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Girl Power; Workshops Teach Teens Self-Esteem and Relaxation Skills; Check It Out

Posted on: Thursday, 1 December 2005, 12:00 CST

By Jack Encarnacao

By JACK ENCARNACAO The Patriot Ledger

They gathered on the fitness room floor in a 10-person circle, a candle burning in the center. Hindu chants from a boombox softened the mood.

Before the yoga began, Kathleen Young had a question for her students: Who here has stress?

Every hand went up.

These weren't the hands of middle-aged multi-taskers looking for a release. These weren't moms and dads pressured by workplace and domestic demands.

These were young girls from the South Shore, ranging in age from 9 to 15, and they're stressed by everything from bad marks on tests to parental and sibling pressure. Every one of them said they frequently have trouble sleeping at night as their minds race.

"I'm not surprised," Young said after the yoga lesson. "There's so much expected of kids right now, between all the school work and all the activities. A lot of them are coming to me from horse back riding and ice skating. When they get here, I think they're just done. They're cooked."

Young girls need training in social and living skills just as much as physical fitness, said organizers of the Teen Esteem program, held every week at the all-female Body To Soul fitness center on Riverside Drive in Pembroke.

A recent session mixed yoga and discussion with a life coach on peer pressure. Future sessions will mesh kickboxing with anger management, flexibility with media influences, and Pilates with self- esteem.

Trish Simpson, co-owner of Body to Soul, said it makes sense to mesh mental and physical wellness for adolescents, as concern grows about childhood obesity and overworked high schoolers overloading on coursework and activities to impress colleges.

Simpson said broaching these topics makes some parents uncomfortable.

"They just don't know where to turn," Simpson said. "They want to teach their daughters to live healthy, yet they're just not sure how to approach it without it turning into an issue. It's a tough age. Sometimes it's just easier when it's not coming from mom."

During yoga, Young had her students close their eyes and envision calming images, like a flowing stream or a warm fireplace.

"If you're thinking, oh my God, how am I going to get my homework done, my teacher hates me,' throw that thought into into the ocean, burn that thought in the fire," Young told the meditating youth. "Because you don't need it right now."

That was a big help to Marina Alberti, 15, of Marshfield.

"I threw my history test away like eight times," she said.

After the girls practiced swan dive and crescent lunge poses, they gathered in a group to talk about the labeling that goes on in their schools.

High schoolers explained to puzzled grammar school students what a "jock" is; the young girls explained what a "normie" is (basically, a student without any apparent quirks who epitomizes normal').

An idea behind Teen Esteem is to mix as many young and teenage girls as possible, allowing the older to vent and the younger to soak up advice about how to handle forthcoming social pressures.

"We've tried to do teen programs in the past and we didn't have that good mix," Simpson said. "This one's great. Each week it has grown."

For Young, the yoga instructor, youth stress is not a new problem, but one that has been overlooked for years. "I wish I had (stress relief programs) at 9, 10 or 11," said Young, 38. "We weren't doing many healthy things at a young age then. I'm excited that this amount of girls want to do this healthy stuff." Teen Esteem is set to run again beginning Jan. 11 for four weeks. Call Body to Soul at 781-829-2002 for more information.

Body to Soul Fitness' Teen Esteem workshops are for girls ages 8 to 16 and are made up of a 30-minute exercise class, followed by a 45-minute personal or social workshop. Upcoming workshops, which cost $20, begin Jan. 11. For more information or registration, call 781-829-2002.

Jack Encarnacao may be reached at jencarnacao@ledger.com.

Source: Patriot Ledger, The; Quincy, Mass.

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