Yoga in the Classroom Slows Down Students for Increased Success: The Yoga Brain Break
by Rebecca C. Tilhou
YSN Vol. 6, No. 1 (Feb. 2018)
“In today’s elementary schools, the demands of curricula are becoming increasingly intense. Teachers are expected to stick to tight schedules and meet required minutes of instruction in every subject area. Transitions must be orderly and quick, almost non-existent….What the curriculum is not taking into account is the child’s saturated mind, where it has absorbed all it can in those minutes, and needs the chance to reset….Using transition periods for brain breaks can be a quick, powerful way for young minds to have the chance to recharge….”
Rebecca Tilhou recounts her observations and experiences about using yoga in the classroom in this article about the benefits of a “Yoga Brain Break,” which you can read in full here.
Acting Chief Justice of Caribbean Court of Justice Believes Yoga Can Curb Violence in Schools
YSN Vol. 4, No. 3 (Dec. 2016)
Justice Rolston Nelson noted in his 2016 International Yoga Day keynote address in Port-of-Spain,Trinidad/Tobago, that yoga “enriches the body with peace and harmony,” urging the Ministry of Education in Trinidad to incorporate yoga into the curriculum. The Government of Trinidad and Tobago is partnering with the Ministry of Health, the United Nations, and the IDYCTT in the effort to have an anticipated 60 schools holding Yoga classes this fall. Referring to incidents of crime, Nelson said: “If benefit of Yoga spreads among the population then we would be living in a much more humane and gentle society.”
Yoga Helps Students Keep Stress at Bay
YSN Vol. 4, No. 2 (May 2016)
Bringing yoga to schools in the US has helped many students overcome challenges in life. While the effects of yoga on them are stills being studied, students feel that it helps “reduce stress, improve focus and school performance, foster creativity, and improve self-esteem and body image.”
Bent On Learning is one of the nonprofit organizations that helps bring yoga back to the schools in New York. It was awarded a SHAPE 9/11 grant in 2002 to teach yoga to help students manage the stress post 9/11 attacks. Marissa Lipovsky, who was trained through Bent On Learning, now teaches at Northside Charter in Brooklyn.
Her objective is to discuss emotional qualities such as empathy and forgiveness with the students and to tell them how different yoga postures can help their minds and bodies.
Read full story: https://www.the74million.org/article/when-downward-dog-is-on-the-syllabus-why-schools-are-embracing-yoga