“You Are Worthy of Peace”: Bringing Yoga to System-Impacted Youth in New Orleans
In New Orleans, where systemic inequities and high rates of youth incarceration shape daily life for many families, access to healing spaces is often limited. Through the work of YEAH! YOGA, that reality is beginning to shift—one breath, one choice, one moment at a time.
Rebecca Crenshaw, YEAH! YOGA Director of Operations Director of Youth Yoga Teacher Training, YogaTeacher
At the heart of this work is Rebecca Crenshaw, a longtime yoga practitioner, arts-based educator, and Interim Executive Director of YEAH! YOGA. With a background rooted in music, anthropology, and social-emotional learning, Rebecca brings a multidisciplinary approach to healing—one that centers the body, creativity, and community care.
For Rebecca, yoga is not just a practice—it’s a tool for agency.
“Sometimes impact looks like a nervous system settling just enough to feel safe.”
Meeting Youth Where They Are
YEAH! YOGA’s model is simple, but powerful: instead of asking youth to come to yoga, they bring yoga directly to them.
Through partnerships with detention centers, shelters, alternative schools, and community organizations, their mobile teaching team delivers free, trauma-informed yoga and mindfulness programming to youth ages 10–24 impacted by incarceration and systemic poverty.
This approach removes some of the biggest barriers to access—cost, transportation, and stigma—while building trust in spaces young people already know.
Their Healing-Focused Curriculum integrates mindful movement, breathwork, and emotional regulation practices grounded in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). Each class is designed to support skills like coping with emotions, navigating discomfort, and building healthier relationships.
But what makes the program especially impactful is its foundation in choice.
In environments where control is often taken away, even the option to participate—or not—can be transformative.
A Small Moment That Says Everything
Rebecca recalls a class inside a detention facility.
A young person entered visibly agitated and chose to sit against the wall, opting out of participation. The instructor honored that choice and continued guiding the class with gentle breath cues.
Slowly, something shifted.
By the end of class, the young person joined the closing circle and shared that it was the first time all day their body felt calm.
There was no dramatic transformation. Just a quiet, meaningful change.
Moments like these are the foundation of YEAH! YOGA’s work—reminders that healing doesn’t always look big or visible. Sometimes, it’s simply a breath.
Addressing Deep-Rooted Inequities
The youth served by YEAH! YOGA face complex and layered challenges.
In Louisiana, incarceration rates are among the highest in the world. Many young people have experienced direct or familial involvement in the justice system, alongside limited access to mental health care. In New Orleans, approximately one in three children lives in poverty, with Black youth disproportionately affected.
These conditions contribute to chronic stress, trauma, and limited opportunities for wellness and self-regulation.
Yoga, in this context, becomes more than movement—it becomes a necessary and accessible tool for resilience.
Over the past six years, YEAH! YOGA has reached more than 5,000 youth across Greater New Orleans. Their data shows meaningful improvements in mental health indicators like self-esteem, clarity, and optimism. But just as important are the stories:
A young woman used breathing techniques during a court hearing, helping her remain calm and ultimately return home.
Teens asked to stay after class because it was the first time they felt truly relaxed all week.
Staff observed improved behavior and emotional awareness after sessions.
These are the quiet shifts that ripple outward.
Evolving with Youth Voice
With support from the Give Back Yoga Foundation’s 2025 Yoga Service Grant, YEAH! YOGA is now deepening its impact through a community-centered curriculum redesign.
After six years of implementation, youth began asking for more—more variety, more modalities, more ways to engage.
The response? Listen.
The project centers youth voice through focus groups, classroom observation, and collaboration with yoga professionals and mental health advocates. Together, they are reimagining the curriculum while maintaining its trauma-informed and DBT-based foundation.
This next phase ensures the program remains not only accessible—but relevant.
Sustaining the Work
Like many service-based organizations, sustainability remains a challenge.
To continue offering free programming, YEAH! YOGA has developed creative solutions, including their WorkWell initiative—a workplace wellness program that generates revenue to support youth services.
They’ve also strengthened partnerships, expanded donor engagement, and invested in training instructors who reflect the communities they serve.
Through it all, their commitment remains clear: yoga should not be a privilege, but a public good.
A Practice of Listening
When asked what advice she would give to other yoga teachers, Rebecca’s answer is simple:
Start by listening.
Understanding community needs, investing in trauma-informed education, and building sustainable systems are all essential. But perhaps most important is recognizing that impact is often subtle.
It may not look like transformation.
It may look like trust.
It may look like one steady breath.
And that is enough.
Connect with YEAH! YOGA
Instagram: @say.yeah.yoga
Facebook: @SayYEAHYOGA
Website: yeahyoga.org
