The Doctors: Yoga Against Violence
Dr. Rachael Ross of The Doctors said the Chicago is one of the greatest cities in the world and she is proud to call it her home, but we can’t ignore that it also has one of the highest homicide rates in all of the nations. She recently visited one of the dangerous neighborhoods in all of Chicago to meet a woman who is determined to change all of that.
Dr. Rachael Ross spoke to a woman in Englewood Chicago who is teaching yoga to fight back against the violence taking over the area. (Chutima Chaochaiya / Shutterstock.com)
Dr. Ross said we often hear stories of violence, but think that it doesn’t apply to us. But it was important to her to bring one struggling neighborhood to everyone’s attention. One man shared that he’s lost five friends to gang violence, while another woman shared that she lost a couple friends to the violence as well. Another man said he’s lost dozens of friend to gun violence.
The Doctors shared a statistic that said in 2012, Chicago led the nation with 514 murders and nearly 2,000 people shot. Englewood is the most dangerous neighborhood in all of Chicago.
The Drs TV: Fighting Back Against Chicago Violence
Tameka Lawson is fighting back. She said that you can’t get away from the reality, but you go to the source and make connections with people that are potentially causing the violence. She said you have those people rebuild their community.
One of the ways that Tameka is working to rebuild the community is by teaching yoga in the streets of Englewood. She said her approach to yoga is a bit different because not only is she teaching movement, but she’s also teaching a mindset of acting rather than reacting.
Tameka teaches yoga to members of I Grow Chicago, a safe haven in the middle of all the violence. One guy said that since he started doing yoga, he learned to be more of a team player, and to think of other people before he thought of himself. One young girl said yoga even helped her with her seizures.
Tameka said they’re saying enough is enough, and it’s about empowering people to do better for themselves.
Dr. Travis Stork said he encouraged programs like I Grow Chicago to pop up in other cities across the country.
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