YOUTH – from Old English, meaning: The condition of being young. The appearance of freshness, vigor, spirit, of one who is young. The time of being young—early life. Young persons collectively. At youth yoga dharma, our intention is to focus on the development of young people. We wish to offer them resources for their own personal growth and maturation. We believe that the skills of meditation and yoga will support young people to grow into self-reflective, caring, conscious, and wise individuals. Through the practices of yoga and meditation young people learn to nurture and care for themselves internally. We believe the planet and the communities which occupy this planet can benefit from such nurturance.

YOGA – from Sanskrit, meaning, union, also, “to yoke” or harness. Yoga is the union of the smaller and the greater sense of self, or who we believe ourselves to be, and who we wish to become. The skills yoga offers us include learning to know ourselves better and learning to harness our life energies. Through yoga we can learn to focus the mind and refine the body so that we can be happier, healthier individuals. As we grow calmer and clearer within ourselves, we learn to be more present in our lives. As we heal our own hearts, we naturally want to share this joy with others.

DHARMA – from Sanskrit, (or Dhamma in pali), meaning, “that which supports or upholds.” Translated as: truth, action, service. One time, near the end of his life, Gandhi was asked what his message was. His reply? “How I live my life, that is my teaching.” The dharma is the underlying truth of our lives. The truth of our lives is present in our every action. At youth yoga dharma, offering the skills of meditation and yoga to youth is our dharma, our personal action in the world, our form of service. In offering these skills, we hope to allow youth to come closer to finding their own personal dharma, or sense of truth within themselves. In turn, their dharma will take form through their actions in their worlds—at home, at school, in their communities, and throughout the course of their lives.