Kiley Jon Clark rings the Tibetan bell and the Buddhist meditation practice begins.

Sitting cross-legged on red cushions placed on the floor of Ayres House, a residential facility for youth leaving the correctional system, seven young men seem a tad skeptical. For them, Buddhist meditation is probably about as normal and comfortable as trying to breathe air on Mars.

But Clark is low-key, funny even. This is simply about calming your mind and being in the present, he tells them.

Meditation changed me, he said. My mind used to always race. I had anxiety and depression. Now Im able to sit back and watch things unfold, without having to react out of fear and worry.

For the next hour, Clark and fellow members of Woke-House, a San Antonio Buddhist meditation group, take the young men through various Buddhist chants.

Then they focus on their breathing for eight minutes. They walk slowly around the main room of Ayres House, being mindful of each step. They dialogue about the practice of meditation. At the center of the circle is a vase with dried flowers, electric candles, a figure of the Buddha, a stick of incense.

Clark makes it clear theres no such thing as a dumb question.

So, is this like what those people who shave their heads and wear robes do? one young man asks at the beginning.

Yes, those are monks and nuns, Clark replies. We dont have to do that, were just practitioners. I just shaved my head because Im going bald.

Clark, a Tibetan Buddhist, first brought meditation to San Antonios homeless population in 2007, through a street program. Now a peer support specialist at the San Antonio Clubhouse, a place for adults with serious mental illness, he realized in March that a second-floor room, unused on the weekends, would make a great meditation space.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio Clubhouse helps members cope

In early March, he and others opened Woke-House, where they hold meditation practice on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to noon. Its open to people of all faiths, or no faith. Clark quips its for the Buddhish.

A native of Floresville not exactly a hotbed of Buddhism Clark, 47, came to the practice after he was diagnosed with anxiety and depression. Hes also in recovery from alcoholism through the 12 Steps, he said.

Patty Garza, community and family relations coordinator at Ayres House, heard him speak at Celebration Circle, a spiritual group she belongs to. Then she visited Woke-House and realized it would be beneficial for the residents of Ayres House.

On ExpressNews.com: Celebrating in a circle

Our kids have all been through tons of trauma, she said. Theyve been away from their families for a long time. Theyre in pain, theyre angry, theyre sad. A majority of our youth have a hard time managing their emotions.

The home provides housing and services for males ages 10 to 19 most are around 16 or 17 whove done time in high-restriction facilities for various crimes, such as drug possession, burglary, robbery and other felony offenses.

They need a place to transition before returning to the community, where they will be on juvenile parole, Garza said. Some residents are foster kids, who may end up getting stuck at the halfway house until the state can find an approved home. Some may stay at Ayres House until they age out of the foster care system.

While at Ayres, they do community service, continue their education, earn GEDs, take vocational courses. Some have jobs. They also receive trauma-informed therapy and group therapy, and learn independent living skills. Some receive drug and alcohol treatment or sexual behavior treatment.

The facility houses up to 24 youth, who typically stay about a month.

On Sunday afternoon, a football game on the widescreen TV in a spacious main room was switched off so everyone could plop down on the red cushions.

This was the second time members of Woke-House had visited Ayres. As before, the young residents seemed a bit tentative at first, smiling shyly when Clark rang the bell three times and asked them to bow to the Buddha figure which, Clark told them, was purchased at Ross Dress for Less.

We dont worship the Buddha, he said. Hes just a dude who woke up.

After the session was over, a few of the young men seemed surprised by how much they got out of it.

I was kind of stressed out sitting there, but then I kind of opened up, and the stress went away, an 18-year-old said. Im gonna add this to my social skills.

Another young man, 17, said the meditation made him feel calm as well.

I realized I dont need to do drugs to handle my issues, he said. I can just put my mind to it.

At the start of the session, one young man sat on the opposite side of the room, warily watching the proceedings.

By the end, when it was time to talk about the experience, hed wandered over and sat down on a cushion.

To learn more about Woke-House, visit http://www.woke-house.org

Melissa Fletcher Stoeltje is a general assignment reporter covering breaking news, cultural trends and interesting people and goings-on around San Antonio and Bexar County, as well as all across South Texas. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | mstoeltje@express-news.net | Twitter: @mstoeltje

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Bringing meditation and calm to youth leaving the correctional system - San Antonio Express-News