In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, we’re spotlighting the healing power of yoga.
Brandi Robinson, founder of Still Here, recently sat down with yoga instructor Ashleie Elaine for a candid conversation on what it means to care for your mental and emotional well-being on Ashleie’s podcast, Soul work with Love. Their conversation touched on burnout, boundary setting, and the reality that healing isn’t always about talking. Sometimes it starts with breathing.
“Yoga has always been in my vision,” Ashleie said. “It’s about being able to sit with yourself. It’s about being able to breathe through the chaos.”
That’s one reason Still Here is integrating yoga into its programming. This summer, Ashleie will be leading 30-minute yoga sessions as part of the Front 2 Back program, which supports girls ages 13–17. Each session will offer space for the kind of stillness, regulation, and grounding that many teens don’t often get in daily life.
The conversation also made clear that mental health work isn’t one-size-fits-all. Therapy is important, but it’s not the only option. Movement, breathwork, journaling, and consistent supportive spaces all have a role in helping young people process stress and reconnect with themselves.
Still Here’s approach to mental health is woven into every part of its work, from group conversations and self-reflection to financial literacy and leadership development. Yoga is just one more piece of that larger framework. It’s not about perfection or performance. It’s about building habits and practices that support self-awareness and self-trust.
With mental health as the core of its mission, it has become a lived value. From restorative circles to personal goal setting, financial literacy to emotional intelligence, the programs offered are designed to affirm the whole person, not just the pain they’ve carried.
As the conversation deepened, Brandi and Ashleie returned again and again to the same theme: Healing is collective. And it’s a choice.
For the young people Still Here serves, having a space to roll out a yoga mat, close their eyes, and breathe without fear can be revolutionary. It’s quiet—but deeply practical.
“We don’t need to be perfect. We need people. We need safety. We need space to be seen and space to process,” Brandi said. “And sometimes, all it takes is one person to remind you that you’re not alone.”
That’s the heartbeat of Still Here. That’s what programs like Front 2 Back make possible. And that’s why we keep showing up.