There are many avenues in which to introduce yoga into a school. Often, the preschool and kindergarten classes want yoga as a regular part of their school week. From there, afterschool programs are a good fit since many times the families pay for the program (rather than the school having to foot the bill). Both health and PE programs also benefit from yoga. And now, we are helping to cross-train some high school teams in the spring.
Here are some basic yoga poses we’ll be using for the cross-country team at a local school soon. Enjoy!
1. Cat/Cow:
Version One: Hold your uttanasana/standing forward bend for some extra time.
Version Two: Hold downward facing dog for extra time.
Version Three: In forward bend, take left arm into air as you turn torso open towards the left (so an upper body spinal twist)..repeat on right.
3. “Runner’s Lunge”; primarily to open hip flexors. Both sides.
4. From “runner’s lunge”, bend back knee to straighten front leg. Both sides. Hello Hamstrings!
5. Triangle Pose/Trikonasana…for a nice leg stretch but also for core torso strength.
6. Pigeon Pose or seated bodakonasana
7. Legs up the wall pose…let weight and blood out of the feet. Help reduce any swelling in ankles/knees and a nice relaxation, particularly before bed or post-running.
Teaching yoga to preteens and teens (middle school and high school) is alot of fun and you can readily see the benefits on the students. Want to know more? Take an upcoming teen teacher training with us (Miami: March 17-18; NYC: April 14-15, 2012). www.AsanaAlphabet.com.
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Yoga at school is a fantastic idea (at least so I think) but often meets with resistance on the parent’s side because they think it might be somehow “religious”. Some people left interesting comments on a blog post I did on the topic a while ago: http://andrealeber.wordpress.com/2011/11/07/yoga-at-schools-to-om-or-not-to-om/.
Very controversial topic, unfortunately…
Yes, I’ve come across that too. Fortunately most schools have been ok with it that I’ve worked with but we have had one school parent group that changed yoga to “stretch class” because they felt yoga was only for people who practiced Hinduism. Patience pays! Looking forward to checking out your blog.