YOGA IN SPANISH WITH
IMMIGRANT UNACCOMPANIED MINORS IN FOSTER CARE
There are children living at Mercy First Foster Care Facility who are un-accompanied minors. Many of these children crossed the border alone, seeking safety from violence in their home countries in South American. Many of the children have experienced or witnessed abuse or trauma, and live with the resonace of it every day. They attend school and live together on the campus of the facility, seperated from their families and friends.
The mindfulness, breathing and connection to community that yoga practice provides creates a safe space for these children to relax, and we hope to positivly impact the quality of their lives by offering them tools in their native language to move through stress and reaction. And in turn they improve the quality of our lives by sharing their light with us!
The mindfulness, breathing and connection to community that yoga practice provides creates a safe space for these children to relax, and we hope to positivly impact the quality of their lives by offering them tools in their native language to move through stress and reaction. And in turn they improve the quality of our lives by sharing their light with us!
OUR TEACHER
Nelson Castro first discovered his passion for social impact in his home country of Columbia, has volunteered for the Red Cross and now acts as social impact community leader for lululemon. He became a Certified Yoga Teacher with the goal of sharing yoga, meditation and breath work with Spanish speaking people of all ages.
"I came to the united state in 2001 as a student. After the tragic events of September 11, 2001 it became incredibly hard and hostile when I attempted to become more that a visiting student in the states. I was in limbo of immigration laws and fear for over 10 years. I was 17th with very little to no guidance; only my own to try to figure things out. Breath, yoga offered me a space for myself, where I could move be still and notice how important breath is, specially in the moments where the thing most natural to us seems short and unreachable. I hope that I can bring this sense of breath and what this perspectives could meant to the practitioners at mercy first. That no matter where they are now or in the future, they too have their own breath."
MERCY FIRST FOSTER CARE FACILITY
MercyFirst, a 501 (c) 3 organization, is one of New York’s leading not-for-profit human service agencies. Founded as an orphanage in 1894, the facility in Syosset provides residential care to children from birth through adolescence, including children who have been abused and neglected; youth with serious emotional problems; teenagers and young adults who are without family; and families coping with the stress and pressures of poverty, domestic violence, mental illness, and substance abuse.