Holistic Life Foundation

The Holistic Life Foundation (HLF) is a Baltimore-based nonprofit organization run by BIPOC, committed to nurturing the wellness of children and adults in underserved communities. Since 2001, HLF has provided yoga and mindfulness education in the Baltimore community, nationwide and globally. Integrating a comprehensive approach that helps children and adults develop their inner lives through yoga, mindfulness, and self-care, HLF develops and provides evidence-based, trauma-informed, multi-faceted programming and curriculum.

Overview

Headquartered in Baltimore, U.S., The Holistic Life Foundation teaches yoga, mindfulness, and other self-healing practices. Since its inception, the organization has expanded to teaching private and group classes to students of all ages, demographics, and experience levels.

The organization develops and pilots evidence-based programs of yoga and mindfulness and curriculum to improve community well-being, which have been facilitated in different settings, including schools, juvenile detention centers, drug treatment centers, mental illness facilities, recreation centers, group homes, colleges, universities, senior centers, and wellness centers nationwide. It also presents adult-focused programs at mental health facilities, drug rehab centers, homeless shelters, and businesses locally and nationwide. Established through social entrepreneurship in response to the need for mental health services in underserved communities in Baltimore, HLF currently works with more than 5,000 Baltimore City Public School students weekly. Its socio-emotional behavioral curriculum encourages youth and young adults to develop their inner lives through yoga, mindfulness, conflict resolution, teamwork, restorative practices, and self-care and to appreciate the value of learning, community, and stewardship of the environment.

HLF has been sought by several organizations to partner with for bringing mindfulness to students, two of which include Massena Central School District and Zuniga Events.

HLF gained recognition locally, nationally, and internationally. Its work has been featured in several media outlets such as nationwide print, television, and radio, including Good Morning America, NBC Nightly News, ABC News, PBS, Mindful Magazine, Yoga Journal, CNN, CBS, the Oprah Magazine, and The Washington Post; and podcasts including MindfulU at Naropa University, Omega's award-winning Dropping In BHNN Guest, Apple, and others. It also conducted the Wellness webinar in 2021.

HLF Founders have authored and piloted two curriculums, workshops, and training sessions. They published a new book, Let Your Light Shine, spreading the message of life-changing benefits that yoga and meditation can have for children. They have appeared at Tedx Talks several times, representing the Foundation.

HLF programs

The core programs HLF offers include trauma-informed yoga and mindfulness classes at Baltimore public schools, including serving Pre-K-12 students every week. HLF's flagship after-school program, Holistic Me, is a federally-funded 21st Century Community Learning site serving 120 students each school day, which serves Pre-K-5 students in after-school and summer programs. It also created The Stress Reduction and Mindfulness Curriculum (SRMC) for school-based use, adapted from the Holistic Me program, which was studied by The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Penn State University as a part of the first randomized controlled study on the effectiveness of yoga and mindfulness on urban youth.

The organization offers student mentor programs and a train-the-trainer program to teach their practices to school-based staff. Their signature program, Mindful Moment, responds to the challenges children from low-income communities face in school. It integrates mindfulness practice into the school day while providing a safe space for students to regain control of their emotions. Mindful Moment has replaced detention with mediation making most headlines and gaining .

HLF has also developed a technology-enabled program for middle school classrooms called Bridging Academics and the Mind(BAM), which includes pre-recorded online brief mindful breathing and movement exercises to tackle problems related to training teachers extensively to deliver mindfulness-based programs and changing the school curriculum to incorporate multiweek intensive programs.

Funders and Corporate supporters

HLF has been funded and supported by several organizations, institutions, and foundations, including NoVo Foundation, Zanvyl and Isabelle Krieger Fund, Abell Foundation, Baltimore Summer Funding Collaborative, Eagle and the Hawk Foundation, Family League of Baltimore, Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, Jacob and Hilda Blaustein Foundation, John Brick Foundation, Kesher Foundation of Cohen-Fruchtman-Krieger Family Inc., Open Society Foundation, Middendorf Foundation, Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe, Singer Family C&E Foundation, NLJ Harris Giving Fund, Fund for Educational Excellence, American Federation of Teachers, Benevity Fund, BNY Mellon Charitable Gift Fund, Clayton Baker Trust, CKON Radio, Dharma Foundation, Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, Frederick P. Lenz Foundation, Hagan Family Fund, Kim and Gary Heiman Family Foundation and several others.

History

HLF was co-founded by brothers Ali Smith and Atman Smith and their college friend, Andres Gonzalez,in 2001. In 2002, they started their first school program.

In 2015, the organization experienced significant growth when it hosted its first Holistic Me Summer Camp, which served 100 students, and its first Friend raiser and 4th Annual Seeds for Growth Fundraiser. The same year, it participated in a Whil Grow App project enabling youth and adults worldwide to access yoga and mindfulness techniques through smartphones. HLF also facilitated Bmore Peace, an open community meditation following the murder of Freddie Gray, and got featured in media, including the Yoga Journal, Parade Magazine, Huffington Post, MindBodyGreen, the movie Planetary, Draze, Afro, PresnaLibre, and an Open Society.

The same year, HLF released a documentary named The Holistic Life Foundation: breathing love into a community portraying the work of the three HLF founders, who have dedicated their lives to bringing the benefits of mindfulness and meditation to Baltimore, where two of the founders were born and raised.

By 2017, HLF served over 4,000 Baltimore City Public School students weekly at six schools.

In 2018, it was awarded a grant for a multi-day teaching and lecturing visit to Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado, and for general operating expenses; and a COVID-19 Operational Grant to support its staff salaries in 2021.

In 2019, HLF and Sharon Salzberg offered a program at Garrison Institute, exploring love's depths, capacity, and meaning. The same year, the organization elected Naropa President Charles G. Lief as its member of the Board of Directors. The program has been held annually for multiple years for caregivers.

In 2020, HLF partnered with the Akwesasne Mohawk Territory for the first satellite initiative. The two communities shared a history of oppression and intergenerational trauma, with the two cultures having commonalities. The same year, HLF hired Jessica Wilson as its Executive Director.

In 2022, HLF created a multi-year strategic plan and began working with the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) to expand to underserved areas across the United States. CGI works with established organizations to address climate resilience, health equity, economic recovery, and growth. Aligned with health equity, HLF is focused on implementing its Mindful Moment program in several cities, including Madison, Richmond, Philadelphia, Dallas, Denver, Chicago, and Buffalo.