washtenaw county juvenile drug court & new yoga progam

I am happy to share that the Michigan Association of Drug Court Professionals included an article about my school based yoga program in their recent newsletter. Here is the article:

...A newer component of the program is a weekly yoga class.
Since the beginning of this school year, drug court youth in
Washtenaw County have added this new treatment modality
to their bag of tricks to support their sobriety, reduce their anger, improve their impulse control, and give them a sense of control over their own bodies.

Lisa Gottlieb, the program’s full time school social worker and registered yoga teacher says, “We’re not reinventing the wheel here. There are numerous studies showing the value of yoga in substance abuse treatment with both youth and adults, and juvenile drug courts in Colorado have included yoga as a treatment modality for the last 4 years. The organization Y.O.G.A for Youth in Los Angeles has been bringing yoga classes to underprivileged and incarcerated youth in juvenile jails, schools and placement centers around LA for years now. It is very exciting that Washtenaw County is supporting the yoga program for our students.”

Gottlieb also offers a lunch hour yoga class for staff at the center to support their own health. “In this line of work, self care for stress reduction and well-being benefits everyone. The staff who take part in yoga report feeling more calm and physically stronger, and their participation in yoga class models healthy life style choices for the youth,” Gottlieb shares. Yoga, which translates as ‘yoke’, or ‘union’ in English, works to join together specific physical movements, conscious, intentional breathing and a calm state of mind to improve overall health and emotional stability. The combination of yoga postures, breath control, and meditation practice has been proven to lower high blood pressure, reduce stress and frustration, and support calm and serenity. Gottlieb adds, “The beauty of yoga is it can be simply a physical practice to build strength, balance and poise, or it can be a more emotional and spiritual practice, encouraging honesty, compassion, tolerance, and hope, similar to the 12-step programs currently used by most treatment facilities.”

Embracing the philosophy of yoga supports students in practicing what they are learning, both on the yoga mat, and off the mat as well. Students carry the lessons of yoga into their daily lives at school, in their homes and in the community. Each person can decide for themselves what they want to take away from their yoga practice. A person doesn’t have to be slim, fit, or flexible to start a yoga practice. The yoga postures are all modified in each class so that everyone can take part and benefit, however they ‘show up.’

For more information about the style of yoga taught at the center, follow the link to the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health: http://www.kripalu.org/ or contact Lisa Gottlieb directly at lgott@wash.k12.mi.us.