Through the Lens of Kindness: Resources for Our Children

When it comes to yoga programs, Lisa is the queen! She currently leads the yoga program at Hudson Guild working with preschool students. She has a way of working with kids and yoga that is so wonderful to watch. ~ Sarah Ushay, Children's Programs Officer

It’s no coincidence that this Team Leader Spotlight is being featured the same week as International Women’s Day, a time when our world is reflecting on the many social, economic, and cultural achievements of women across the globe. Join us as we get to know Lisa Mehos, an influential and courageous leader who spends her days (correction: years!) instilling confidence in New York City youth and survivors of domestic violence. Her secret? Yoga.

We’ll start things off with a story, because who doesn't love a good tale of courage, new found confidence and transformation? Oh and did we mention that one of the heroes is an eight year old girl?

"I had the privilege of working with an incredible group of children at a shelter in the Bronx a couple of years ago.  At one point during our yoga class, one girl was holding back tears as she told me she could not do yoga, because kids at school tell her she is not good enough and her body is too big. Throughout the project, we incorporated affirmations and exercises focused on instilling confidence, acceptance, resilience, compassion, and love.  By the end of the school year, this precious 8 year old was smiling and exuding confidence.  She excitedly shared a story with me about a group of kids making fun of the way a little boy talked. The boy was crying and she stepped up to console him and said; “You need to stop bullying him. Everyone is different so who cares if he talks in a different way than you do.  Does it make you feel happy and strong to see him crying?” I cherish the memories I have of witnessing transformation in children as they become confident, compassionate, resilient, and willing to embrace the differences in themselves and others.”

Talk about girl power. Lisa is a strong believer that “working with children who are at a very impressionable young age provides a powerful opportunity to instill confidence, resilience, and virtues that have a permanent impact on their lives.”

We couldn't agree more.

Lisa's work with New York Cares started over a decade ago, long before yoga became the mainstream form of exercise it is today. Since then, Lisa has grown programs such as Yoga at Hudson Guild, by developing curriculum that helps combat inequality, bullying and peer pressure. 

Just hear what Sarah Ushay, Children's Programs Officer at New York Cares has to share about her experience working alongside Lisa. 

“Lisa consistently goes above and beyond, constantly asking to do more for communities in need. Just in her short time at Prospect Family Inn, she started a project called "Through the Eyes of a Child" where she collect thoughts and narrative of the young children who were in the program.”

So of course, we weren’t surprised when Lisa's volunteers sang the same praises. 

"Lisa is very good with the kids and accommodates lessons to the children's levels and temperament. -Liza"

But let’s be clear. While Lisa certainly has a gift for working with children, leading volunteers, and innovating her programming, there’s so much more to the work she does than what meets the yoga mat.

Research suggests that school-based yoga may have a number of positive effects on student health, behavior, and overall performance. Just take More than just a game: Yoga for school-age children (link is external), a piece on the Harvard Health Blog which references a growing number of studies showing benefits to yoga such as improved balance, strength, mindfulness, focus, and even educed anxiety.

So besides the benefits and kids, we were curious. What inspires Lisa to serve?

"Whenever disheartening events take place in the world, being involved as a Team Leader always manages to reinstill my faith in humanity. Working with so many selfless volunteers and staff members reaffirms my belief that good will prevail and kindness is contagious."

We’d have to say the exact same thing about our work with you, Lisa. Thanks for influencing the next generation of New Yorkers to have a strong, courageous, and balanced approach to our world. Namaste!

What are you most passionate about?

I am most passionate about helping those in need, primarily children and domestic violence survivors in underserved communities. Every human being deserves to have an education, food, shelter, and protection from violence regardless of economic status. I am equally passionate about civil rights and the importance of embracing diversity. "In diversity there is beauty and there is strength"

Tell us one thing that you never leave the house without before team leading

My sharing flower. The children pass it around and take turns sharing something for which they are grateful.

What is your favorite thing to do in New York? 

Teach Yoga in family shelters, schools, and domestic violence shelters.

Anything else? It is an honor to be a leader with New York Cares!

This is an interview with Lisa Gabriella Mehos, a certified yoga instructor and nutritional coach. Lisa began her yoga outreach work volunteering in shelters during college. For the past three years, she has been teaching yoga to inner-city children and survivors of domestic violence in shelters and schools in New York City.

Rob: What originally motivated you to do this work, and what continues to motivate you? 

I have seen how yoga service can help people transcend barriers of race, gender, and economic status. My motivation stems from my deep belief that everyone deserves compassion, kindness, equal opportunity, education and security.

While we cannot eliminate the hardships people face in life, we can help empower those in need to overcome obstacles and trauma. Offering yoga in underserved communities provides people with tools to help build confidence, resilience, and a mindset to conquer difficulties and disadvantages, despite the many hurdles they face.

What is the most rewarding aspect of your teaching experience?

Watching transformation in an individual, which might then carry over into the community, is the most rewarding aspect of yoga service. The greatest gift we can offer is sharing the tools and techniques enabling a person to overcome fear, anxiety, depression or other negative reactions to traumatic situations.

By offering an affirmative practice and various exercises promoting virtues, we may help people develop hope, confidence, strength, and gratitude. A foundation built on these virtues can empower them to achieve their fullest potential. For example, one of the major issues facing us and our children today is bullying - not only in schools, but also in the adult world. By adopting a mindful practice, we realize we have the power to control our reaction and our response. Although we cannot control many things that happen in life, we can decide how to react in the face of adversity. We can choose to let cruelty, abuse, and hardship break us down, or we can take each obstacle and use it as a learning experience to make us stronger.
 

What are some of the things your students have taught you?

One of my favorite quotes is “Never look down on someone unless you are helping him up.” My students have taught me that helping someone up has endless possibilities. Each of my students has a gift inside that cannot be bought or taken by anyone. To find it and nurture it, we all need someone to believe in us, stand by our side, and remind us of our intrinsic attributes and abilities.

During one of my classes in a homeless shelter for children, we were sharing something for which we are grateful. One seven-year-old girl said, “I’m grateful that God made us...and I think the reason he made us is he knew we would be nice to each other and help each other.” 

Another eight-year-old girl, who was in the hospital for a year and a half with cancer, taught me an unforgettable lesson about resilience in the face of fear and suffering. During our discussion on gratitude, this child shared; “My mommy taught me that even when I’m scared that I’ll never see my baby sister again, I can never give up. I was living in a hospital with a needle in my back and every day I was so scared that I would never walk or see my mom and sister anymore. But I knew that no matter how much it hurt, I had to be strong, keep fighting, and never give up.” 

In what ways do you think yoga addresses some of the societal factors at play in the institution or population you work with? 

Yoga can address some critical factors for the homeless and those who face trauma and struggle. My classes incorporate affirmations - encouraging people to acknowledge, treasure, and reflect on their own self-worth and attributes. We focus on instilling confidence, compassion, and love, which emanate a powerful force that impacts entire families and communities. One eight-year-old boy living in a homeless shelter said he was grateful he got to go to school every day because he knew he would be so smart he’d be able to take care of his mom and baby brother. By reminding people they are strong, smart, kind, and capable of accomplishing their dreams, we can help our population flourish.

What, in your mind, is the relationship between a practice of mindfulness and greater social change?

Practicing mindfulness brings an element of compassion, gratitude, confidence, and kindness towards oneself. Once a person is mindful of his/her own intrinsic attributes, he/she is able to carry them over to others. 

When a yoga practice is presented with the intention to empower individuals, it can result in a transformation of attitude and values. Simply by following the most basic mindfulness practice of gratitude, we can reduce bullying, depression, violence, hopelessness.

One of the most powerful factors of a mindfulness practice in the inner-city communities where I work is that we provide communities with a gift that is already in them. Only they can cultivate it and tap into it to accomplish any of their dreams. Wealth and power cannot buy this gift, or take it from anyone. 

What advice would you give to someone who is going to teach in the shelters in which you work? What would be the most important thing for them to carry? 

Carry an open heart, an open mind...and a box of tissues!

I’m so full of gratitude it often brings tears. Until someone spends time in these communities, that person may not realize what an honor it is to witness the resilience and love that exists, even in the face of the most egregious experiences and dire living conditions. 

What are some of your ideas about, or hopes for, the future of service yoga in America in the next 10 years?

I hope we can expand this amazing yoga service movement to reach far more individuals and communities. With every life we touch, we build strength in the right direction.