Peace in Practice (PIP) x CHJS Celebrate Mental Health Partnership
Traditional wellness spaces exclude many communities. Peace in Practice (PIP) is changing that equation in Minnesota, creating a pipeline of BIPOC yoga instructors through their fully-scholarshipped 200-hour certification program. For the third time, we’ve had the honor to bring our brain-based coaching and healing-centered sport content to their revolutionary work.
The PIP Difference: Not Your Average Wellness Initiative
PIP has created a concrete pathway to transform who delivers wellness practices within their communities. Their yoga teacher training program doesn’t just teach poses; it builds a network of wellness advocates equipped to address mental health needs within communities that traditional resources systematically exclude.
“Our yoga and mindfulness practices address whole-person health. We give participants lifelong skills to combat environmental stressors, develop philosophical inquiries into human psychology, and connect individuals to the greater spiritual flow of nature, humanity, and consciousness.” – Jaina Two Rivers, Founder PIP
Brain Science in Action
What happens when yoga teacher trainees start questioning Maslow’s hierarchy? Magic. During our recent session, PIP participants actively challenged established frameworks, proposing that relationship-building should move from a higher-order need to a foundational requirement.
“Their engagement with the material is profound,” notes CHJS’s Christine Bright, who facilitated the workshop. “The crew was making connections between neuroscience concepts and yoga techniques that will transform how their communities receive these practices.”
Beyond “Self-Care”: Community-Owned Mental Health
The power of PIP’s approach isn’t just in its training—it’s in who receives it. By equipping community members with both yogic techniques and the neurological understanding of why these practices work, PIP is creating a network of informed practitioners who can deliver mental health support where communities need it most yet have least access.
Like we discuss in our Nothing Heals Like Sport playbook, movement practices regulate the nervous system, build resilience, and provide opportunities to manage stress. When trusted community members who understand both the science and cultural context deliver these practices, their effectiveness multiplies exponentially.
The Research-Practice Gap: Closed
Mental Health Awareness Month reminds us that the gap between research and practice remains one of our biggest challenges in addressing psychological wellbeing. PIP’s model shows what happens when that gap closes—when evidence-based approaches meet community expertise, creating accessible, culturally relevant resources that actually work.
We’re proud to support PIP’s vision of transformative healing for communities that wellness spaces have traditionally excluded. The science is clear: it was, it is, and with initiatives like PIP’s, it always will be.
Learn more about Peace in Practice and contact Jaina for more info.
Want to bring brain-based and healing-centered sport approaches to your community’s mental health initiatives? If you’re in Minnesota, contact Christine Bright cbright@chjs.org.
Not in Minnesota, we got you! Contact and work with our Sr. Director, Regional Operations and Strategy, Jillian Green Loughran, jgloughran@chjs.org