Two local organizations that cater particularly to the Austin area’s most underserved kids have teamed up to offer free yoga to kids ages 8-14, most of whom live at or below poverty-level.
Wholesome Generation, a non-profit community school and educational farm, and Gen Z Yoga, a new community outreach group, hope the classes will expose some of the Austin’s poorest children to broad education, healthy activity, quality food, and nurturing community that they might otherwise not experience.
“We can’t completely end the challenges our students face at home, whether it’s the lack of food security, an overworked parent, or the responsibility of caring for a younger sibling,” says Lene Saint-Orens, founder and executive director of Wholesome Generation.
Tens of thousands of local residents ages 17 years and younger live in poverty…We can help students release the stress associated with those challenges.
“At-home struggles can make focusing in class incredibly taxing. But what we can do, is help students release the stress associated with those challenges by handing them a yoga mat, energizing edibles, and letting them unfold their magic.,” Saint-Orens adds.
Nearly 400,000 children ages 14 years and younger live in the Austin-Round Rock five-county metro area (about 20 percent of all residents), and tens of thousands of residents ages 17 years and younger live in poverty, according to the yoga group’s written statement that cites the Can Community Dashboard.
Beginning Aug. 20, Gen Z Yoga classes will be held at various outdoor venues in the Austin metro area, including Zilker Park, near Lady Bird Lake, and Auditorium Shores. Wholesome Generation will prepare healthy foods and offer indoor and outdoor space at its 5-acre school on Running Bird Lane in Austin.
Charlotte Moore, who writes for soulciti, is also an organizer at Gen Z Yoga.
