OFF THE MAT, INTO THE WORLD PRESENTS...

Immersion and Leadership Training
Los Angeles April 3-10, 2011
with Hala Khouri, Seane Corn, Suzanne Sterling
and Leila Steinberg, Krishna Kaur, Abby Wills, and more...

This is a unique opportunity for participants to engage in experiential learning, inner transformation and direct service work. 
Our Leadership Training is an on-the-ground immersion where participants engage in a process of mutual inquiry with the young people they wish to serve.  Daily yoga and processing with Hala, Seane and Suzanne combined with workshops with local activists and field trips to local juvenile halls and camps with local leaders doing cutting edge work.

CLICK HERE FOR FULL DETAILS

The Training
* Monthly support calls starting in September 2010: these calls will consist of fundraising support for those who need to raise funds to attend, book and article suggestions and discussion, and general support
* 7 day immersion training in Los Angeles (schedule follows): includes accommodations and food, ground transportation, daily yoga with Hala, Seane and Suzanne, lectures, fieldwork with local leaders and outings.
* 6 months of post- training mentoring by the Off the Mat staff to support you in implementing a project in your local area.

Schedule
DAY 1: Arrival, Opening Circle and Dinner
DAY 2: Yoga, Workshop with Dr. Tessa Hicks-Peterson, attend Open Mic night with Leila Steinberg.
DAY 3: Yoga, Workshop/ Discussion with Erick Milosovish, LAPD officer and yogi, Tour of Juvenile Halls and surrounding areas with Fidel Rodriguez, Lunch at Homeboy Industries’ Homegirl Cafe
DAY 4- 6: Yoga, fieldwork experiences in Juvenile Hall, Camps, and various communities in L.A. (with Leila Steinberg, Krishna Kaur, Tessa Hicks- Peterson, and Fidel Rodriguez)
Day 7: Yoga, Closing Circle
*evenings will consist of counsel circle/ discussions and free time
*** schedule is subject to change

Cost
*includes all of the above
$1900 if paid in full by March 1, 2011 $2300 if paid after March 1**
**per person rate based on double occupancy, does not include airfare
A non-refundable deposit of $250 secures your space

Leaders

Leila Steinberg, Alternative Intervention Models

Leila Steinberg is an artist and community organizer who began working with youth twenty years ago in the San Francisco Bay area. Since 1998, through Alternative Intervention Models (AIM), Steinberg has been providing specialized programs incorporating poetry, music, and the arts, for youth within the juvenile justice system and residential treatment facilities. AIM programs confront juvenile crime and victimization, drug abuse and gang violence and other pressing issues facing at-risk youth in a workshop format that combines creative arts with an open dialogue. To learn more about Leila and AIM, click here <http://www.hearteducation.org/index.html> .


Krishna Kaur , Y.O.G.A for Youth

Krishna Kaur has been teaching the art and science of Kundalini Yoga since 1970. She is Founder of Yoga for Youth, and the International Association of Black Yoga Teachers. Krishna has taught yoga and trained others to teach urban and incarcerated youth for the past 14 years. She also teaches regularly in West Africa. To learn more, click here <http://www.yogaforyouth.org/programs.htm> .


Abby Wills, M.A ., Shanti Generation

Abby Wills, M.A., brings her passion for democratic education and deep respect for the tradition of yoga to Shanti Generation. For over a decade, Abby has joyfully guided youth and teachers in movement arts, mindfulness and yoga. Abby’s approach to yoga for youth and teachers is informed by studies in social justice and developmental education at Pacific Oaks College. Having led teacher’s training courses internationally, Abby is delighted to share her experience through the creation of the Shanti Generation Facilitators Training. To learn more, click here <http://www.shantigeneration.com/Home.html> .


Fidel Rodriguez

Fidel Rodriguez is a Senior Human Relations Consultant and Racialized Gang Violence Prevention Specialist for the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations. He has a broad experience working with “at risk” youth, incarcerated youth and adults conducting trainings on culture, history and physical education. Fidel developed a successful “Rites of Passage” program called “Spreading Seeds: Mind Body Spirit” based on raising consciousness, releasing anger and assisting in psychological and physical rebirths. He was host of award winning and number one rated hip hop radio show, “Divine Forces Radio.” Rodriguez was a McNair Scholar and a 1998 graduate of the University of Southern California with B.A.’ in Chicano/Latino Studies and African American Studies.


Tessa Hicks Peterson, PhD

Tessa Hicks Peterson is the director of the Center for California Cultural and Social Issues and an Assistant Professor in Urban Studies at Pitzer College. As such, she guides students in connecting with their local communities through service, research and advocacy to address the pressing social issues critical to community members in the surrounding neighborhoods. Before arriving to Pitzer three years ago, Tessa worked with communities throughout Southern California on human relations and civil rights issues as Associate Director at the Anti-Defamation League and, prior to that, as the Youth Programs Director at the National Conference for Community and Justice.

Erik Milosevich "Milo", Peace Officer
Milo has been a police officer in Los Angeles County for the past seventeen years. He has worked a variety of assignments from Undercover Narcotics and SWAT, to School Resource Officer and Police Activities League (PAL). He worked two years at PAL creating and developing programs for “At Risk Youth” He continues to be a mentor for a number of young men and is a father to two daughters of his own. Milo is currently assigned to patrol at the Santa Monica Police Department. On his own time, he volunteers at PAL where he teaches a martial arts and yoga classes. Milo is committed to being a “Peaceful Warrior”.

Francisco Letelier, Muralist

Francisco Letelier is an artist and writer born in Chile. He bridges continents and weaves together history and contemporary experiences, creating powerful and memorable work. For more than 25 years, Letelier has created art that crosses disciplines and cultures while building bridges between nations, individuals and communities. A passionate commitment to education and dialogue has placed his work at the forefront of human rights, cultural and environmental struggles. A long time resident of Los Angeles, Letelier has worked, taught and held residencies through many organizations and institutions in Southern California, including SPARC, The 18th Street Arts Center and The Museum of Tolerance. Through LA Theatre Works the artist conducted workshops throughout Los Angeles County with incarcerated youth, creating books, murals and installations that have been exhibited widely. As a founding member of The Brigada Orlando Letelier, a muralist brigade formed by Chilean exiles, Francisco worked on collective murals exhibitions and graphic works throughout the United States.

The Empowered Youth Initiative

This is Off the Mat, Into the World's commitment to serving our youth. We believe that if we can facilitate the empowerment of youth, we can make an exponential impact on social justice and environmental issues. Our young people are our future leaders, one of the best places to invest our time and resources.

Young people who do not have adequate support around them are often considered “at risk.” They are at risk of engaging in criminal activity, drugs, joining gangs, violent behavior, or being the victims of violence. Psychologically they are more likely to suffer from anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and mental illness.

The Empowered Youth Initiative aims at addressing the larger context that these young people are brought up in. Their behavior is a product of what is going on in their home, community, school and district; as well as their ancestry and physiology. The more we as conscious activists can understand this larger socio-economic and political context, the more effective we can be in serving this community.

MORE DETAILS HERE