Yoga Ed.™ Homesite

Students will learn how to move gracefully, breathe smoothly and deeply and sustain their focus and concentration, developing strength, flexibility, balance, mental clarity and emotional intelligence. Yoga ED.™ presents this program as an effective and measurable methodology to achieve lifetime physical and mental health. It also meets all of California's Physical Education Standards.

Why Yoga:
Yoga means union or link. Hatha Yoga is a system of physical exercise which studies and integrates the mind, body and breath. The benefits of this ancient discipline include enhanced physical, mental and emotional health. The practices and exercises of yoga develop the ability to sustain smooth and deep breathing while moving the body and holding a variety of challenging postures. The postures are designed to strengthen, cleanse and balance the body. The breathing focuses the mind and soothes the nervous system. The yoga process of linking or unifying thought, breath and movement develops an awareness of the fundamental connection between intention, action and consequence. The cultivation of this kind of personal integration deepens one’s relationship to and respect for oneself, each other and life on all levels.

Program Mission:
Our mission is to inspire, educate, facilitate and support children in developing physical health, emotional intelligence, self-awareness and enhanced lifetime learning skills through informed and experiential study, self-exploration and yoga.

Philosophy:
Through the physical practice of yoga and the study of the body and body-mind system, students experientially learn about how their bodies and their mind work as well as the relationship between physical and mental states. The physical demands of yoga require them to navigate and negotiate many challenges. Achieving physical strength, alignment, balance, flexibility and integration takes focus, determination and finesse. One must develop a compassionate and conscientious attitude toward oneself; one must learn how to deal with inner obstacles and cultivate confidence, resilience, courage and tolerance. These valuable qualities are the benefits of the yoga process and become lifetime tools for wellness.

To support children in their intrinsic drive to acquire knowledge, skills and proficiency, the Yoga ED.™ Program is structured for active learning. Students are inspired by poses, taught concepts and information, and are offered instruction in order to achieve those poses. During the execution of instructions, students are guided in their explorations and asked to reflect on their outcomes. The results of the reflection process will be an awareness of tools with which to progress in yoga and to apply to achievement and problem solving in life.

Goals:
1. To inspire students to establish and maintain a lifetime of wellness
2. To provide the tools to develop self-awareness and enhance social, physical, mental and emotional health and well being
3. To enhance learning and achievement
4. To support children in finding enjoyment and success in physical activity
5. To facilitate the transference of yoga skills and outcomes to other academic and social situations and environments.

Objectives: Yoga Skills
1. Ability to apply basic body mechanics, alignment and proper posture
2. Ability to move gracefully, stretch and hold physical postures
3. Ability to center, integrate and balance oneself
4. Ability to understand and regulate breathing in challenging situations
5. Ability to focus and concentrate on a given task
6. Ability to slow down and connect with one’s inner self
7. Ability to balance effort and receptivity – use finesse
8. Ability to relax and release tension
9. Ability to maintain and improve cardiovascular fitness and health
10. Ability to utilize specific techniques to manage stress
11. Ability to formulate and accomplish a self created goal
12. Ability to observe, identify, accept and work with thoughts and feelings
13. Ability to make positive choices that respect and support oneself and others
14. Ability to tolerate conflicts and creatively and compassionately problem solve to resolve them

OUTCOMES:

Physical Fitness:
Kinesthetic awareness and control
Strength and flexibility
Balance and coordination
Cardiovascular and circulatory health

Mental Fitness:
Focus and concentration
Critical thinking and creativity
Perseverance and confidence
Respect and tolerance
Relaxation and renewal

Emotional Fitness:
Awareness and understanding of feelings
Appropriate processing and expression of feelings
Self-esteem and awareness of choices
Stability and self-control
Supportive self-care and stress management

Social Fitness:
Personal responsibility
Understanding of one’s impact and contributions
Respect for different perspectives
Respect for the greater community
Conflict resolution skills

Physical Education Standards:
The Yoga Ed. Program is in alignment with California’s Challenge Physical Education Standards and ther National Standards for Physical Fitness as defined by the President’s Council on Physical Fitness.

Organization of Material:
The Yoga ED.™ Program maps an introductory yoga program for three developmental levels: K-2, 3-5, 6-8. It assumes that all students have yoga once a week and are beginners to yoga. You will find similar content throughout which is presented differently according to age group.
Unit One is 13 weeks long and includes an introductory lesson and assessment class. Units Two and Three are 12 weeks. All lessons are two weeks long with assessments built into the beginning and end of each unit. The program covers a lot of material and could easily be used for more than one school year. Since the study of yoga deepens with practice and repetition, the lessons presented here can be returned to again and again. Students will naturally relate to the information, tools and yoga at deeper and more sophisticated levels as they develop.

The TEACHER’S GUIDE addresses the issues of class structure, components, management, teaching strategies, prototypes for projects and handouts and resources. GAMES FOR LIFE is a reference book for the games and visualizations in italics in the lesson plans.

The LESSON PLANS are organized into three units. Each unit is a focused exploration initiated by a question. Students are asked questions and guided in their inquiry via a variety of components in order to learn through experience.

To download the Yoga Ed.™ K-8 Program Overview click here.

Statement from Kevin Sved, Co-Director of The Accelerated School:

This September, we begin our third year of offering yoga as part of the physical education curriculum here at The Accelerated School. Yoga is a form of exercise that enhances physical, mental and emotional growth. Through these exercises, our students experience increased body awareness, coordination, flexibility and stength. These factors contribute greatly to overall mental and physical health and improve performance in sports and other activities.

Through the practice of yoga, our students also gain valuable tools that they can apply to other areas of their lives. In our experience, the benefits of yoga are unquestionable. Among our students, we have seen an improvement in overall fitness, body and health awareness, stress management, concentration, focus, schoolwork, respect and self-confidence.

Our yoga classes are a great success with students – and popular with parents and teachers, too! Many students say that yoga helps them to study and perform better on important tests and a valuable tool to help them manage the challenges of school and home life. Parents and teachers also share yoga’s valuable benefits and enjoy practicing with our students at school and at home.

For us at The Accelerated School, we see yoga as a positive and valuable factor in maintaining the high level of academic achievement we expect at our school. Many recent articles in the media have spotlighted the physical and academic achievements of our students. We believe yoga is making a unique contribution to the TAS program and are very proud that our students have been recognized in this way.

We are pleased and honored that our yoga program will be piloted in the schools of Aspen and thank the community of Aspen and everyone at the Aspen Center for Integrative Health for their enthusiasm and support. We are confident that the children of Aspen will enjoy the same valuable benefits of yoga as our students here in South Central Los Angeles.

Up-date on The Yoga Ed. Program at The Accelerated School by the Yoga Staff:

The Yoga program at The Accelerated School is an extraordinary wellness based curriculum offering valuable life skills to the students. Yoga is a requirement, a part of their physical education curriculum. All students kindergarten through eighth grade attend classes twice a week. The elementary school (K-G5) attends thirty-minute sessions while the middle school (G6-8) attends longer sessions of sixty minutes. Yoga classes are fun and physically challenging as well as full of information on the physical body, the mind, and the self. These three sections are broken down into trimesters that address subjects such as the breath, proper alignment, balance, the five senses, feelings and nutrition to name a few.

As one of two lead teachers, I teach 8 – 9 yoga classes a day and truly love it. I am excited daily and honored to be on the Yoga staff at the Accelerated school. From the youngest to the oldest yogi, I see amazing changes in these kids. I see the surrender and serenity on their faces when we are in restoratives or rest pose. The excitement of “I did it!” when a challenging pose has been attempted no matter to what degree it has been accomplished.

Over the last two years I’ve had kids share with me how they’ve incorporated yoga into their lives. One girl told me that she goes home and teaches her family all the poses that she has learned. I’ve heard from a number of students how in stressful situations they have turned to the breath as a tool to calm themselves down. Just today the first and second graders were being tested and during their break I did ten minutes of yoga with them. As I finished one little boy came up, gave me a big hug, and said, “I love yoga. Thank you, Miss Georgina!” It doesn’t get much more inspiring than that!

Georgina O’Farrill, Yoga Staff Lead Teacher

My experience teaching in the Yoga Ed program at TAS has had an incredible impact on my life in a very short time. I am consistently amazed and impressed with the program, and it’s subtle, seeping influence on kids.

One day, while teaching the Kindergarten, we had a student’s mother observing. At the end of class, she approached me and told me that when she gets very painful migraines, her son sings her the Community song he learned in Yoga Ed, and it helps her feel better.

I have watched as students encourage and support each other in an environment that doesn’t normally allow for that. These students know that the yoga room is a safe space. They show up on their free time and at lunch asking to hang out or learn new poses. Their frenetic, unfocused energy takes on a new shape when they step into the yoga room.

Not all students are like this. Of course, there are those who are resistant and angry at having to do yoga. These students, too, though, they may not realize it, are also receiving the benefits of yoga. They are constantly challenged to learn how to handle a situation they don’t like. Sure, many of these kids face unhappy situations at home, and on the streets. Why give them another place to experience that? The difference is, when they walk into our classroom, they are treated with respect, love, and honesty. They all know how they are “ doing” in class, there are no mysteries, and there is room to make choices without getting hurt. They learn that it is okay to have an open mind, and better yet, an open heart.

Allison Dittmer, Yoga Staff Assistant

Yoga Ed. in Aspen:

“As the Director of our Lower School, I am impressed with both the Yoga Ed curriculum and with how great the instructors are! The program really seems to center the kids. They come into the Yoga room with all sorts of feelings and energies, but they all leave with a certain focus and peacefulness. I was initially skeptical about what the children would think about Yoga, but they all seem to enjoy it. It is a natural fit for children who lead active and busy life styles.”

David Lyons, Director, Aspen Country Day School

As the Children’s Health Initiatives completes its inaugural year, the Yoga Ed program has been a huge part of our inspiration and success. As Director of Children’s Health Education at the Aspen Center for Integrative Health, it has been my privilege to assist the Yoga Ed instructors in the schools throughout the year. The children’s enthusiasm is contagious. Whether the kids are trying to master a challenging pose, learning cooperation through partnering poses, or simply giggling through some of the more playful aspects of the program, it’s clear to me that kids “get” what yoga is all about. What a sight to witness forty 4th graders in one room lying completely silent in “bean bag” pose while the busy school buzzes all around them! And what a joy to have students stop me in public to thank me for bringing yoga into their lives!

Next year, the Yoga Ed pilot program continues in the Roaring Fork Valley. For the 2003/2004 school district, the Aspen Center for Integrative Health will bring the Yoga Ed program into the Aspen Community School, a charter school of the Aspen School District. This K – 8 progressive school community will incorporate Yoga Ed into every learning center on a weekly basis. The University of Minnesota will assist us in beginning a comprehensive longitudinal evaluation process that will help us determine how yoga effects learning and behavior in our schools. Also the Tools for Teachers training is a regular part of our programming to empower teachers to bring the benefits of yoga into their classrooms. We look forward to our continuing participation in the program!
Laura Dixon, Director of Children’s Health Ed., Aspen Center for Integrative