The Holistic Life Foundation has created a groundbreaking yoga and mindfulness instructor training program, developed specifically for youth who have graduated from their after-school and mentoring programs. With the demand for HLF programs increasing, they needed new instructors who had a deep understanding of HLF's youth development and engagement principles.

This set of youth had a decade of experience practicing yoga and mindfulness, making them ideal candidates for the holistic training program. The training began with a weeklong retreat in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where the youth received instruction in yoga and mindfulness practices, safety, anatomy and physiology, and HLF's youth engagement philosophies.

Back in Baltimore, the youth continued their training, attending classes twice a week after the Holistic Me after-school program. They have now become assistant teachers at the HLF yoga and mindfulness training at the Omega Institute, passing on their knowledge and experience to others.

Now in its 11th year, the Workforce Development program provides long-lasting mentoring opportunities and yoga and mindfulness facilitation training for youth from underserved communities. The program ensures ongoing support to these youth and helps ensure the sustainability of the organization by preparing future generations of compassionate and skilled yoga and mindfulness facilitators.

HLF's founders took ten Workforce Development participants to the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina in 2014, where they learned about personal development, social and environmental responsibility, and their role as community role models. They planted crops for local farmers, cooked their own meals, and camped out, all while "unplugged."

In the summer of 2014, two HLF Workforce Development members resided in Charlottesville, Virginia, where they spent two months facilitating yoga and mindfulness classes for children at the Boys and Girls club, impacting the lives of 300 children. To ensure sustainability, HLF's founders traveled to Charlottesville to instruct 15 local residents aged 18-20 in their yoga and mindfulness facilitation methods.

The HLF Workforce Development participants are making a significant impact on communities across the country, helping to spread the benefits of yoga and mindfulness to underserved populations.