"The inclusion of yoga practices as an integral
part of the first year coursework for elementary interns
in the District Intern Program has been well received and
greatly appreciated. The yoga strategies have empowered
them with skills to get more "mileage" out of
their instructional day, to have a more calm and commanding
presence in the classroom, and hence, to become more effective
in their instructional delivery. They have been given skills
that they can pass-on to their students to improve impulse
control, attention span and anger management."
Mary Lewis
Director of Teacher Certification, LAUSD Human Resources
Teachers who use Yoga Ed.
Tools for Teachers have reported them as being effective
in producing both immediate and long-term results in behavior,
attention and ability to learn. When children do yoga, they
integrate and restore the whole mind-body system. They literally
over-ride the stress response, which clears the slate for
learning and develops both mental and physical focus, strength,
balance and flexibility.
Our schedule of introductory workshops and weekend seminars
as well as trainings for teaching Yoga Ed. Tools for Teachers
is located under TRAININGS and WORKSHOPS
1. Breathing Exercises:
Conscious breathing allows you and your students to de-stress,
release tension, calm and balance the nervous system to
increase intellectual receptivity and well-being.
2. Yoga Poses:
Simple movements and postures that integrate, soothe and
energize the body and mind by releasing tension and stress,
activating coordination and awareness and stimulating circulation
and participation.
3. Games:
Physical fun that is both appealing and educational. These
activities release mental tension and explore physical challenges
in a non-competitive way that enhances fitness, teamwork
skills and creative thinking.
4. Time-In: Complete
relaxation usually accompanied by a visualization. This
time allows students to rest and recharge. By slowing
down brain waves, the right brain is activated for greater
creativity and students feel a deeper connection to their
inner selves and resources. This time also allows students
to integrate and process what they are learning. Because
of the pressure of constantly being asked to pay attention
and do what is being asked of them, permission to rest,
do nothing and listen to nurturing imagery and music can
be the very popular with students and produce the most dramatic
results.
Yoga Ed. Tools for Teachers addresses the challenges
teachers face:
• One in four
children do not get PE in school
• Obesity rates
are at all time high
• ADD / ADHD is
increasing
• Increased stress,
decreasing attention span, concentration, and social skills
• Academic achievement
in public schools are at new lows
• Urban schools
are exceptional in their needs and lack of resources
• Incidences of bullying and
violence in schools increasing
Yoga Ed. Tools for Teachers addresses the challenges
children face:
• Children are emotionally and physiologically
stressed, over-stimulated and adversely affected by toxins
in food, environment and the media.
• Stress threatens health, damages our bodies,
and inhibits our ability to learn and grow.
• Stress = Disease; it threatens our health,
damages our bodies, and inhibits our ability to learn and
grow. Body movement and breath is the best antidote.
Understanding the Stress Response:
When we experience fear, frustration, anger, over-stimulation
or any threat, the adrenal glands are instructed by the
brain via the sympathetic nervous system to secrete adrenalin
and cortisol. These chemicals cause heart rate to increase,
breath to become shallow and blood to be diverted from the
brain and organs to the large muscles of the arms and legs.
Knees lock, causing the neck and lower back to tighten as
well. Most of the time, survival is not at stake;
there is no reason to fight or flee. So, we walk around
with chronic stress, inhibiting blood flow to the head,
range of motion, the activity of the inner eyes muscles
and even digestion. This is what kids are dealing with physiologically.
Their natural stress reactions significantly inhibit their
health, thinking, creativity and joy.
The impact of Yoga on children in school environment:
• Re-mediates
many issues faced by teachers and parents
• Provides awareness,
knowledge & connection to themselves
• Builds self
confidence through self awareness
• Teaches not
to resist, but to be “in the moment”
• Re-enforces the ability
to make choices for themselves
Results of studies addressing ADD / ADHD:
• Decreased hyperactivity
and impulsivity
• Increased self
control
• Increased attention
span
• Reduced anxiety,
therefore higher IQ scores; improved complex learning skills
• Increased spatial
memory
Results of studies addressing Physical Fitness and
Nutrition:
• Decreased resting
heart rate
• Increased motor
skills performance
• Increased pulmonary
function and exercise capacity
• Increased body
/ self image satisfaction
• Increased muscular
fitness
• Improved body
weight, density, cardiovascular endurance, anaerobic power
• Significant
improvement for bronchial asthmatics (some ceasing of medication)
• Decreased substance
abuse by strengthening mental resolve, decreasing anxiety
• Improved
posture
Results of studies addressing academic performance:
• Improved decision
making skills
• Increased attention
span
• Improved communication
skills
• Increased IQ
and social adaptation
• Increased academic
achievement
• Yoga is non-competitive.
Kids practice being supportive and sensitive because they
must slow down, notice and work with their own experience.
It is process focused, not goal focused. Everyone
can do it and feel good about it.
• Yoga requires staying
present.
Kids develop focus, concentration and discipline. They experience
how their own mind-body system works and therefore learn
how to work better with them selves. Kids learn how to impact
their inner state becoming more responsible for their choices
and health. They can choose to bring themselves into balance
with breathing and non-thinking or positive thinking.
• Yoga is practical,
low cost preventative medicine
Kids learn techniques for balancing and restoring
themselves
• Yoga
serves as the counter pose to the challenges of modern life
Kids shift the stress response in their autonomic nervous
systems and move from fight or flight to creativity and
enjoyment.
• Yoga
creates: balance, integration, flexibility, quiet
Kids slow down brain waves, align body, breath and mind
and become present. They also wring out tensions and toxins.
They feel better, are more relaxed and can focus and participate
fully in the learning process.
• Yoga
expands and enriches awareness and the experience of our
inner life.
Kids are less reactive, more self-aware and make better
choices.
• Yoga
is a tool we can use to navigate and fulfill our own destiny
Kids develop a greater sense of SELF; they are more creative,
communicative and compassionate.
• Yoga
is not an intellectual process; it is experiential and social
Kids feel the difference in themselves and the group after
doing yoga. They personally experience coherence and calm
and have given it to themselves.
Fifty-two teachers of all ages and backgrounds attended
the first Yoga Ed. Tools for Teachers Workshop held at UTLA
on April 5th. Yoga Ed. is committed to offering teachers
an easy way to incorporate the benefits of yoga into the
classroom. Studies prove that yoga is an effective
way to reduce stress and bring the body and mind back into
a receptive and creative state in which students are ready
to learn and able to achieve.
Taught by Tara Guber and Leah Kalish of Yoga Ed., the two-hour
workshop was both educational and experiential. First,
there was an explanation of how yoga over-rides the stress
response to balance and integrate the brain and nervous
system. Then, participants experienced those benefits through
basic yoga techniques such as breathing exercises, simple
poses, visualization and kinesthetic play. Many teachers
new to yoga saw that 5 – 10 minutes of yoga tools
would help students center and focus, enabling them to be
more productive and concentrate for longer periods of time.
Those teachers already using yoga tools reported that they
are an effective and enjoyable way to create the conditions
for learning and to reduce struggle with behavior and attention
issues.
In response to the many requests for more training, another
Yoga Ed Tools for Teachers Workshop at UTLA is scheduled
for Saturday, June 14 from 10 am – 12 pm in the 2nd
floor auditorium. To register, you must email info@yogaed.com.
Please bring a mat if you have one!
When I walked into the Yoga Ed. Tools for Teachers workshop,
I was heartened by the presence of so many open people,
both experienced and brand new to yoga, willing to learn
and share the wisdom of this ancient technology and eager
to aquire techniques to bring it to our children.
Tara and Leah lead us through a series of exercises, games,
and visualization techniques that created a warm and nurturing
environment. They provided teachers with tools to
assist us in staying relaxed and focused in the classroom
while promoting a model of learning through which our children
can rise to their highest potential, both as students and
as human beings. Thanks for an inspiring and enjoyable
workshop.
- Rebecca Shanley, Sheridan St. School, Grade 2
The Yoga ED Tools for Teachers Workshop was fabulous! Although
I practice Yoga, I didn’t have the proper tools to
bring Yoga into my classroom. Leah and Tara did a
wonderful job of simplifying basic techniques that I was
able to implement into my teaching program the very next
Monday! I have found that Yoga is a unique way to
bring focus and manageable energy into my classroom.
- Leiauna Polsgrove , Western Avenue Charter School,
Grade 5
The Yoga Ed. workshop helped me understand the power of
yoga practices
I already use in the classroom, like breathing exercises
and chair poses. It also provided a number of new
exercises and games as well as a child-yogi language that
will help my students visualize and understand the purpose
of poses.
- Lisa Helene Donovan, Ramona Elementary, Grades 3-5,
Special Day Class
I was pleased to see so many willing and interested teachers
on the 5th, and I think they are the tip of the iceberg.
Teachers need to relax and rejuvenate. When they learn these
techniques, they can pass them onto their students. I know
I have. Yoga has been a life-saver for me.
- Sandy Christenson, Metropolitan High School, Grades
10-12
