The Lineage Project
New York, NY 10002
Telephone646-479-3996
Description of Organization
The Lineage Project is designed to support at-risk and incarcerated youth, their families and communities, by offering yoga, meditation and other awareness-based practices. Those who staff The Lineage Project stress the importance of working with at-risk populations and the value of bringing yoga and meditation practices to nontraditional environments. Mayor Rudolf Guiliani in 2000 awarded the project the “Mayor’s Voluntary Action Award”; and it has been featured in the documentary, “The Fire of Yoga.” By building awareness and uniting the body and mind through physical activity, at-risk youth can learn to consciously manage stress, pain, illness, and the demands of everyday life. Increasing self-awareness among young people helps them to cultivate compassion and commit to nonviolent engagement with their communities. The Lineage Project operates under the umbrella of The Tides Center, which manages the tax and legal aspects of many 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organizations and extends oversight to each project.
Grant(s) Awarded
In 2022, a grant in the amount of $20,000 was awarded to carry out a two-pronged strategy to expand mindfulness teaching staff in order to:
1) Deepen the cultural resonance of Lineage’s programs for our students, the vast majority of whom are Black/Latinx;
2) Create a platform for Black/Latinx teachers to guide Lineage’s pedagogy;
3) Cultivate a new generation of mindfulness teachers equipped to teach culturally resonant, trauma-conscious, anti-oppressive mindfulness programs in English and Spanish across NYC systems;
4) Amplify the voices of BIPOC mindfulness teachers in New York City’s mindfulness/wellness sector, which currently is disproportionately comprised of white teachers and practitioners.
STRATEGY #1: DIVERSIFY AND STRENGTHEN LINEAGE’S TEACHING TEAM BY RECRUITING, HIRING, AND TRAINING BLACK AND LATINX MINDFULNESS TEACHERS—INCLUDING THOSE WITH DIRECT EXPERIENCE NAVIGATING THE SYSTEMS LINEAGE TEACHES IN (E.G., THE CRIMINAL LEGAL, FOSTER CARE, SHELTER, IMMIGRATION, PUBLIC SCHOOL, AND SUSPENSION SYSTEMS).
STRATEGY #2: EXPAND LINEAGE’S “COMMUNITY PROGRAM” FOR 16- TO 24-YEAR-OLDS IMPACTED BY THE CRIMINAL LEGAL AND/OR FOSTER CARE SYSTEMS. THIS INTENSIVE PROGRAM: A) CREATES ACCESS TO LINEAGE’S TRAUMA-SENSITIVE MINDFULNESS CLASSES OUTSIDE OF INSTITUTIONS; B) OVER TIME, FORGES EMPLOYMENT PATHWAYS FOR ALUMNI—INCLUDING OPPORTUNITIES AS MINDFULNESS TEACHERS, CONTENT CREATORS, AND PROGRAM ADVISORS; AND C) ULTIMATELY ENABLES LINEAGE TO HIRE PROGRAM ALUMNI TO JOIN OUR STAFF.
In 2007, a grant in the amount of $97,650 was awarded to support the Professional Training Program.