It's time to come back together.
Human connection is part of human health. Research consistently connects social connection with better physical and mental health, while chronic isolation and loneliness are recognized public-health concerns.
Knowing that connection matters is not the same as having somewhere to practice it. So we built somewhere to do that on a Tuesday.
A clubhouse, not a facility.
Essex Kindness Club is Yoga Mouth's community home — a neighborhood clubhouse where mindful mental wellness, movement, creativity, inclusion and real human connection become part of everyday life.
Yoga Mouth Collective Inc. is a nonprofit public-health and education organization breaking barriers to evidence-informed mindful wellbeing in schools and communities. The Club is where that mission comes home to Essex.
Upstairs at 431 Eastern Boulevard you will find Mat Lab Martial Arts, Sangha House Studio, a lounge, several murals and usually somebody's kids. It is a strange, wonderful place in Essex that belongs to the people who use it.
Look around the space
Kindness is courageous.
Kindness is not politeness, people-pleasing or avoiding hard conversations. It takes awareness to notice another person, boundaries to protect what matters, compassion to remain connected and discipline to choose an intentional response.
It takes a strong person to keep practicing kindness when it is inconvenient. It takes a warrior mindset to face discomfort, accept accountability, repair harm and try again.
That is the kind of strength we practice here.
What we believe
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Kindness is courageous
Kindness is something we practice, especially when it is inconvenient. It requires boundaries, accountability and the courage to remain human with one another.
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A calm mind is a strong mind
Notice before you react.
Calm does not mean silent, compliant or free from emotion. It means building enough awareness to notice what is happening and enough discipline to choose what happens next.
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Everyone belongs
Different brains. Different bodies. Different communication. Same right to belong.
Inclusion is built into the first draft of every program — not added after someone asks for access.
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Wellness is a right
Mindful mental wellness should not be a luxury product or identity. Everyone deserves access to practices that support regulation, connection, movement, rest and joy.
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We practice together
Kids do not learn these skills alone. We do not simply tell people how to regulate. We practice regulation and co-regulation together until the language can be used in real life.
Who runs it
Kristi and Fell Jenkins founded Yoga Mouth in 2018 and opened this floor in March 2025. They have a blended family of five kids with a range of mental and physical health needs, and they built the thing they could not find anywhere else.
The Club is staffed by coaches and instructors who train in trauma-informed, adaptive practice, and who practice the same regulation skills alongside the children they teach.
Read the full Yoga Mouth story
A Life Support System for real life.
Yoga Mouth's Life Support System connects mindful awareness, healthy boundaries, compassion, discipline and restorative action into one shared language that children, adults, families and communities can use together.
It is not a script, a behavior chart or a collection of wellness activities. It is an experiential system for noticing what is happening, understanding what is needed and practicing an intentional response.
At the Club you may meet pieces of the system through movement, meditation, martial arts, art, music, play, reflection and community problem-solving.
ABCDs — what we build
- Awareness
- Notice what is happening.
- Boundaries
- Understand what you and others need.
- Compassion
- Stay connected without removing accountability.
- Discipline
- Choose intentional action, especially when it is hard.
DEEP — how we practice
- Define
- What is happening?
- Explore
- What can we learn about it?
- Experiment
- What can we try?
- Practice
- Do it enough that it becomes a skill.
The ABCDs build the capacities. DEEP gives us a process for practicing them.
The Life Support System, including its connected frameworks, curriculum, instructional methods and training materials, was developed by Yoga Mouth Collective Inc. This page is an introduction to the language — not the complete curriculum or implementation model. School partnerships, professional development and licensed program use are available through Yoga Mouth Collective. The science behind the system, its scope of practice and the Yinja Codes and I AM OK are on Yoga Mouth's site.