Yoga in Schools Resources

Yoga in schools? Yes, please!

At this year’s Yoga in Schools Symposium, it felt like there has been yet another shift toward acceptance of yoga in schools. The research of the benefits of yoga for children (ex. self-regulation, task performance, attention, and social behaviors) is hard to deny, and schools are taking notice. More and more teachers, principals, health practitioners, and yoga program leaders are standing up to say, “Hey, here’s what we’re doing, and here’s the positive impact on our children.”

All the Yoga in Schools programs include postures, breathing techniques, relaxation, and meditation/mindfulness. And many of the larger Yoga in Schools programs are teaming up with researchers to carry out extensive qualitative and quantitative studies.

Some of you have been asking questions like:

How do I get training at my school?
Where can I get Yoga in Schools training?
How do I bring yoga to my school if I don’t live in the United States?
Where do I get proof of the benefits of yoga so that I can take it to my principal?

Below are some Yoga in Schools Resources (come back regularly as I’ll keep updating this page) to answer those questions:

(This post contains Amazon affiliate links.)

YOGA IN SCHOOLS BOOK

Best Practices for Yoga in Schools (Yoga Service Best Practices Guide)

This white book changes the landscape of yoga in schools. As a collaboration of the leaders in the field, this comprehensive resource book acts as a guide for teachers, parents, and yoga teachers who are introducing yoga and mindfulness to children in schools. As a former primary school teacher, I can appreciate the value of communicating the expectations of our education system while navigating its regulations to ensure that we provide the best possible care and education to all children. These are exciting times as the extraordinary benefits of yoga are being integrated into our school system.

YOGA IN SCHOOLS ARTICLES

Scientific Evidence for Yoga and Mindfulness in Schools: How and Why Does It Work?, Yoga 4 Classrooms

With the intention of providing a free, helpful resource for educators, schools, program providers, researchers and others interested in the body of evidence supporting yoga and mindfulness for children, adolescents and in schools, Yoga 4 Classrooms and ChildLight Yoga founder, Lisa Flynn, and Bethany Butzer, PhD, partnered to compile a comprehensive research repository. This organized reference list of peer-reviewed published studies and research reviews provides links to abstracts and full-text publications when available.

YOGA IN SCHOOLS DIRECTORY

K-12 Yoga

K-12YOGA.org has been the brand-neutral voice promoting the school yoga-mindfulness movement which has now achieved widespread popular regard. Our goal is to provide an open platform for communities of interest to connect.
Watch the Why Join K-12Yoga.org? video on YouTube, here.

YOGA IN SCHOOLS PROGRAMS

Though there are 40+ yoga in schools programs in North America, here are the ones that I’m most familiar with in alphabetical order:

Creative Relaxation

Louise Goldberg leads training session nationally in Creative Relaxation® Yoga Therapy for Children with Autism and Special Needs and S.T.O.P. and Relax ©2006, Your Special Needs Yoga Toolbox.
Location: Based in Florida, but trainings mostly in East Coast USA.
Teacher Training, here.

Get Ready to Learn

Get Ready to Learn is a researched classroom yoga curriculum that prepares students of all abilities for learning. Introduced in NYC classrooms of students with special needs in 2008, the program has spread throughout the US and abroad. It is now being used daily in mainstream and integrated classrooms, as well as in classrooms with students with special needs.
Location: Based in New York, but the program is currently in schools in California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, and Virginia. It was introduced in London in 2010 and Canada in 2013.
Buy Get Ready to Learn DVDs, here.

Kripalu Yoga in Schools

Kripalu Yoga in Schools program is for educators and yoga teachers interested in using yoga to bolster their skills and enrich the lives of high school students.
Location: Western Massachusetts
Teacher Training, here.

Mindful Practices

Mindful Practices improves the health and wellness of students and teachers by providing skills to proactively cope with internal and external stressors, cultivating compassion for self and others through awareness-based exercises, modeling healthy lifestyle choices, and teaching physical fitness activities.
Location: Chicago

School Yoga Project

The School Yoga Project, a program by Little Flower Yoga, currently serves over 3,500 children per week with in-school and after-school yoga classes, and reaches many more through a network of trained school staff and affiliate partners. They also offer a comprehensive, Yoga Alliance accredited Teacher Training certification for yoga instructors and practitioners interested in sharing yoga with children and teens.
Location: Based in New York and provides classes in all five boroughs of New York City and Westchester County.
Teacher Training, here.

Yoga 4 Classrooms

Yoga 4 Classrooms is a low-cost, simple, effective, and sustainable school program grounded in mind-body practices. It seeks to address the whole child by fostering students’ physical and psychological well-being. Yoga 4 Classrooms is anchored in well-validated classroom pedagogies, developmental science, cross-sectional research in cognitive affective neuroscience, tenets of positive psychology, and secular contemplative practices.
Professional Development Workshop for Educators, here.
Purchase the Yoga 4 Classrooms Activity Card Deck, here.
Location: Based in Dover, NH, with training sessions across USA.

YogaEd.

Yoga Ed. is an educational company dedicated to changing education through the practice of yoga. Their mission is to empower school communities with yoga, to cultivate health and wellness in children and teens. Through evidence-based professional institutes, professional development, and educational resources, Yoga Ed. equips educators with yoga tools to integrate yoga for children and teens into academic environments.
Location: Based in Hawaii, it has reached 42 states and 16 countries.
Teacher Training, here.

Yoga Foster

The mission of Yoga Foster is to foster accessible, sustainable yoga programs in schools, empowering school teachers to create healthier, happier classrooms.
Location: Online across USA, free for teachers working in Title 1 public schools with a 70% or higher free/reduced lunch rate.
Teacher Training, here.

Yoga in My School

Yoga in My School has been at the forefront of the school yoga movement, (See the iTunes Yoga In My School Podcast) training professionals how to successfully incorporate yoga in the curriculum and meet student, parent, and educator needs. Since 2002, Yoga In My School has shared yoga and mindfulness skills with thousands of children, teachers, and professionals.
Location: Alberta, Canada
Teacher Training, here.

Yoga in Schools

Yoga In Schools is a 501(c)(3) organization that provides yoga programming and teacher training to several school districts in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Location: Pennsylvania
Teacher Training, here.

YogaKids: Tools for Schools

The Tools for Schools program offers educators of kindergarten through fifth grade the resources they need to seamlessly integrate age-appropriate yoga and mindfulness into the classroom curriculum on a daily basis.
Location: Across USA and Canada
Buy the Tools for Schools Classroom Bundle, here.

OTHER KIDS YOGA RESOURCE BOOKS

Kids yoga books that are great resources for teaching yoga in schools:

Little Flower Yoga, Jennifer Cohen Harper

Yoga for Children, Lisa Flynn

Yoga Therapy for Children with Autism and Special Needs, Louise Goldberg

Once Upon a Pose: A Guide to Yoga Adventure Stories, by Donna Freeman

YogaKids, Marsha Wenig

Calm Kids: Help Children Relax with Mindful Activities, Lorraine Murray

Complete Idiot’s Guide to Yoga with Kids, Jodi Komitor and Eve Adamson

Let’s work together to bring yoga to schools everywhere!

Please email me or comment below if you have any other yoga in schools resources to add to the list.

PIN IT FOR LATER:

Popular Yoga Books for Kids

You might like our popular yoga books for kids to add to your kids yoga toolkit:

– Sophia’s Jungle Adventure
– Anna and her Rainbow-Colored Yoga Mats
– Rachel’s Day in the Garden

OTHER YOGA IN SCHOOLS RESOURCES

Chair Yoga Poses	Animal Chair Yoga Poses
Partner Yoga Poses for Kids	How to Play Yoga Cards with Kids
Monthly Kids Yoga Themes	How to Integrate Mindfulness in Schools
List of 58 Yoga Poses for Kids	How to Do Yoga in your Classroom

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