TestimonialsI met Anthony Williams through his yoga classes with youth incarcerated at the Alameda County Juvenile Justice Center. He diligently works to expose the youth to another way of handling anger, stress and low self esteem. He helps them to see the relationship between the physiological and emotional. He is thoughtful and purposeful in aiding the youth to find an inner strength. Anthony is extremely knowledgeable about the human body. He is able to explain which muscle or muscle groups you are working and why it is important. He is able to target problem areas to alleviate pain and stress. Anthony has given me yoga poses moves targeted to alleviate stress and pain in the shoulders and lower back. The yoga has improved lower back pain and shoulder/neck pain. I would recommend Anthony to anyone who wants to improve core strength, stretch muscles and/or target specific problem areas in the body. Madeleine Nelson, LCSW Anthony is the most dedicated, knowledgeable, and motivating yoga instructor I have ever had. To me yoga is art, athletics, spirituality, and philosophy. Anthony's class embodies all of these elements as he elegantly teaches us fluid movement that is physically challenging, graceful, and healing. His philosophical teaching style gives the movement substance and a depth of understanding that allow you to connect ideas in class with real life situations. Throughout the day, I find myself taking deep breaths, reflecting on Anthony's quote - "sometimes you have to slow down to go faster," and extending my arms and rolling my shoulders. Anthony has shown me that yoga is more than movement but a lifestyle. I tell my friends, "when I leave Anthony's class I feel five inches taller, twenty pounds lighter, and at peace. " Carrie Maultsby I am a devotee of Anthony's Wednesday-night yoga classes. I look forward to these classes all week, as Anthony tailors each class to the various needs of the individual group members in attendance- when we are stressed, he helps us relax; when we are tired, he energizes us. I had been to several other yoga classes around the bay area, but none were as welcoming or as diverse in content as Anthony's. Anthony cultivates a true sense of community in his classes, and creates an environment that is quite distinct from the sometimes competitive or stuffy yoga classes I have attended elsewhere. Anthony is a dedicated teacher and it shows in his work. Through breath-work, strict attention to form, his intimate knowledge of physiology and the mind-body connection, Anthony provides his students with the tools to carry a "yogic-state-of-mind" with them wherever they go and in whatever they do. I am deeply greatful for the work that Anthony does, and have been able to implement his teachings with my clients in my clinical work as a social worker. I recommend Anthony with my highest praise to anyone at any age and any level of practice. -Lizzie Horevitz, MSW, PhD Student - UC Berkeley I wanted to thank you for your support and introducing me to Yoga. I had always been skeptical of the practice until I took your classes. I appreciate the check-ins you did, and would cater the experience to our needs. Thank you also for doing some body work on my neck when it was really hurting, whatever you did helped immensely and I haven’t had any problems since. Every time I catch myself slouching I think of you and sit up straight. I will be grateful for that for years to come. I unfortunately will not be able to make it to Yoga tomorrow. "Anthony Williams is a Yoga Jedi Master! He works so closely and mindfully with each and every student, and helps us go deeply into each Asana. He works with us individually by making very subtle adjustments and helping us understand what is happening in our minds and bodies. Several weeks ago, I sprained my ankle and groin in a soccer injury. I was in a wheelchair and crutches for a few weeks. I limped into Anthony's class one day and told him about my injuries. He helped me go fearlessly to the places where it hurt. He talked about the fact that we get hurt physically and then it becomes an emotional pain and how that can prolong our injury. He put me into postures that I held for a very long time despite the pain. Half way through the class, I noticed something. The pain was totally gone. I'm sold. I'm doing Yoga every morning now. Thank you Anthony!" Kiarash Afcari Anthony worked in our residential Adolescent Services programs, teaching yoga and creative fitness to 20 probated boys and girls between the ages of 13 and 17 years old Anthony is an exceptionally gifted instructor with regards to this very difficult population. These inner-city youth enter the program with an aversion to trying anything new or unusual, especially yoga. Anthony makes the program work for each and every youth, and draws on personal experience to teach our residents way more than physical fitness. Anthony has become an important mentor to our participants. He has helped changed the lives of many young men and women through his excellent work at our program. Gavin O’Neill Anthony Williams has partnered with our program to provide Yoga to our clients and staff. Anthony currently teaches in our residential Adolescent Services program, with a population of court mandated girls between the ages of 13 and 18 years old. I am sad to say that Walden House will be closing our adolescent programs on January 16, 2009 due to financial reasons. Anthony has been skilled at connecting with and motivating this hard to engage population. Through his teaching of Yoga practices, he has transformed these clients’ lives. I have watched girls go from disrupting and refusing his class to becoming fully engaged group leaders and in the process, gaining confidence and self-esteem. He has been a great role model and inspiration to the clients. He has also been able to work effectively and therapeutically with this population, which has a high degree of trauma in their background. I have witnessed firsthand how Yoga is a powerful treatment for traumatized youth as the current studies report. Anthony has extended his care to the staff, who have also benefited greatly from his teachings. I am speaking not just as the manager of the girls’ program, but as someone who can personally attest to the power of his teachings. I had never taken a Yoga class before Anthony began teaching here on-site August 1, 2007. In a year and a half of working with Anthony roughly once a week, my flexibility has increased 100% as has my strength and stamina. Margaret Hitchcock, M.S., LMFT For the past two and a half years our day treatment program has partnered with Niroga Yoga Institute to teach yoga to the underserved, incarcerated youth at the Alameda County Juvenile Justice Center. One of the main challenges in introducing yoga was to find a teacher that could relate to the youth; hold their interest and maintain enough discipline in class so the youth could reap some of the benefits of the practice. Since the inception of the program we have had at least 10 different teachers conduct yoga classes in our program. All of the teachers have come with the best of intentions, but many of them have had a difficult time with our challenging group of youths. Anthony Williams, who has been with us for almost a year has by far been our best teacher. Although challenged like all of the yoga teachers; he has shown an unique ability to work with the most difficult, oppositional youth in our program. In the past some these youth would come into the room, lie on the floor and disrupt and disrespect other students and the teacher. Anthony has been able to transform this anger into positive energy; including having the youth teach poses. He has challenged even the most hard core “macho” boys to participate in class, doing all of the poses including “down dog” and “cat-cow”, poses which they said they guys would never do in jail. Anthony has also introduced girls to “jiggy” yoga a blend of yoga and hip hop dance that has been a real hit. Additionally, he explains the poses in detail, including giving the names of the poses in Sanskrit, along with naming the muscles used. This has been very beneficial and educational to the youth. Anthony’s heart to heart discussions with the youth in his class communicates a caring that is honest, sincere and heartfelt. Although some the youths have a difficult time hearing his concerns they all know that he really cares for them and wants the best for each of them in life. Yahru T. Baruti, LCSW |