NYC Yoga for All

In January 2024, NYC Yoga for All ran its first 10-week therapeutic yoga program for residents at Trinity Place Shelter, a transitional housing space for queer young adults in Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Founded by Jill Campbell after two years of teaching therapeutic yoga classes, receiving extensive training in trauma informed yoga and a Master’s Degree in Psychology, NYC Yoga for All is designed to enrich the network of care available to underserved communities in New York City. NYC Yoga for All offers therapeutic yoga programming at transitional housing shelters throughout the NYC metro area, empowering participants on their journey toward healing and resilience.

A wealth of research shows that yoga offers a wide range of benefits, including improvements in physical, psychological, emotional, and relational wellbeing. Dedicated to evidence-based practices, NYFA promotes yoga as an accessible form of therapeutic support. NYFA offers multi-week yoga programs that focus on providing accessible practices within community spaces. We build relationships with community members through consistent practice and use therapeutic yoga principles to support clients in cultivating emotional resilience and trust in their innate wisdom.

Mission Statement

At its core, NYC Yoga for All is dedicated to nurturing healing in young people facing systemic adversity, creating spaces where our participants feel supported and valued. Our mission relies on a trauma-informed approach, aiming to empower queer youth experiencing homelessness through tailored yoga practices that support health and resilience. Trauma informed yoga emphasizes:

• Autonomy and choice in movement
• Advanced understanding of trauma and how it is revealed through the body
• The use of (many!) supportive props to make practices physically accessible
• Intentional language appropriate for individuals with trauma backgrounds, avoiding known triggers whenever possible
• Awareness of structural vulnerabilities faced by sheltered LGBTQ+ youth, being cognizant of hereto- and cisnormative bias, as well as racial bias

Our Values

• Accessibility - We welcome people of all bodies, identities, and histories and we'll work inside any space
• Choice - We recognize clients as experts and decision makers when it comes to their needs and bodies
• Community - We value relationships built over time through repeated group yoga practice
• Evidence-based - We develop our programs as extensions of proven therapeutic yoga protocols published in academic research