You wouldn’t be here unless you needed someone like me.

Meditations for Children of Promise NYC, 2021

Kenji guided meditations for the caregivers and the young people of Children Promise NYC, a non-profit serving youth impacted by mass incarceration. As a native to the neighborhood, Kenji witnessed friends lose parents from incarceration and saw the stress it caused in their lives. Basketball was one of the ways Kenji and his friends coped with the trauma. He shared his experience learning about mindfulness and meditation while working at Nike Basketball and his recent training with Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant’s mindfulness coach. The meditation session took place on the court to provide a familiar setting and elevate the court to that of a temple, blurring the line between the sacred and mundane. Kenji was invited to guide a session with caregivers only and was brought back to guide for caregivers, teens and staff.