Yoga at School

In my short time in India I have taken an interest in yoga and the spiritual and healing power it has. It is a different type of yoga than we are accustomed to in North America. It is slower, less aerobic and more meditative, but still as physically and mentally beneficial. When the suggestions from parents and teachers came to introduce yoga as part of our house games routine I jumped at the opportunity to see how it would go.

My first thought was that Elementary students wouldn't take it seriously and they wouldn't be able to slow down enough to enjoy it. I imagined teachers having to intervene and ask students to pay attention and participate. The first time we did it this was in part true. But honestly a smaller portion of students didn't take it seriously than I thought. So without hesitation we scheduled a second date later in the year.

Sure enough, when that second date came, the students weren't necessarily eager to participate, yet their previous experience had made them more aware of what yoga involved and expected from them. This continued exposure translated into more mature participation overall and it was good to see.

That was last year, this is our second year now running yoga during house times. Most students will still not admit to liking yoga, but that probably has a lot to do with noticeably more relaxed, calm and focused state of mind they end the sessions with. What 6-11 year old wants to slow down. Heck, I don't blame them, now that I am forty I wish I had their energy back. However, that focussed and calm state of mind does impact the learning environment in a positive way.

Besides the emotional transformation that occurs, the physical benefits of yoga in terms of gross and fine motor skills and general muscle development are beneficial to children of all ages.

Our teachers are the ones who wish we did yoga more regularly. They notice a big difference in students on yoga days. I recently took the time to document using video and an iMovie our most recent yoga session and purposely included the after effects in the short video. It is impressive to see how the recess bell is almost not even noticed, where as on regular school days it sparks a chaotic dash for the fields and playgrounds.

Yoga sessions are programmed for once every few months in elementary. After each session both parents and teachers suggest we should be doing the sessions weekly or multiple times a week. That would be a hit to instructional time that I don't think we could manage, but I am very tempted to make it a more regular part of our timetable.

Please feel free to email me if you have any further questions or leave a comment below.

#yoga #leadership #experientiallearning