Please meet URY Teacher and Volunteer, De Jur Jones, aka “The Lavender Queen,” for her prolific and soothing use of Lavender.  She teaches both at Central Juvenile Hall and many of our Free Community classes throughout Los Angeles.  De Jur has been working with UpRising Yoga since 2012, and teaches a relaxing Yin/Restorative yoga that is sure to melt your heart and soul.  De Jur has a strong commitment towards healing, community, and volunteerism.  In addition to her work with URY, she also works with Accessible Yoga, International Association of Yoga Therapists, Yoga and Body Image Coalition, Love More Movement, and Prison Yoga and Mindfulness. 
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​Q: What is your spirit animal?
De Jur J: French Bulldogs! I feel such a sense of happiness when I encounter them. Please don’t tell my feline, Simba. I don’t want her to feel jealous. I have met a fair amount of Frenchies at LAX and on my flights. Looking their unique features and cute ears sends me over the moon. And, of course, there is the obligatory selfie moment. I have quite the photo collection with them.

Q: Tell us about your interests/talents outside of yoga?
De Jur J:  I love going to plays. It’s not New York, but Los Angeles that has really great theater. Although productions in big, grand theaters are great, I enjoy the intimate environment of 50 and 99 seaters. My Mom and I will be going to see 946: The Amazing Story of Aldolphus Tips later this month. It was based on a children’s book. Another interest of mine is music concerts. I absolutely LOVE the Hollywood Bowl and every summer I can be found there for the many excellent concerts offered. I pack picnics and sit under the stars and get my soul restored musically.

Q: Tell us about how you began your yoga practice?
De Jur J: I had major surgery in 2001 and a friend suggested that I use Yoga as a therapy system to rehabilitate and get back to my long-standing career as a flight attendant. I never stopped. Over time, I felt better than ever, got fit, let go of some not so healthy habits, improved my diet, and learned how to cope differently with stressful situations. I love Yoga. It has saved my life in many ways. I had no intention of becoming a Yoga teacher…but here I am spreading the word of its multitude of healing benefits.

Q: What’s your mission as a yoga instructor?
De Jur J: My intention as a Yoga Therapist is to facilitate a healing process for those suffering from chronic stress and complex trauma. To show my students what self-care can look like and how Yoga Therapy can help us cope with and possibly alleviate many ailments and challenging health conditions.

​Q: Who are you trying to reach with your yoga and why?
De Jur J: I want to reach people that are underserved, those living with depression and complex trauma, victims and survivors of abuse and poverty, those with low incomes, those in the justice system, all races, those that feel no hope, those who are under-resourced, those that are differently-abled, people of size, all ages and fitness levels and those that feel they have been marginalized. They are not “seen” in the mainstream Yoga world that I move in. I want them to know that I see them, they are welcome, I have experiences like theirs, I stand with them. I want them to know that there is a movement evolving to shatter the mainstream image of a Yogi in which Yoga really is for everyone and every body and does not require a costly studio membership …that Yoga is so much more, I want to serve them Yoga that represents “the rest of us”.

Q: Tell us about a difficult or challenging time you experienced and how yoga help you? 
De Jur J: Every day at my other job, Yoga saves me. Being a flight attendant is very fast paced and can be arduous. Any job working with the public and self-managing all of the different personalities is extremely demanding, but add working in tight, crowded spaces where there is nowhere to “go” until back on the ground can sometimes overwhelm. I use breath awareness, chair Yoga, lots of water and stretches throughout the day helps me stay calm in the chaos…self-care at work.

Q: What is your definition of healing?
De Jur J: I think healing is setting aside a regular schedule for a non-negotiable, proactive plan to bring back a feeling of living in our bodies, overall peace, feeling connected, wellbeing, safety, joy, a zest for life and believing in limitless possibilities despite how things look.

Q: What do you love most about teaching yoga?
De Jur J: Having students communicate how differently they feel after class or how their lives have changed since they began their regular practice. I love when they share with me that family relations and dynamics have greatly improved with better communication, patience, kindness and renewed cooperation.

​Please meeting UpRising Yoga Teacher and Volunteer, Laura VanDenBergh, who has been working/volunteering with UpRising Yoga since October 2015.  She teaches both at Central Juvenile Hall and many of our Free Community Yoga classes throughout Los Angeles.  Not only is she an amazing yoga instructor and warrior for UpRising Yoga and our mission, she is also a Writer, Film Maker, and Doula!  Check out her website here and read her interview below to learn more and her interests and her work. 

Q:  What is your favorite quote?
 
Laura V:  I’ve been teaching private yoga lessons to this kid for the past 3 years. He’s 12 now, but when he was 10 years old, he said this to me: “I’ve been contemplating life a lot lately and I’ve decided it’s most like a Jolly Rancher... You can never have it back once it melts. It's sweet while it is happening, even though it’s hard. It never lasts as long as you think it will.”
 
Q:  Tell us about your interests/talents outside of yoga?
 
Laura V:  I’m a writer - and actually, I’m currently turning one of my scripts into a reality! My web series DILF Diaries is coming out this summer. You can find us on Facebook at facebook.com/dilfdiaries. I run a camping group for womxn (trans and cis inclusive), called The Sisterhood, that involves a lot of giggling and even more wood chopping. I hike, I bake bread, and recently, I’ve been practicing my Spanish as much as possible.  
 
Q:  Who has been your greatest teacher or inspiration?
 
Laura V:  The youth!!!! I can’t tell you enough about how much I love the youth. They give me so much hope for the future. Kids will drop profound wisdom without even trying - like the quote from the 10 year old I posted above, or the time that one of our incarcerated youth defined integrity as “Always working hard to do the right thing, even if others don’t see it that way”. You have to really be with them, believe in them, and trust them in order to receive their wisdom though. They know if you feel superior to them, or you’re scared of them, or you’re suspicious of their motives, and they’ll shut themselves off to you if they sense that. Just be open to the youth, and you’ll learn so much.
 
Q:  Tell us about how you began your yoga practice?
 
Laura V:  When I was 7 years old, my mom got this yoga VHS - Ali McGraw: Yoga Mind & Body. I would always spy on her when she would practice in the living room, and it would totally throw her off. One day, she said, “Look, Laura, you can come in here and do yoga with me… but NO interrupting, and you’ve got to stick to the instructions.” I was hooked. I actually memorized every word to that video. I have childhood friends who still remember me begging them to do yoga with me when they would come over. 
 
Q:  What’s your mission as a yoga instructor? Who are you trying to reach and why?
 
Laura V:  My mission is to offer radically-inclusive, body-positive, trauma-informed yoga. I want to reach anyone who has been turned off by the media’s portrayal of yoga, but who still wants to reap the benefits of the practice. A huge part of that, I think, is for those of us who are overrepresented (young, thin, white, able-bodied, cisgendered) to step aside and create more space for instructors who don’t look like us. I plan to spend more time standing behind, and taking classes from, instructors are a lot less likely to get the spotlight they deserve.
 
Q:  Tell us about a difficult or challenging time you experienced and how yoga help you? 
 
Laura V:  Ever since I was a teen, I’ve struggled with anxiety and depression. I go through periods where getting to a yoga class can feel walking through nearly-dried cement. There have been times where all I can muster is breath work. But I always remember how it feels to open my eyes after Savasana, and I always come back to the practice. Simply knowing I have that refuge within keeps my darkest days from blacking out completely.
 
Q:  What is your definition of healing?  How does yoga align with this?
 
Laura V:  To me, healing is the process of learning how to carry your pain. I was sexually assaulted as a teenager, and I’ve carried that pain in different ways and capacities, and for different reasons, for the past 15 years. It helps to remind me that there is still a lot of fighting we need to do to eradicate misogyny. I think you’ve started to heal once you’ve learned to use your pain to gain strength. Yoga aligns with this because it teaches you to breathe through the difficulties - and once you can breathe through the difficulties, you become resilient. 
 
Q:  What do you love most about teaching yoga?
 
Laura V:  Being able to share the tool that has saved my life over and over again is what I love most about teaching yoga. 

​Dear UpRising Yoga Community,

Together we built a yoga program which has helped thousands of people - both young and old - to bring wellness into their lives. We have created something special. And now the time has come for me to pass the torch so UpRising Yoga can soar to new heights!
I am delighted to announce that Dezryelle Aerici will be the Interim Executive Director of UpRising Yoga! Many of you know Dez as a dedicated, passionate member of our URY tribe. She brings great skills and knowledge about how to unlock the healing power of yoga for the youth and the communities we are dedicated to. I am so excited about the energy she will bring to our program!

I will remain as a Board Member and advisor to UpRising Yoga. I am so grateful for every experience, friendship and kindness shared with me on this incredible journey. Thank you for all of the support and love each of you have brought to UpRising Yoga over these past five years. I have a feeling that this movement is just getting started!

Love, Jill

​This was by far the most rambunctious, dancing fun frenzy party of explosion we ever had mainly due to the spirit of David Bowie and rockin DJ tunes by Senor Amor! Of course the crowd is beyond special and the reason we're celebrating momentous. Five years of UpRising means that we were able to show up continuously rain or shine, especially on the holidays, to share yoga and mindful meditation's healing. 

 I would like to thank Tim and Neda Disney for donating this heartfelt space we celebrated in.  Next I would like to thank all of the wonderful artists that donated their work:  Steve Gifford, Noel Alumit. Lisa Moneypenny and Ronna Pearl who donated works from her personal collection. A special thanks to Chigusa Mares for donating many of our silent auction items and to Senor Amor for creating most awesome groovy vibes for us to dance to! 

The uprisingyoga board members played a critical role in making this event happen - I am grateful everyday for their love and strong support of our mission. Finally, I want to thank the uprisingyoga instructors. They are the heart and soul of this organization. They are out there teaching our classes and they put up with me and my crazy schedule! But they do so much more to shape and guide our work: developing the special programs that we have, brainstorming with me at all hours, and doing so much behind the scenes work. I cannot thank them all enough!

Five years ago, we embarked on an incredible journey to bring yoga to kids locked up in jail and to communities that don't have access to Yoga's healing. Now we teach over 40 classes a month across the county and we've trained thousands of teachers in our approach. Uprising yoga is at the forefront of juvenile justice reform and the social justice movement. But I believe at our work is just beginning. When we started, not many people believed yoga had a place in jails.  And not many people knew that yoga could be shared in places outside of the Silverlakes and the Pasadenas of the world.  Now we have to keep moving forward and spreading UpRising Yoga's healing. There's plenty of need for it, now more than ever. When URY turns 10, I hope to see it as a driving force in helping people overcome trauma. 

I'm so grateful for all of the energy and time each of you has put into this movement.  Yes, people, this is a movement.  A movement of love. 

Thank you to all of those who donated that could not attend. If you missed our celebration and wish to donate or participate in our end of the year holiday online auction please donate at http://www.uprisingyoga.org/donate.htm  and shop at:  https://www.32auctions.com/UpRisingYoga

This was by far the most dynamic, vibrant and funny group of people I have met in all of our nine trainings! I said this was my favorite group ever and then I was told I say that every training. The amount of knowledge, expertise and wisdom runs high here, I learned so much and welcomed back many returnees who added to the URY community. Psychologists, lawyers, first responders, nurses, occupational therapists, domestic violence counselors, doctors, healers, early care specialists, yoga therapists, policy advisor and community leaders, activists and moms all came together to become Trauma Informed Yoga Teachers!  I am so grateful for the passion brought forth, the volunteers and speakers that contributed, the kitchen entrepreneurs, the camera crew and reporter following our journey, thank you to SBCC and URY Board Members for your support in creating space of harmony to further our mission. WELCOME ABOARD GRADUATES!
​With love, admiration and deep gratitude, Jill

Bhakti Yoga is the yoga of devotion and love.  Its something we all strive for no matter what style or form of yoga we are practicing. But it is Bhakti Yoga that concerns itself specifically with bringing that ecstatic sense of joy to the forefront of your mind almost instantaneously, through repetition of mantras and kirtan singing. Connecting to something bigger than all of us and the circumstances we are in. It’s a powerful thing.

Tonight in juvenile hall, the UpRising Yoga team handed our hour of yoga class to a quartet of beautiful kirtan singers. All of the yoga practitioners in juvie – boys and girls – came together in the gym for this special event. I’ve been privileged to see some pretty amazing things in these weekly classes, but this night of kirtan was truly special. It brings me such deep joy to see some of these kids – who are in the middle of what could be a dark time in their life - clapping, singing and laughing. It was truly magnificent.

My thanks to Vasanti Das and her wonderful team for such a magical night. For more information check out www.changeaheart.com and their non-profit is International Pure Bhakti Yoga Society.

It takes a village of volunteers to put together a yoga class in juvenile hall. De Jur reached out to friends & colleagues for nail polish for girls, our Board Members donated, brought cookies and gifts from the Body Shop, toiletries, candies, fruit, sandwiches and drinks! URY Teachers brought guests and were quick to help in every way.

Rajashree taught a great class and the kids laughed and tried their best. Some were so talented we stopped to watch. All levels and sizes, anyone and everyone can benefit from yoga.

We ate lots of treats afterwards and left grateful we can give back what helped us heal. I am so blessed we were able to share the gift of yoga this season.

Thank you for all of your support! Feel free to check out our fundraiser to keep bringing the joy of yoga healing. www.gofundme.com/uprisingyoga

Namaste, Jill Ippolito