“National Recovery Month reminds us that we are all recovering from ‘something’ and helps reduce the stigma attached to substance use disorders/addiction,” said De’netta Benjamin-Miller, Executive Director of Sojourner House. September is National Recovery Month. During National Recovery Month, Sojourner House celebrates and supports individuals who are in recovery from substance use disorders and their families.
Sojourner House is planning Yoga in the Streets, a free community event held in celebration of September as National Recovery Month. The event will take place on Friday, September 23, 2022, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Kelly Street (between N. Murtland Avenue and N. Lang Avenue), Pittsburgh, PA 15208.
Yoga in the Streets will feature a resource fair of local organizations (listed below), with outdoor yoga instructed by Felicia Savage Friedman, Founder and CEO of YogaRoots On Location, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the parking lot of Sankofa, 7056 Kelly Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15208.
Parking is available on adjacent streets and in the public lot across from the Community Empowerment Association, 7120 Kelly Street. In case of rain, please check Sojourner House’s Facebook and Twitter pages for updates.
During the past three years, we have all experienced stress induced trauma either directly or indirectly due to the pandemic and societal issues. “At least 95% of people impacted by substance use disorders have experienced trauma,” said Benjamin-Miller. “They often carry emotional pain due to the stigma of addiction. The disease of addiction is biological, psychological, and social. Yoga helps to bring balance and understanding to those three areas. Yoga teaches us to be kind to ourselves, so we can be kind to others, which reinforces that we all have a story that we are healing from.”
Sojourner House believes that every family has the power and strength to achieve recovery.
The public is invited to join Sojourner House in celebrating National Recovery Month with a resource fair featuring community organizations and outdoor yoga on Friday, September 23. Participants should bring a yoga mat and water bottle. Parking is available on adjacent streets and in the public lot on Kelly Street across from the Community Empowerment Association.
For more information about Yoga in the Streets, please contact Liz Wasel, Sojourner House Volunteer & Outreach Coordinator, at ewasel@sjhpa.org or (412) 441-7783 ext. 215.
Thank you to the following organizations for participating in the resource fair:
Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD)
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Community Empowerment Association
Communities in Schools of Pittsburgh-Allegheny County
Homeless Children’s Education Fund (HCEF)
House of Manna Faith Community
PA Organization for Women in Early Recovery (POWER)
Pennsylvania State Rep. Martell Covington
Pennsylvania State Senator Jay Costa
Primary Care Health Services, Inc.
University of Pittsburgh Community Engagement Center
Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh
More organizations to come!
About Felicia Savage Friedman:
For over 30 years Felicia has transformed lives with embodied antiracist organizing through Raja Yoga. Standing firm on the belief that we are all bound and dehumanized by systems of oppression, she envisions a humankind where we have dismantled these systems of oppression and humanely rebuilt new systems together.
A wellness thought leader and yoga guide, her integrative practice ranges from individual to corporate wellness, centered in communities of accountability. Since founding YogaRoots On Location, Felicia has worked with local and national partners including the Allegheny County Health Department’s Maternal and Child Health Department, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine Division, Shuman Juvenile Detention Center, University of Pittsburgh’s Office of Child Development, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, Repair The World, The Kingsley Association, The Pittsburgh Study, and Bike Pittsburgh to unpack racist, capitalist, and patriarchal systems of oppression. Her incredibly vulnerable practice invites breath, meditation, movement, and discussion as a platform to navigate trauma.
Felicia holds a Master of Elementary Education, is a 500-hour Experienced-Registered Yoga Teacher (E-RYT), a 500-hour Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT), and a Certified Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider. She is the Founder and CEO of YogaRoots On Location, LLC® and its 200-hour Certified Registered AntiRacist Raja Yoga School.