View full issue in PDF - The Mindfulness Bell

young people’s PRACTICE
Teens, Yoga, and Nature
An Interview with Holiday Johnson
by Terry Masters
Teens can come to any class at our yoga studio seven days a
week. But I offer two yoga classes that are designed specifically for
youngsters eleven to seventeen years old. Because teens often don’t
have much money, the classes are half price, and I offer free classes
for two months each year. During those months teenagers can attend
classes every day if they want at no charge.
You also sponsor a teen retreat, don’t you What is that like
It is so inspiring! This past August, nine girls, ages thirteen to
seventeen years old, and two adults gathered at a retreat center in an
organic apple orchard in the mountains near Parkdale, Oregon for three
days and two nights.
Each girl brought her own vegetarian recipe to prepare for the
group. We had some delicious and creative organic vegetarian meals!
In appreciation for the wonderful food and the work that went into
preparing it, we began each meal with the Five Contemplations.
Holiday, tell us about your yoga classes for teenagers.
34 Summer 2004
photo by Holiday Johnson
What is especially encouraging for me
in working with teens is how they share
their ideas with each other so freely.
How supportive and kind they are...
I know that some people are hesitant to work with teens; they
regard them with suspicion, or fear. But my experience with teens has
been wonderful. I’m encouraged by their enthusiasm, creativity, and
their delight in life. I really love them!
What kind of work do you do with teens
Thirteen years ago I started a nonprofit program for teens which we
named Standing on Your Own Two Feet. The purpose of the program
is to use yoga to develop skills in teenagers that produce a sense of
well-being. In my experience, yoga helps youngsters become strong,
centered, and healthy.
We practiced meditation every day. We offered formal yoga
classes, and informal ones, too: the girls invented their own tree
pose in the river! Sometimes the girls were quiet, enjoying the time
to reflect and relax. Of course, there were also times when the girls
were chatty and giggly.
We hiked. We swam. We sat in awe of nature: one girl found
frog eggs for us to admire; another commented on how beautiful it was
to be swimming in an apple orchard. One day Judy Bluehorse, a Native
American, guided us through the woods, pointing out the various
medicinal uses of the plants and trees we saw.
What is especially encouraging for me in working with teens is
how they share their ideas with each other so freely. How supportive
and kind they are, how sweetly they encourage each other. For example,
some of the girls were afraid to swim in the muddy-bottomed lake.
After some encouragement from their peers, the timid ones were in
there having fun too. That kind of sweetness, that kind of compassion
and generosity, gives me hope for the future.
If folks want to find out more about your work with teenagers, how
can they get in touch with you
O u r we b s i t e i s w w w. h o l i d ay s y o g a c e n t e r. c o m .
I ’d b e h a p py t o s h a r e wh a t eve r I c a n w i t h p e o p l e
who are interested in working with teens. And I’d love to know more
about what others are doing.
Holiday Johnson, Kind Forgiveness of the Heart,
practices with the True Name Sangha in Portland, Oregon.