New Year's Day Yoga Class to Raise Money for Incarcerated Teen Girls

On New Year's Day, local yogis and yoginis will gather at Yoga One to welcome the new year with a two hour long class at the new riverfront studio. Cost is by donation, but the coolest part may be that all proceeds from the class (minus basic costs) will be donated to a nonprofit that uses yoga to work with girls in the juvenile justice system.

The Art of Yoga, which started in 2002 in San Mateo County and is planning to expand into Sonoma this year, uses yoga to help incarcerated girls improve self-esteem and deal with deep-seated anger. And local yoga instructor Anne O'Brien, who is teaching the New Year's Day class, is a big fan.

"I feel very passionate about helping young at-risk women," says O'Brien who has spent 10 years teaching at  and has assisted with workshops for Art of Yoga. "I've been amazed at how some of them have been able to turn their lives around because of yoga."

The program goes into juvenile hall facilities around Northern California and introduces teenage inmates to yoga, as well as art, writing and other activities meant to encourage self-expression. The results have been nothing less of amazing, says O'Brien.

"Yoga moderates their behavior and helps many find strengths in situations where they may be taken advantage of," she says. "Whereas in the past a girl may have reacted with anger and swear words, through this program it teaches her to take a breath and find focus."

O'Brein's New Year's Day class will be held 2-4pm at Yoga One at 224 Weller St. just off the D Street Bridge. For more information, check out the studio's site.