Yoga instructor seeks to give at-risk youths healthy boost
People who make yoga a regular part of their lives are sometimes considered advantaged because they have both the time and financial resources to do so.
Suzanne Goldston doesn't think either of those should be stumbling blocks for the population she believes desperately needs yoga's benefits: at-risk students.
"I think they're hungry for it," said Goldston, the owner and an instructor of the Yoga-Buzz studio on James Island. "I think they're looking for something uplifting."
When she opened the studio last November, she put a free class for teens on the schedule at 4:30 p.m. Thursdays. Two of her regular clients saw an opportunity there. Aimee Lassor and Wallis Gandy, two student-support specialists from Communities in Schools, work with at-risk students at St. John's High School on Johns Island and Fort Johnson Middle School on James Island, respectively. They thought it would be a great way to engage some of their students in a healthy activity that isn't often readily available to them.
"A lot of times, these kids have so much going on in their lives, they need to focus on something positive," Gandy said. "I want to offer experiences to them that they may not have."
When she approached Goldston about bringing the students to yoga, she realized that the instructor was very interested in working with them for specific reasons.
"I have two boys, one 14 and one 12, so I was interested in this age," Goldston said.
And her interest shows from the moment she starts class. Last week, she had three girls from Fort Johnson, and before she started stretching, she asked how their interim school progress reports turned out. If they said "good," she congratulated them. If they said "bad," she asked them what they were going to do to make better grades next time.
Goldston's combination of nurturing and tough love before and during the class rings a bell with the students — as do the yoga positions themselves. During Feb. 28's hourlong session, the girls followed her lead while she showed them downward-facing dog, crescent moon and more. At the end, they relaxed all their muscles and joints.
"It makes you calm ... it was like peace. I was falling asleep," said I'Yonna Burgess, a sixth-grader at Fort Johnson. After stressing over her least favorite subject, English/language arts, she said it felt good to unwind.
"I'm here to get them moving," the instructor said. "I'm here to challenge them and get them thinking."
The encouragement Goldston gives during the lesson can be applied easily to many situations. She doesn't hide the fact she is trying to get the girls to apply the ideas from yoga to how they handle themselves at school.
"Your power is in the present moment. Take your time; you can't move too fast." When one of the girls said she could not do the bakasana position, which requires lifting the whole crouched body using the arms, Goldston told her to try again. So she did. A little better.
"Young people's bodies are pretty pliant, so I throw everything but the kitchen sink at them," Goldston said.
Although both genders are welcome to attend, Goldston said it's hard to get boys to go because they usually are not comfortable in such a class with girls at that age.
"It gets them in touch with some positive views and positive images about their bodies. ... It's about love and joy, things they may not be hearing very much about."
