The nine students sitting before their teacher, Andre Coles, differ in age, physical abilities, gender and race, but they come together to grow and build community through the Roots2Rise yoga program. With soft music playing in the background, program director Coles welcomes all.
“Sometimes the world seems very unstable,” Coles says in a gentle tone that rises and falls, giving testimony to his background as a preacher’s son. “The first thing we need to do is to ground ourselves, to achieve stability. We must face the world from a grounded place. Feel the breath that helps us drop into ourselves. This is your time for growth, and it starts by anchoring ourselves through the breath.”
The weekly “In Touch” yoga class offered on Monday afternoons at the Lutheran Settlement House in Fishtown is one of the inclusive, accessible community classes offered by Roots2Rise Wellness, a registered nonprofit funded through donations, whose mission is to break down income, demographic and gender barriers to yoga and meditation classes. Their low or no-cost classes are currently available in Fishtown, West Philadelphia and online. In December, additional classes will begin at the Kaiserman Jewish Community Center in Wynnewood, Montgomery County. In the spring and summer, several outdoor classes will open in parks around the city.
What yoga has done for me is give me enough space between thought and action. It can literally save your life.”
— Andre Coles, Roots2Rise
Coles, also a singer-songwriter who goes by Boy Wonder, believes that the benefits of yoga and meditation must be available to all Philadelphians, not just the privileged and affluent. He describes how, as a person of color, it helps him navigate a culture of white supremacy. “What yoga has done for me is give me enough space between thought and action. It can literally save your life.” He says it has also improved his sleep; the first yoga class he ever took was a restorative class in 2016. “It was the first time in like two years that I slept eight hours,” he says.
A number of studies indicate that yoga and meditation improve strength, flexibility and brain health. Regular practice has been shown to fight anxiety and depression, improve overall quality of life, and when used as a part of a treatment plan, it can help those suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Martisha Hardy has been coming to Roots2Rise classes for two years and appreciates the community aspect and affordability. “It was a surprise to find a good teacher who was also a male person of color,” she says. “In the yoga world, [Coles] is like a unicorn. It makes me feel comfortable and like I can be myself.” She also appreciates that she’s grown stronger and lost a couple of pounds. “I can do difficult poses now … Andre knows how to push me.” Hardy says she feels the difference and tries to come every week.
Pamela Coles, Andre Coles’ mother and a Roots2Rise board member, opts to practice from a chair because, at the age of 75, she says it’s hard for her to work on the floor. “Yoga helps my mobility. And sometimes you need stillness. You need calm,” she says. That calm helped her through the loss of her husband six years ago, and she now considers yoga and meditation a part of her spiritual practice.
Roots2Rise was founded by Tim Wagner, a newly certified instructor, when he was given the opportunity to teach at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility (CFCF) in Northeast Philadelphia. After teaching there weekly for two years, a man approached and asked, “Why are you not doing this in the community? Why do I have to be locked up to get the opportunity to experience this?” That conversation spurred Wagner to shift to community-based programming.
Wagner expanded Roots2Rise throughout 2018 and 2019, hiring more than twenty teachers across the city to teach in recreational centers, places of worship, libraries, pools and parks. Coles became a consistent student at the time; the affordability allowed him to attend regularly and he started seeing benefits, he says. His father, youth minister and role model Rev. Vincent Coles, was in ill health, which increased stress levels in Coles’ life. Coles approached Wagner for the instructor training the day after his father’s funeral. Less than three years later, he became the director of the program when Wagner stepped down.
Since then, Roots2Rise classes have continued to grow. Coles takes it as a sign that the formula is working. “I think we judge our success [by] the interactions that we have with the folks,” he says. He expressed particular satisfaction with the weekly virtual class called “Breathe” for Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC). “We created that space for the community to come together [to] breathe and move. We have four different teachers and we’re really proud of it.”
Dr. Loren Thomas, Roots2Rise board president, believes that the commitment to inclusivity and social justice that has continued under Coles’ leadership is essential because it provides a space for self-care that can help people who are anxious about money, health issues and racism.
As an example, Thomas recalls teaching a six-week Zoom series with the Free Library of Philadelphia where he was the only white face in the group. Then George Floyd was murdered and protests erupted. He was worried about the next class, but everyone showed up and one of his students took over the intention setting and brought cohesion to the group.
In the future, Coles wants to expand classes to reach more neighborhoods. He’s also open to virtual expansion and is considering starting a YouTube channel dedicated to the Roots2Rise mission.
In the closing beats of the Fishtown class, Coles dims the lights, and the music becomes softer as he leads the students in a resting meditation. “Go someplace in your mind that makes you feel calm and loved. Whatever way you do, find rest.”
For class schedules, follow @Roots2Rise on Facebook and Instagram.
