When Poverty, Yoga, and Kids Intersect

Colin Lieu stands with arms spread to either side at shoulder height,
In red sleeveless shirt and black slacks

by Colin Lieu


It’s 3:00 pm on a Wednesday afternoon and Elijah has students blowing into bubble solution in a lesson about elongated exhales, as part of his job interview and demo. Our students are loving it, Lionel even counts how many seconds Taraji is blowing out as others gaze in awe at how big the bubble is becoming.

The way education circles talk about schools (and by extension, communities) in the Bronx, it doesn’t exactly paint an Amy Sherald picture of kids completely captivated in a class on breathing techniques.

The median household income of a family in the Upper East Side of Manhattan’s District 2 is $108,725. Their English Language Arts (ELA) proficiency rate amongst 6th graders is 74%. The median household income of a family in the Bronx’s District 7 is $66,89. ELA proficiency is 27%.

“This is stupid,” says Benny. “I’m bored.” Looks like not everyone is sold.

Lebron James now appears on the board. It’s a gif of him seated and meditating on the sidelines. Benny grips the front edge of his desk and leans in.

Great move, Mr. Elijah. We’ve got to meet our kids where they are and work to uncover the points of entry available to us to get kids hooked into the content.

Teaching yoga and mindfulness to kids, especially in underserved communities, ain’t easy. You can’t Michelle Pfeiffer (in Dangerous Minds) your way through it---with white savior tropes that center the teacher, not the student. It left a bad taste in 1995, and it’s not going to work in 2021.

On these streets out here in the south Bronx, we don’t have what Manhattan offers: the 18 yoga studios in Chelsea, the weekly outdoor yoga classes in Union Square, or the flagship Lululemon store in SoHo.

Teaching yoga in public schools can mean different things: teaching in hallways; teaching without yoga mats; teaching through nursery rhymes; teaching school administrators to actually believe the work and not just the jargon; and teaching kids to retie shoelaces.

But none of the above are Taraji, Lionel, or Benny’s fault. Teaching yoga to poor kids demands an unwavering commitment to deliver Peleton-Standard lessons inspite of their circumstances. Kids who grow up in resource-poor communities should not be subjected to poor teaching quality, poor learning materials, or a poor teacher mindset.

Our kids, a 10-minute subway ride north of the Upper East Side of Manhattan, deserve everything---and the kitchen sink.

If you took on the task to educate kids in under-served communities, you better do the work---and self-work! Finding time and space to self-regulate is a privilege. Some of us carry the trauma of constantly being in “fight or flight” that it takes extra patience and consistency to create a brave enough space to let the walls come down and activate the vagus nerve’s calming response.

At Creo College Prep, our students take Health & Wellness class every day. We are committed to supporting our students to build self-care habits all while understanding we have to exercise non-attachment because how they use these tools after their time with us, is out of our hands.

We are devoted to our higher purpose and trust things will fall into place. While the Upper East Side’s District 2 ELA proficiency is 41% for 6th grade students who have additional needs and Individual Education Plans (IEPs), Creo’s is 45%. We are in our third year and just getting started.

Taraji claps to a steady four-beat as the class breaths in and out at the same pace---just as they did with Elijah 15 minutes ago. She sits back down and we listen to a guided meditation by Lebron James on the Calm app.

This is how it’s done. See the best in your students. Tailor content and teaching style to be student-centered. Give students opportunities to lead.

Elijah got the job.

Colin Lieu is a nurturer who works with young people to block out the noise and stay connected to their best selves. Colin is the Founding Dean of Wellness at Creo College Pre. He founded Multitasking Yogi in 2017 as a platform to bring the tools of mindfulness and self-care to vastly diverse spaces and populations: teaching in public schools; leading educator professional development workshops; and servicing community events. Multitasking Yogi teacher training offers an innovative way to nurture the next generation of wellness leaders. High school juniors and seniors already taking Multitasking Yogi classes have the opportunity to be placed on a specialized track to complete a Yoga Alliance 95-hr Registered Children's Yoga Teacher certification and become their community's next generation yoga teacher. He serves on the Board of Directors of Accessible Yoga Association.

Colin Lieu will be presenting at the Accessible Yoga's Conference Online October 14-17, 2021.

This post was edited by Patrice Priya Wagner, Editor of Accessible Yoga Blog and member of the Board of Directors.

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