The Associated Press
The streets of one of Chicago’s most violent neighborhoods might seem an unlikely site for a yoga class. But nonprofit group I Grow Chicago is offering the class in hopes that slow movements, deep breathing and meditative focus will help people turn away from violence as a go-to solution to conflicts.
The students “live in an environment where everything’s rushed, everything’s pressured. So if you breathe through certain things, you are able to see clearer. You really are,” says Tameka Lawson, the group’s executive director. “Then they can act rather than react.”
Here’s a gallery of images from one of I Grow Chicago’s recent classes in Englewood.
___
Follow AP photographers and photo editors on Twitter: http://apne.ws/15Oo6jo
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.