Tackling Society's Problems With Yoga

A former Prison Officer is using yoga in a bid to tackle some of society's biggest problems. From dealing with bullying in schools and rehabilitating young offenders, to placating the mentally ill. So how does she connect to these people? What has been the response? And more importantly is yoga really the answer? Kym Nelson talks to a remarkable teacher.

By her own admission, Julia Green never planned to go into this line of work but thirteen years working in the prison service and 5 Years as a Drug Counsellor has equipped her with the skills to manage the kind of students that would push most yoga teachers to their limit, if not the edge.

As Julia explains, I thought that the years I spent of working in the prison service had equipped me to deal with some of the most demanding, difficult and challenging people. However, working at one London school to help tackle the problem of bullying has been by far the toughest challenge of my career. This was part of a pilot scheme to curb, what has become an enormous problem in the UK. Around 150,000 children are now being educated at home because of bullying and the figure is expected to rise to half a million by 2010. So there is a real need to tackle the problem and yoga is one way of seeing if it can help. 

Essentially I have had to approach yoga in a completely different way to how I would in a 'normal' class. Firstly I have had to adopt a subtle name change to 'street yoga' in order to engage the children's interest. Secondly I have had to change my teaching style because there is no point in me trying to get them to understand the connection between mind, body and breath in yoga, when these children have not yet figured out they have a mind they can use and unite with. Therefore, it has been a huge challenge but equally fascinating, as I have observed how the various postures influence the children - in both positive and negative ways.

For example, the postures that have been the most effective towards placating their behaviour are forward bends rather than backbends. The children themselves have said that they do not like the feeling of backbends such as the Camel (Ustrasana) or Bow (Dhanurasana), which can make them feel anxious and upset. I believe this reaction has a lot to do with the opening of the Anahata chakra, which relates to love - for self and others, and the Manipura chakra - relating to power. The result is that the children are forced to face the world, which leaves them feeling very exposed and intimidated, which can be very frightening. Of course, I still have to teach a balanced class but with the knowledge I now have on the effect of back bends, the children are only in these postures for a very short time - Cobra (Bhujangasana) and Locust (Shalabhasana) are nice gentle back bends, which the children can cope with.

Following with forward bends helps the children to feel safe and calm, which I believe is due to the closing affect of this posture as it is comforting and less intimidating. If you think about the pose by bending over you can close out the world and it feels less vulnerable than opening up in backbends. Child's Pose (Balasana), Down Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana) and the Sleeping Tortoise (Supta Kurmasana) has had a particularly good impact on the children. I have also found that children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) lack confidence so the Warrior Poses can help them achieve that. Although I always have to follow with a calming posture like Wide-Legged Forward Bend (Prasarita Padottanasana), as their confidence still needs to be controlled.

I have also discovered that some of the children with ADHD; breathe paradoxically or wrong which adds to their condition. The calming postures like forward bends, and the breathing exercises have helped them to control their hyperactivity by breath and postures. Also very important is to make sure the yoga asanas are not too tough so that the children do not become competitive, which is not good for ADHD.

Understanding why they behave as they do has helped me to deal with their disruptive behaviour. However, I also find that humour is a very useful tool. With the children, you have to be on your toes, and be quick with a witty retort. I never look as if they are getting the better of me. I am a very patient person anyway and there is nothing anyone can say to insult me, I worked in the prison service after all!"

Unfortunately, because of funding the pilot scheme cannot reach other schools for the time being. However, I am hopeful it will soon, as I strongly believe yoga can be instrumental in tackling the problem of bullying in the future.

In the meantime, I am using the experience I have gained with the bullying children, to help rehabilitate young offenders. These children have committed crimes, which run from minor theft to ABH and offensive weapons, through to unlicensed dangerous drivers and to children who have attempted murder. Many of them carry a lot of hatred for the criminal justice system and those connected with it, so it is a daily challenge. However, because they are a bit older than the school bullies I have been teaching, they are able to use yoga to reflect a bit on themselves. Many of them carried a lot of anger and blamed the world for their behaviour. But I am starting to see this change and I now have children admit that stealing is not the path they want to continue, seen shy children become confident and aggressive children become placid. However, although some have grown to like yoga and like me, there are also those who have grown to hate yoga and hate me. Some you win and some you lose, but that is the nature of teaching to young offenders, and I have had to learn to accept that. However, the most important thing is that I am making a positive breakthrough with yoga - to those who want to change. For me, every day brings a new lesson and a new experience gained. Most of all I have learnt that yoga is not a cure-all but a help-all."