Are you excited about the idea of using yoga to improve the lives of your students?
Great! Me too.
Now what?
You have state tests to prepare for. You have data to collect. You have grading to do—like, a lot of grading. Can you really do one more thing?
Yes. You can. Because it is the most important thing. And because it will make everything else easier.
I’m going to offer you one way to start small and two ways to go BIG, for a total of three ways to bring yoga to your classroom and your school.
1. Use Yoga and Meditation in Your Classroom
The simplest way to bring yoga to your school is to use yoga or meditation in the classes you are already teaching.
You can start class with a brief meditation or even a 5 minute yoga sequence. (Check this one out!)
You can even take a quick “yoga break” mid-class to help your students reset and refocus.
A little yoga will go a long way for your students—and for you!
2. Start a Yoga Club
Once you’ve started using yoga in your classroom, your students will feel the positive effects. Some of them will get curious about this “yoga stuff.” Some of them will want to know more and practice more.
For those students, why not start a yoga club or an after school yoga class?
This “club” could take many different forms depending on your interests and comfort level.
It could be as simple as meeting before or after school to practice YouTube yoga videos together, or you could teach a full-length after school yoga class once a week.
What an awesome way to build a mindful community in your school!
3. Teach a Yoga Elective
I hear you. We don’t have a yoga elective. Heck, we don’t have any electives! There’s no room in my schedule. No one would sign up. My administration would say “no.”
But what if they say “yes?”
What if you stopped letting fear hold you back?
What if you stopped looking at what is, and started dreaming up what could be?
When I proposed the idea for a yoga elective at my school, I didn’t actually think my administration would say “yes.” Even if they did, there wasn’t room in my schedule. I didn’t know if anyone would sign up. At the time, I wasn’t even a certified yoga teacher, but I was passionate about using yoga to help our students.
So I just put it out there.
Guess what? My administration loved the idea. They made room in my schedule. And get this—so many students signed up, they had to create more room in my schedule so we could have two sections.
My students get to spend 40 minutes of their hectic school day practicing yoga and meditation, and they are experiencing enormous benefits mentally and physically.
If you want to teach a yoga elective at your school, then put the idea out there. Propose it to your administration. Tell them how it will benefit your students. (Check out this post if you need some inspiration.) Show them your enthusiasm, and see what happens!
Whether you plan to start small or go all in, what you’re doing is awesome. Your students are lucky to have a teacher who cares enough to share the life-changing practice of yoga with them.
