This year, Preschool, EK and Kindergarten teachers brought a new and exciting program to Central Elementary. As part of our daily routine, we began to implement mindfulness and yoga into the classroom. There are many benefits to implementing this program in the classroom and research has shown that it not only benefits students but teachers as well. A few benefits to yoga in the classroom include increased attention and concentration, improved motor skills, self-awareness and self-control along with reduction in tension, stress and misbehaviors. Students gain the power of choice by being able to understand and identify emotions and are then able to use a mindful strategy to help guide them.
I have been implementing this program since the beginning of the year. A few of the resources that I found to be most effective to helping me change my practice included Yoga for Children by Lisa Flynn, E-RYT, RCYT along with many online video resources including I am Yoga By Emily Arrow, Go Noodle, and Go Noodle Flow and Empower Tools. Musical resources help students to gain kinesthetic learning while having fun and achieving control and awareness over oneself.
Each morning the students participate in a variety of videos and/or poses learned. We talk about how stabilizing our bodies and minds not only help us to focus and learn but can also be used for calming and self soothing techniques at school and at home. As the integration phase progressed, I was able to collect data of my students using these techniques and self-monitoring their own behaviors. After my data collection, I have seen a significant increase in student readiness by utilizing these tools.
My goal with this program is to help students find
skills to understand and manage their emotions. I plan to continue to use
yoga and mindfulness in my classroom in the future and I am eager to see it become a routine within our whole building. My hopes are that students
are able to fully understand how important our emotions and feelings are and
that they continue to use this practice outside of the classroom.
