RISE’s motto for Spring Break was “Be Bold.” All week, we tried new things, gaining new skills and experiences, and getting out of our comfort zones. Girls were encouraged to take some risks, to be bold, and to practice sisterhood through supporting each other to try new things throughout our week of adventures. Self defense: We believe that young women deserve the space to access and explore their strength and power. That’s why RISE started our spring break week with a private self defense workshop with our fierce community partners Quantum SF Martial Arts. We learned how to use our voices to assert our boundaries, create safety plans for traveling alone, and physical self defense strikes, kicks and combinations! RISE learned that staying aware, trusting your instincts, and accessing and using your power can help us keep ourselves and our communities safe. Nutrition: We know that part of having a healthy mind and body comes from eating fresh, whole foods, and cooking meals at home. Through an innovative partnership with The Cooking Project and Heart of the City Farmers Market, the RISE program went on a local farmers market scavenger hunt and healthy cooking class. Girls compared prices and then purchased ingredients at the farmers market that they used in the cooking class. They made spring veggie chopped salad with delicious homemade dressing and apple crisp oat yogurt parfait! As we ate our delicious treats we played a myths and facts games and learned about nutrition and physical health. We learned that cooking for ourselves can be creative and fun! Yoga: The RISE program continued our exploration of self care and mindfulness practices with our final field trip of the spring break week – a private yoga workshop, in a generously donated yoga studio space at Union Yoga. We collaborated with Sumati Shakthi Ganeshan, founder of Shakthi Yoga Arts, to offer a workshop that discussed the history of yoga and the connection between body and spirit. The girls explored the power of yoga to build strength and gain energy through partner and individual yoga poses, breath and singing meditation. They listened to inspiring stories from adult women yogis about the impact and benefit of cultivating yoga practices for their lives. The workshop ended with some yin (relaxing) yoga poses to practice rest as part of rejuvenation.

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