A third-grade teacher in Coral Springs, FL leads her students in 5-minute yoga sessions, featuring poses like the lion where the kids get to stick out their tongues and be a little goofy, and deep breathing exercises to increase oxygen flow and attentiveness. Also, a most interesting detail, she first learned yoga taking an online class specially designed to provide instruction on classroom yoga techniques, sponsored by none other than the county education system!
An excerpt from the article:
Rita Geller is a third-grade teacher at Parkside Elementary in Coral Springs who incorporates five-minute yoga exercises into her curriculum as a way of focusing and relaxing her students.
“Yoga is a powerful tool to help students and teachers relieve stress and gain inner strength and concentration,” she said. “The sessions are brief, specific, effective, and utilized as needed, and once children get focused, it saves time.”
Geller leads students through deep breathing exercises that increase oxygen flow and attentiveness. The class also works on maintaining different postures by focusing on a point to improve balance and concentration. This trains both body and mind to work together in harmony. Postures represent things like a steeple, chair, or a setting sun and, when imitating animals, facial expressions are also integrated into the posture.
“The lion is when you stick out your tongue, open your fingers and eyes wide, and act like you’re roaring, and when we posture the sun, we are stretching all the way down,” Geller said.
And obviously, the kids love it! Read the rest of the article here…
