How to Start a Kids Yoga Program at a School

Back to school looms closer and closer.  This is good news for kids yoga teachers interested in finding new classes.   Here are some pointers, from experience, on how to get a kids yoga program into a school.

How Well Do You Know Your School System?
The first thing to do is to get to know your school system and curriculum and this is where we give thanks for the internet. Search your city name and “education,” “Ministry,” or “Board” until you find the official government website.

You’re about to learn a new language – the one used by your school.  Write your proposal using the language from their curriculum NOT yoga language.  You won’t find a single requirement for chakra opening in a school curriculum.  Each school system has their own vernacular, learn it and use it as much as possible in your proposal.

Physical Education Curriculum:
What is it called and what are the curriculum requirements.  In my area (Ontario, Canada) the Health and Physical Education program is divided into “Strands” (see what I mean about language!).

There are three strands in Grades 1 – 8, and four in high school.  When you’ve got a good idea of how your yoga program enhances the curriculum, then who do you talk to?  Usually its the Physical Education Department Head.

Class Sizes – How Many Can You Teach?
Also look on the website for the typical class size.  This will help you determine how many classes you can teach at a time.  If you put two classes together, one teacher can stay for yoga while the other gets to catch up on other work.  It also cuts down on expenses.  My area tries for 23 students or fewer in primary classes.  Put your class size limits in your proposal as well as how many classes you can teach in a row.

Professional Development for Teachers:
Can you sweeten the package by adding a free class to teachers at the staff meeting if they book you for a minimum number of classes?  Talk to the department head, VP or Principal of the school about how you can save them money and time.

Other Types of Education in the Curriculum:
Examples:  Stress Management, Character Development, Healthy Schools initiative, Michelle Obama introduced the Let’s Move program.  Tap into these with kids yoga.  Please share any grants you know of in the comments!

Lunch-Time or After School Classes:
These classes usually involve charging each student enrolled.  If you can get high numbers you can keep the cost down and still make a living.  Approach the Parent Board at the school as a way in.

Daycare Classes:
Some regions offer daycare programs for after school.  Approach the daycare manager about doing a weekly class in each room.

Make someone’s life easier.
Who ever you approach, make their life easier.  No one wants a program that means more work!  Deliver a great kids class.  If you can’t, get the yoga and kids yoga training to do it. You’ve got to know how to manage and run a kids yoga class or you’re program won’t last.

Become a Reliable Resource for the School
Most of the places I teach kids yoga, I’ve gone to for over 7 years, some schools for 10 years!  It’s better to return to a school rather then to keep finding new classes.  If you make the whole program stress-free, they will want you back and this is good for everybody.

The Time is Now:  The Week Before School Starts
All this information is very timely!  There is a window right before school starts where the teachers are back to work but the students aren’t.  In Ontario the teachers start back on Sept. 1 but the children don’t come back till Sept. 7.  Find the window and go in with a proposal.  Or wait a month till the back to school rush is over. You may be able to help the teachers meet their requirements.

All the best to everyone out there working to increase kids health and happiness.  Please feel free to add any insights or links you have to the comments and let’s get more kids doing yoga!

Aruna Kathy Humphrys
www.YoungYogaMasters.com

More News

The Fall Schedule is here! Don’t miss out on the Young Yoga Masters Kids Yoga Teacher Training course.  Its like no other!  Pass on the wisdom of yoga to the future generations!  Too see the upcoming courses click here.  To bring the Young Yoga Masters training to your area contact:  Aruna@YoungYogaMasters.com.  Registration is now open.  I’d love to meet you in-person for this inspiring and practical training.

Contest:  Win Romancing the Stove, A Practical Guide to a Lifelong Celebration of Eating for Health by Samahria Ramsen.  To enter fill out the short survey here.  Contest closes:  August 31, 2010.  Thanks to everyone who has already filled out the survey.  Your input will guide the direction of Young Yoga Masters.

Scientific Studies that Support Kids Yoga

These 3 Studies Show how Yoga Improves Stress Management, Spatial Memory, and Body Control in Children

by Alex Bonari, guest blogger
www.collegescholarships.org

Yoga for children can seem unnecessary. After all, they’re young, so aren’t they already limber? They shouldn’t have any problems with stretching, their lives aren’t as stressful as those of adults, and it would probably be difficult to get children interested in a yoga routine.

As it turns out, scientific research has proven that logic wrong. No matter how healthy a child’s body may be, it can always benefit from yoga practice. Children’s lives are also becoming more stressful and they seem to welcome the novelty and relaxation that accompany yoga instruction. The following three articles discuss the results of scientific research that has documented the positive effects of yoga on children.

Enhances Stress Management and Relaxation (click here to link to study)

In this study, 48 fifth-graders who showed abnormal test anxiety were divided into a control group of 27 and an experimental group of 21. The experimental group received 60 minutes of yoga instruction on 15 different occasions, while the control group received none. The subjects were evaluated before the study, immediately after the yogic training, and 3 months after the conclusion of the study.

The students who received yoga instruction had an increased emotional balance in the long term and showed reductions in fear, feelings of helplessness, and aggression. This study also observed that students who received yoga instruction transferred what they had learned to situations outside of school to improve their well-being and to control negative feelings.

Improves Spatial Memory (click here to link to study)

This study compared before-and-after verbal and spatial test results for three groups of children: those attending a fine arts camp, those attending a yoga camp, and a control group.

The only group that showed any difference between its before-and-after test results was the yoga group, which demonstrated a 43% rate of improvement in the spatial category. This suggests that yoga practice, which included physical postures, yoga breathing, meditation, and guided relaxation in the study, improved the performance of children’s right-hemisphere brain activity.

Increases Static Motor Performance (click here to link to study)

In this study, children from ages 9 to 13 were divided into two groups. One group received yogic training (physical postures, voluntary regulation of breathing, maintenance of silence, visual focusing exercises, and games to improve the attention span and memory) while the other did not. Over a ten-day period, the children in each group were tested morning and night to observe their steadiness.

The yoga group showed a 17% increase in steadiness at the end of the period, while the control group showed no improvement. The study concludes that yogic instruction improves children’s ability to control their minds and bodies.

Guest Blogger Bio: Alexis Bonari is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She often can be found blogging about general education issues as well as information on college scholarships. In her spare time she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.

Kids Yoga Teacher Training

The Fall Schedule is here! Don’t miss out on these training courses or you’ll be missing an uplifting weekend that will nourish not only yourself, but all the children in your life.  Pass on the wisdom of yoga to the future generations!  Too see the upcoming courses in Ontario Canada click here.  To bring the Young Yoga Masters training to your area contact:  Aruna@YoungYogaMasters.com.  Registration is now open.  I’d love to meet you there for in-person training.

5 Benefits of Kids Yoga

Yoga is Playful and Helps Kids in So Many Ways

Guest Post by Susan White

(Note from Aruna:  This week I’ve been attending to some family matters as well as my yoga classes and Teacher Training so I hope you enjoy this guest post, which may be especially useful for those marketing their kids yoga classes. I’ll be back next week with some new stories and games.)

This post is written by Susan White, who writes on the topic of Radiologist Technician Schools . She welcomes your comments at her email id: susan.white33@gmail.com .

We all know that yoga has benefits beyond the physical alone and that if you’re a yoga enthusiast, you’re likely to be in the fittest of both physical and mental health. But how many of us think of the benefits that this ancient eastern art holds for kids? When it comes to health and fitness for children, we focus on a sport and outdoor play rather than think of exercising at the gym or following a workout routine. But another form of exercise that offers them various advantages is yoga, a fact that is not as well known as it should be. Yoga helps children by:

1. Enhancing concentration: When your child gets used to the asanas or postures of yoga, they automatically improve their concentration skills. Ancient sages used yoga as a form of meditation, and their powers of concentration are legendary. Your child learns how to sit still in one place and focus on what’s important as opposed to letting their mind wander and be distracted easily. This helps them in their lessons and at school, boosts their attention span and improves their grades.
2. Increasing flexibility and balance: Yoga helps improve flexibility and balance and tones their muscles too. It makes them stronger and less likely to suffer sprains and fractures through accidental falls.
3. Improving general well-being: Kids who practice yoga regularly feel good about themselves and are healthier and happier than those who don’t. They feel both mentally and physically rejuvenated after a yoga session and this improves their mental and physical health.
4. Boosting confidence: When your child is able to display great agility and flexibility, it does wonders for their confidence. Their improved performance at school also helps boost their popularity and their self assurance. They become more poised and start to believe in their abilities. This feeling provides them with the adrenaline they need to achieve success in all their endeavors.
5. Relaxing their minds: Even kids are subject to a great deal of stress these days because of their workload at school and the high expectations that their parents have for them. They are pushed to be achievers at every single point of their lives, and when they fail, they take it to heart and become depressed. Yoga helps them relax and de-stress when they feel upset or depressed. It soothes their frayed minds and helps them get back to a normal mental state.

Children are more flexible and agile than adults, so the earlier you get kids started on to yoga, the more benefits they gain.