Have you ever thought about how much easier and more effective teaching would be if students could relax and focus? If there were some simple, quick activities that you could do to help your students (and you!) de-stress, calm, restore, center or energize, learn to self-regulate and become better learners, would you try them?
Yoga 4 Classrooms™ was created by ChildLight Yoga Founder, Lisa Flynn. Trained in part by Yoga Ed., a nationally-recognized company focused on bringing the benefits of yoga into schools, Lisa was inspired and challenged by the teachers and students she encountered to create a program specifically designed for the classroom environment. After two years of test piloting, Yoga 4 Classrooms™ was born.
The Y4C program features 65 main activities divided into six categories: Breathe, At Your Desk, Stand Strong, Loosen Up, Imagination Vacation and Be Well. Each activity includes several discussion points, sub-activites and educational tie-ins for a total of over 200 Y4C classroom practices.
The activities were specially chosen for their suitability for the typical classroom space. That means all activities can be done standing beside or sitting at desks, while bodies and hands remain off the floor, away from dirt and germs.
A mix of yoga postures, breath exercises, visualizations, mindfulness activities, creative movement and wellness discussion points, such as the power of positive thinking, good nutrition, and being a good citizen, address the whole child - phsyical, social and emotional - making this the most unique and comprehensive program of its kind.
Yoga 4 Classrooms™ activities are easy for teachers and students to use, and help to create a more harmonious, learning-friendly school day. But its benefits go well beyond the classroom. Y4C™ activities provide children with life skills they can use in and out of the classroom for long-term health and well-being. Absolutely anyone can use the Y4C™ program - teachers, students and parents - and no yoga experience is required.
Y4C™Program Objectives
The Yoga 4 Classrooms™ program was developed to meet several objectives:
Teachers: • To learn and utilize simple tools that support classroom, school and district educational and wellness objectives. • To create a calm, harmonious classroom. • To offer students healthy ways to express and balance their emotions. • To promote a more relaxed, comfortable state of being - the perfect state for teaching and learning. • To bring students into the present moment – the most basic requirement for learning. • To encourage community and connectedness among and within the students themselves. • To create an atmosphere of confidence, enthusiasm and non-competitiveness where everyone can succeed. • To empower students to support their own health and well-being – in and out of the classroom. • To be inspired to focus on his/her own health and wellness through the process of education and modeling of the Y4C™ activities with their students. • To use their own creativity to adapt the program as needed, and to utilize the many resources provided for further knowledge and expansion. • To have the ability to monitor the impact of the program, as desired.
Students: • To have opportunities for beneficial motor breaks throughout the day.
• To ease anxiety and tension (such as pre-test or performance jitters).
• To enhance focus, concentration, comprehension and memory.
• To have opportunities for reflection, patience and insight, reducing impulsivity and reactivity.
• To engage in character building activities that support social and emotional intelligence.
• To improve listening skills.
• To wake up sluggish minds and creativity as needed.
• To enhance organizational and communication skills.
• To improve posture, writing muscles while preparing to sit comfortably.
• To enhance motor skills and balance.
• To improve mind/body awareness and connection.
• To improve confidence and self-esteem.
• To gain improved respect for oneself and others.
• To gain understanding of, and ability to integrate wellness concepts
such as healthy eating, positive thinking and having gratitude, which
ultimately support health of the whole child.
• To develop the ability to tie-in the concepts learned to daily life in and out of the classroom.
Schools: • To support the physical and emotional health and wellness of students and teachers. • To support a school culture that promotes respect for others, the self and the environment. • To support anti-bullying education. • To support co-curricular objectives, including literacy, math, social studies, science, health and physical education. • To support social interaction, team-building and a sense of community within the student body and teaching staff. • To create a school culture where everyone shares a common “language of wellness,” creating a sense of community and harmony within the school. For example, “When we feel anxious, we practice Balloon Breathing to help calm and center ourselves.” • To provide long-term program sustainability. Once implemented, Yoga 4 Classrooms™ is self-sustained as teachers continue to use the program with future groups of students, while the concepts are reinforced as students move up through the grades of the school. • To have the ability to monitor the impact of the program, as desired.
Bring Yoga 4 Classrooms™ into your school and watch your students become more confident, focused, motivated, and ready to learn, while they develop greater respect for themselves, their peers, and their community.
The Yoga 4 Classrooms™ Components
The program consists of 2 components that work synergistically to ensure effectiveness and long-term sustainability.
Teacher Seminar: Half-day seminar for school staff introduces the benefits of yoga, mindfulness and health education and its application in the classroom environment. Seminar utilizes the 230pg, fully-illustrated Yoga 4 Classrooms Teacher's Guide ensuring the program is both easy to use and sustainable for long-term use. This fun and informative seminar will relax and inspire your teacher community. "I can feel the difference for myself - I excited and inspired to implement Y4C in my classroom tomorrow!" K.P., G3 In-Classroom Residency: The in-school residency ideally follows the teacher seminar above. Facilitated by a Certified Yoga 4 Classrooms™ Facilitator, the in-classroom residency consists of 10 weekly Y4C classes of 30 minutes each.
• Teacher participate in a brief (15 min) preliminary meeting to overview the residency format. Can be held during a regular staff meeting, the week prior to the start of the residency • Teachers and students in each classroom are then led in 30 minute, in-classroom Y4C sessions, once per week for 10 weeks • Classes are led by Certified Yoga 4 Classrooms™ Instructors, specially trained to lead the Yoga 4 Classrooms™ curriculum • Specific curriculum/presentation of information is grade-level appropriate, though all classes utilize the activities in the Yoga 4 Classrooms™ Teacher's Guide • Classroom teachers participate in a brief follow-up meeting at the conclusion of the residency, providing an opportunity to for review, additional questions, feedback and support • Contact with school is maintained as data grids and surveys are collected over time to culminate in an overview report for school administration at year's end (or at time deemed appropriate)
Fee sheet is available upon request. Though the program is quite cost-effective, we do understand that school budgets are tight. Please note that we can assist with grant writing and will help you pursue other means of funding.
Public Seminars
Our public Y4C seminars are most suited to classroom teachers, but also beneficial for guidance counselors, speech, occupational and physical therapists, yoga instructors and others wanting to share yoga in a classroom or similar type environment. Click the green button below to view the schedule and register online.
Tuiton: $195 includes: • 6 hr. Interactive Seminar • Fully-illustrated Y4C Teacher's Guide • CEUs & possible reimbursement from your school • Certificate of Completion
Become a
Certified Yoga 4 Classrooms
Instructor
Certified Yoga 4 Classrooms Instructors have the
ability to facilitate the public and private Y4C seminars described above,
in addition to facilitating the in-school residency program. There
are 4 steps to becoming a Certified Y4C
Instructor:
3) Complete interview and one on one phone
session with Lisa Flynn to determine eligibility. (Note: Eligibility is not
guaranteed. Completion of an 200 hr. adult yoga certification is
preferred.)
4) Complete Y4C
Instructor Certification, involving practice/volunteer teaching the Y4C 10-week
curriculum in at least 2 classrooms and reporting on that experience (cert.
materials will be provided), and assisting at a Yoga 4 Classrooms Teacher Seminar.
4) Sign Yoga 4 Classrooms limited license
agreement, providing the rights to share the trademarked program with
others.
