Nurturing Resilience: Yoga and Meditation as Pathways to Healing for BIPOC Youth

Sharon Mervin

In honor of BIPOC Mental Health Month, we shine a light on Sharon Mervin, a beloved yoga instructor whose commitment to healing extends far beyond the mat. For the past six years in Kinston, North Carolina, Sharon has dedicated herself to making yoga and meditation accessible for all, including youth navigating adversity. Her trauma-informed approach cultivates resilience, strength, and self-acceptance, creating a safe space where every student is welcomed and empowered to begin again.

Through her work with Kula for Karma at the Lenoir Youth Detention Center, Sharon witnesses firsthand the transformative impact of mindful movement and breath. Each class becomes a testament to the power of perseverance, and the possibility of renewal—reminding us all that healing is a journey, and every breath is a new beginning.

Continue reading to learn more about Sharon’s impactful work at Lenoir. In the featured video below, Sharon guides a calming exercise. We encourage you to follow along and experience firsthand how visualization and breath can open the door to renewal, strength, and inner peace.

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Sharon Mervin

Teaching yoga has been a rewarding journey simply because it helps me maintain a true perspective on who I am. Yoga practice helps me keep in mind that my mind, body, and my spirit are designed to work in tandem. 

When I was approached to teach for Kula, I didn’t realize how it would allow me to use my yoga knowledge to facilitate a future where individuals who have made mistakes create a new future for themselves with every pose. With every class and with every breath they are creating something new.

The students that I teach in the Lenoir Youth Detention Center have blessed me beyond measure. Their perseverance, their love for yoga, and their love for coming to class is exciting to witness. When they do something they think they couldn’t do, I explain how the challenging poses in yoga also apply to life and how a yoga practice is instrumental in creating a new future. Seeing them get that!! 

Kula for Karma helped bring this program and the possibility of beginning again to them. What better way to become a new person than through a new breath in a pose that you didn’t even think you could do? I am grateful for Kula for giving me this opportunity.' 

Kula for Karma teacher, Sharon Mervin, leads us in a calming visualization exercise in this video.

Sharon’s work reminds us that healing and growth are possible for everyone, no matter their past. Through yoga and meditation, she helps create new paths forward—one breath, one pose at a time. May her story inspire us all to nurture compassion and resilience within ourselves and our communities.