San Francisco: Can Yoga Help Kids Learn?
Everyone knows that yoga's a great way for kids to get exercise and stay limber. But can it also be useful in teaching young people discipline, respect, and stress-management? Can it even transform an entire school environment? Thanks to San Francisco yogi Katherine Priore, we are about to find out.
A yoga teacher and former inner city school teacher, Katherine is a graduate of the program at Yoga Ed., which develops educational curriculum for teaching yoga to kids. Recently, she started her own nonprofit organization called Headstand, which assists schools in implementing Yoga Ed. curriculum. In September, the Headstand program starts its first program at KIPP Summit Academy, a middle school in San Lorenzo.
Here's what's really cool: This is not just a gym class. It's school-wide programming that teaches asana, pranayama, and yogic philosophy to help students gain concentration and confidence, and teachers manage their classrooms and job-related stress.
The yoga world is hip to doubters, so it's no surprise that Katherine linked up with a bona fide Stanford researcher named Nick Haisman, who will be evaluating the program for at least one year to monitor its effects on discipline, academic achievement, and general school culture. The hope is that the program will fare well, which would pave the way to expand it to more schools in the Bay Area and beyond.
The Bay Area is starting to rally around this program, which has local yoga teacher Dina Amsterdam and YJ writer Nora Isaacs on its board. You can get involved, too. Here are a few ways:
+ Volunteer at KIPP! Headstand is looking for yogis and all kinds of teachers to assist in classes.
+ Donate. Headstand is supported right now entirely by individual donors. Anything you can donate will help the program to succeed.
+ Go out to Cell Space on Friday night at 8pm to see live music and aerial dance—Katherine will be at the event to talk about Headstand.
+ Read Yoga Journal's article about yoga in schools.
+ Write in and tell us what you think about this initiative. Are you a school teacher? Parent? Do you think yoga can transform schools?
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Comments
Hi Karen: Interesting piece on Yoga in the schools. Your readers might like to know about another project that teaches Yoga to teens. It's called the Mind Body Awareness Project (MBA), and it brings Yoga to kids who are incarcerated in the Alameda County Juvie Hall. I had the opportunity to visit this ... facility recently, accompanied by MBA Executive Director Gabriel Kram, and it was an eye-opening and humbling experience. The teachers there are among the most dedicated I've ever met, the work they're doing with what is, to say the least, a tough crowd is amazing. I can't do the organization justice, so if your readers want to know more about it they can visit the MBA website at www.mbaproject.org.
Thinking about the time I spent with Gabriel and MBA reminds me of another teen-oriented organization that I've had some dealings with. It's called Youth Yoga Dharma (YYD), and it brings Yoga instruction to at- risk and disadvantaged teens in a number of schools in the Bay Area. Again I can't even begin to describe the excellent work this group does, except to say that it's Karma Yoga at its best. YYD's Executive Director is Cator Shachoy, and you can find out all about this group at www.youthyogadharma.org. Cator is hosting a training at Piedmont Yoga in September for anyone interested in learning to teach Yoga to teens. All the information is on the PYS website at www.piedmontyoga.com.
Posted by: RICHARD ROSEN | August 7, 2008 08:00 PM
Great idea! At the least, I hope it will help students to respect their own bodies and will help them from misusing it like staying away from drugs, alcohol, smoke and other unwanted habits. The Yoga Philosophy (truth, ahimsa, non-stealing, respecting others as ourselves, etc) is a great tool for that. Luckily, the Yoga teachers in America are very good in teaching the Asana as well as the Philosophy. The teachers themselves can be the role models to the students instead of people like Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and similar people.
All the best to everybody involved in this...
Ganga Palakkattil
Posted by: Ganga Palakkattil | August 8, 2008 12:15 AM
I think it is a great initiative... especially for Middle Schools. I am sure we all agree that Yoga has benefits for the individual. It will be interesting to see how the benefits accrue to an entire system, such as a school.
Posted by: Alan | August 12, 2008 05:28 PM
Thanks everyone for their comments. Richard, thanks for letting people know about the training that begins in September at Piedmont to teach yoga to teens. It's such an important program!
Posted by: Karen | August 13, 2008 06:00 AM
If anyone can motivate kids, Katherine is the teacher to inspire them. I look forward to learning about the positive impact that this program has on these fortunate children.
Posted by: Kate McIlvaine Goodrich | September 11, 2008 01:55 AM