As police try to combat the problem of juveniles committing carjackings, robberies and other serious crimes, the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services is approaching it in a different way.The DJS is teaching yoga to young men detained at juvenile facilities.In the space, there is a sense of order and anticipation once the mats come out and the shoes come off, as the gym is transformed into a place where the young men practice.Oba Joyner is one of the instructors."Movements, meditation and breathing, just dealing with trauma, the things that may occur in the city. Yoga isn't anything you just practice on a mat. You live the practice of yoga," Joyner said.Since March, yoga and mindfulness training have been used at the Baltimore Juvenile Justice Center with children charged as adults, who on average stay 180 days.Sam Abed, the secretary for DJS, admits being skeptical when first hearing about it."When you say, 'Yoga,' you say, 'Why are they doing yoga with the kids?' But it's not really yoga, it's mindfulness training," Abed said.The suggestion came from a judge who once was in charge of Juvenile Court and wanted to try to develop different habits the kids could also use as adults."The habits of actually slowing down, think about what they are doing before they do something, which is going to get them in trouble or hurt somebody or themselves," Judge Edward Hargadon said. "You can take deep breaths for 15-20 seconds and you can feel your body calm down, and your thoughts move at a slower pace and you're thinking, 'Maybe I don't want to do that.'"The Holistic Life Foundation conducts the classes Tuesday and Friday nights. Jerron Wallace talked to 11 News about an incident where a teen learned a breathing exercise and immediately showed a Juvenile Services staff member how to do it."Seeing it affect him in a way he thought was positive and he wanted to introduce it to someone else was definitely awesome," Wallace said."They have tools to ratchet themselves down and calm themselves down," Abed said."If you have a sound or feeling distracting you from concentrating on your breathing, exhale that distraction out of your body," Joyner said.Juvenile Services said it's an effort to teach how to make good decisions and so far, it's had good results, especially in reducing conflict in the housing unit.There are also classes for girls. Juvenile Services is evaluating the program's success.Hargadon hopes it can eventually be expanded.