How to Get Yoga into the Classroom through the Principals
Have you ever noticed how every problem is also an opportunity?
For instance, one of my problems now is getting ready for the International Principals Conference in ten days. I’ve been researching and figuring out what school principals want. The problem is showing them how great yoga is for schools amid a hundred other groups also trying to show how great their product is for schools. Getting yoga into these schools is a problem.
Its a problem to solve and an opportunity to get more children doing yoga that I can’t pass up.
I notice how many achievements came as solutions to my problems. Like:
- When I couldn’t teach one more “trip to the Zoo” yoga class – I created more real yoga classes which eventually became my Kids Yoga Teacher Training,
- When I couldn’t find my tribe of kids yoga teachers – I started this blog,
- I hated having to find a photocopier so I developed the printable coloring books,
- Pre-school children can’t color, they just scribble lines, so color pictures got developed.
The yogic way is to not resist problems. In yoga we’re taught to breathe deeper into the problem. Relax. Don’t resist. Breathe. Release. Because every problem contains the clue to the solution.
Every Problem Contains the Clue to the Solution
This blog post is dedicated to problems. I admit I’m nervous about the conference and getting ready for 2,000 school principals. I’ve only got four days to connect with them, then the conference will be over. This Conference moves from country to country every two years, so they won’t be here next year. This is it!
Yet I feel excited to have this opportunity and grateful for this problem to solve. Problems connect you to your passion. Problems give you the thrill of doing new things. Problems make you get clear on what you want. And problems contain the seeds for personal growth.
They just sometimes get disguised as frustration, anxiety, confusion, and fear.
As you read this I invite you to notice the next time you’re frustrated or nervous about something. I invite you to notice your problems. Then write them down because the solution may be the breakthrough the world has been waiting for.
Consider How to Teach Children About Problems
Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close
they were to success when they gave up.~ Thomas Edison, 1877
When you teach kids consider telling them how much you appreciate problems. When kids say in frustration, “I can’t do it!” You can relate and teach them about how problems contain the clue to solutions.
What about now? Do you have any problems with kids yoga? Feel free to leave them in the comments – no matter how tough they may be.
I think getting to know the problems will be the first step to finding the solution. Do you agree?
P.S. Tell Me What You Think!
P.S. Can you help me with my problem? Tell Me What You Think. I’d love to get your feedback if you’ve ever talked to a school principal. Please share your experience by filling out this 4 Question survey. It’ll be fast and could help get more yoga into schools.
Click here for the survey.
Thank you to everyone for your support!
I love the grounded feeling of your writing. So relates to a book I am reading called: Outwitting the Devil by Napoleon Hill. Don’t let the title fool you. It’s all about how we can turn our problems and problem thinking into something on the flip side, something useful, even a breakthrough.
Thanks so much for your blog.
Oh dear, sorry, my other post sounds horribly like a junk mail piece. LOL. I am a children’s yoga teacher also. Sending Love.
Schools should definitely consider including Yoga in their physical activities. Yoga is more thana healthy exercise, it also promotes relaxation as well as proper thinking. It would be amazing for our kids to learn about this exercise in their schools.
Just wanted to say thank you for the work you’re doing trying to get yoga into schools. Both of my parents were teachers and often struggled with the system being so inflexible and bureaucratic — but change is possible with perseverance and patience!
Thanks for the comment Emily. I’m glad to report that the conference was very encouraging. The principals seemed happy to see us there. I’m working on my next blog post with updates.
Do you currently teach in any schools? Where can I find one of your kids classes?
Hi Susan, I teach private classes in daycare and Montessori schools so they are not open to the public. I do have one class coming through the Parks and Rec Community Centre in late September on Weds. The info will be on this page in a couple weeks when registration opens:
http://youngyogamasters.com/yoga-toronto/
Let me know if you have any questions. My contact info is on that page.
I’ve tried approaching our principal several times about offering yoga. I always get a smile and nod and thats as far as it ever goes. I think she thinks I am looking for a way to market to her students, instead of seeing the benefits it could bring. I’m really interested to hear about your experience at the conference. Hopefully you will find a way in. Thanks for your hard work!
I also wanted to comment on your line about ‘trip to the zoo’ yoga. I’ve had a similar experience. It wasn’t until I exhausted myself on themes that I finally realized that I wanted to provide a more authentic yoga experience for the kids in my classes. Of course, there is a place for trips to the zoo, or under the sea, or with the dinosaurs, particularly with the littlest of the littles, but it was when I let go of that for the older kids, that I finally found myself as a yoga teacher. Glad to know that someone else feels the same way.
Thanks for the feedback on the Principals. I’ve found it’s usually a passionate school teacher who convinces the principal to bring yoga into the school I’m hoping there are a few principals at the conference who are into yoga.
Some of the principals i talked to said they like to have a 20 minute session for teachers to relieve stress and help relax everyone at the beginning of a staff meeting.
I’ll be offering this to them as well as a way to get in. If they feel it for themselves, they may start to understand the benefits it could bring to the children.
Re – the trip to the zoo. I get it about the little ones still needing this, but it is so much more rewarding to teach the older kids with more authentic yoga. Thanks for the comment.