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The marginalization of communities of color in San Francisco has resulted in low levels of education, high crime rates and low-income levels per capita, but it is also responsible for the lack of accessible fitness centers which has hurt the health of many of the city\u2019s residents, according to the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFPH).<\/p>\n
Across from the Bayview Opera House on 3rd Street, TriFusion Yoga\u2014the first and only yoga studio in the Bayview\u2014has been offering free classes to low-income youth and seniors since it opened in January.<\/p>\n
TriFusion Yoga\u2019s owner and chief instructor, Armando Luna, says his goal is to provide a space where anyone\u2014regardless of their economic status\u2014can exercise the spirit through meditation, while increasing the body\u2019s strength and flexibility.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to offer a non-religious space that was comforting to people inside and outside the studio,\u201d said Luna, who has been living in the Bayview since 2001 and is known on the street as \u201cYoga Master.\u201d<\/p>\n
In September, TriFusion Yoga partnered with Healthy Hearts SF, a campaign financed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which seeks to increase cardiovascular health within the black and Latino communities\u2014where at least 30 percent of residents live below twice the federal poverty level, and where 25 percent of adults don\u2019t have a high school education.<\/p>\n
The Bayview neighborhood is one of those communities. There, a person\u2019s average annual income is $21,890, according to the American Community Survey. Nearly half of its residents live well below the federal poverty level.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re trying to eliminate the barriers caused by location, income, ethnicity, race and other social factors,\u201d SFPH Deputy Director of Community Health Equity and Promotion Jacqueline McCright Taylor said during a Healthy Hearts SF press conference on Sept. 29.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to take a community effort. We want everyone who has touched our lives in some way to encourage someone else to participate in physical activity,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The yoga master<\/strong> \u201cThe energy in this place should flow beyond the studio,\u201d Luna said.<\/p>\n Before starting his company, some of Luna\u2019s colleagues warned of the potential risks of opening a studio in an area with high crime rates and where the community was predominantly black.<\/p>\n \u201cI asked a black man from here, \u2018Why don\u2019t black men come and do yoga?\u2019\u201d said Luna. \u201cHe told me that a black man goes through life with his guard up for being black, and to do yoga one should let their guard down, which means you have to be vulnerable. That\u2019s very difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n To walk in and attend a class costs $17, but Luna welcomes those who cannot pay the full amount. He also offers free classes to parents who want to take their kids to art classes held in a separate room, with the option of joining them to learn a few yoga poses.<\/p>\n \u201cThey come in groups and encourage others to come, they motivate one another and if one person can\u2019t do what another can, they\u2019re not criticized. It\u2019s a community here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nThe 58-year-old Luna has never held an office job, because the long hours of sitting in front of a computer contradicts his active spirit. He\u2019s always opted for a profession that allows him to help others: soldier, nurse, personal trainer, and for the last seven years, yoga instructor.<\/p>\n