Teenage Girls Yoga Retreat and Yoga Australia Forum

April 2021 Yoga Programs Update

In April 2021, The Yoga Foundation was very excited to run our very first retreat for at-risk teenage girls. Supported by the Lillian Howell Project, the six girls attending the yoga retreat have experienced abuse, neglect and homelessness and live with the ongoing challenges those hardships create. Not many of them actually liked yoga when they arrived as they thought it was “too hard” and “painful”. We strived to show them it could be the opposite.

Yoga retreat for at-risk youth changes perceptions

The teen girls quickly discovered they liked the opportunity to slow down and had a go at all the yoga-based activities we offered. Big smiles, laughter and joy emanated from the girls as they experienced comfort, safety and connection through the trauma-informed activities. Hear directly from one of the participants about why she enjoyed the yoga retreat or the teen girls’ caseworker explaining why our approach made the retreat so successful.

Upcoming at-risk youth yoga retreat

Our second youth yoga retreat is upcoming in June. We’ve partnered with Youth Off The Streets, to enable some of the young people they support to enjoy some time away. 

Celebrating National Youth Week 2021

To celebrate National Youth Week, The Yoga Foundation facilitated an online national forum for Yoga Australia on April 22nd. The forum was a 360-degree look at how and why we bring yoga to at-risk youth and how accessing yoga supports young people who have experienced abuse, homelessness and mental health challenges.