based on the needs of the students. This is something special because this inclusivity in yoga is not present everywhere.

After completing my project, I wasn’t ready to end my time with the organization and was fortunate enough to work as a summer intern. This was not a moving papers and fetching for a coffee type of internship. The work that I’m doing as an intern has a direct impact on the community. As a result, I’ve developed a greater appreciation and understanding of how powerful yoga can be in schools and other spaces. It truly takes village to create change. It’s amazing to see everyone come together with a commitment to the mission of the organization. My time as an intern may be coming to end but this organization will have special spot in my heart and their success will only continue.