Classroom yoga is catching on. More and more teachers are experimenting with using yoga to help their students. But why? Are the benefits of yoga really worth giving up precious minutes of instructional time?
Yes.
Here are four (really good) reasons to get more kids practicing yoga in school.
Reason 1: Yoga helps kids focus.
Yoga asana (the poses) were originally intended to help people prepare to sit for long periods of time in meditation. In the same way, mindful movement helps kids release energy, settle in, and prepare to learn.
In a typical public school, kids are expected to sit for a large portion of the day. It is no wonder they start to feel restless or even lethargic.
Why not give them a few moments to move their bodies in a way that will help them focus? Moving through a brief sequence of yoga poses will give students a chance to move without winding them up the way other forms of exercise might.
Then, when they take their seats, your students will feel awake, alert, and calm.
Reason 2: Yoga helps kids to manage stress.
Today’s kids are more stressed than ever, and many of them aren’t equipped with coping strategies. Yoga can help students get out of their heads, into their bodies, and into the present moment.
It can be overwhelming for kids to anticipate the entire school day (or week) ahead. Taking a yoga break can help shift their thoughts back to the present moment and remind them to take their day one moment and one step at a time.
Reason 3: Yoga creates a sense of community.
When you and your students start practicing yoga together, you change the overall mood of your classroom. They start to see that you care about their physical and mental well-being, not just their test scores.
When you introduce yoga to your students, you are trying something new together, something students in other classes might not get to do. It makes students feel like they are part of a community.
All of that goes a long way toward helping students feel a sense of belonging and safety in your classroom. School can be a scary place. The hallways rarely feel like a “safe zone,” but your classroom can be a place that feels peaceful and welcoming.
Reason 4: Yoga helps kids become good people.
If you practice yoga regularly, you know yoga is a transformative practice. It helps us be more patient, kind, open-minded, loving human beings.
It’s not just the poses. Practicing Tree Pose with your students is a great way to teach them about self-acceptance, about striving for progress and not perfection, about resisting the temptation to judge themselves and others, and about living in this moment.
When your students can accept and love themselves, then they can start to see others in a different way. When they’ve learned not to judge themselves, they will be less likely to judge others. When they’ve learned to be kind to themselves, then they can be kind to others. When they learn to manage their own emotions, they won’t need to take them out on someone else.
Is there a place for yoga in schools? I think we need to make a place. The good news is, more and more teachers and administrators are finding ways to incorporate yoga and share this powerful tool with young people.
If you’re reading this post, you can be the person to find a place for yoga in your school. Start small. Check out my 5 Minute Classroom Yoga Sequence, and give it a try with your students!
