SchoolYoga

School Yoga™ Introduction
What is SchoolYoga™?
SchoolYoga™ Curriculum

School Yoga™ Introduction

School Yoga™ is an integral physical education curriculum that utilizes Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga and Sivananda Classic Hatha Yoga as the primary sources to promote a healthy mind and healthy body for school age students (K-12). The curriculum includes fundamental poses /routines and challenging postures/routines. These poses and routines are physically demanding and designed to condition physical body including flexibility, muscular strength and endurance, body compostion, and cardiovascular capacity. The system also includes breathing techniques and relaxation/meditation methods to enhance student’s concentration, to reduce distress and to experience the connection between the mind and body.

The School Yoga is designed for school physical education program as an alternative curriculum. School Yoga curriculum combines fundamental yoga techniques such as conscious breathing, basic and challenging yoga poses, relaxation, and yoga theory/practice into simple as a15-30 minute sequences practice that elementary children can do or a 30-45 minutes challenging practice for secondary students. It can be practiced one to five times a week in either 15 minutes School Yoga, 30 minutes School Yoga, or 45 minutes School Yoga based on capability of and time availability of students. A typical School Yoga class includes five segments, conscious breathing, warm up sequences, lesson focus sequence, closure sequence, and relaxation.

What is SchoolYoga™?

School Yoga™ is an integral physical education curriculum that utilizes Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga and Sivananda Classic Hatha Yoga as the primary sources to promote a healthy mind and healthy body for school age students (K-12). The curriculum includes fundamental poses /routines and challenging postures/routines. These poses and routines are physically demanding and designed to condition physical body including flexibility, muscular strength and endurance, body compostion, and cardiovascular capacity. The system also includes breathing techniques and relaxation/meditation methods to enhance student’s concentration, to reduce distress and to experience the connection between the mind and body.

The School Yoga is designed for school physical education program as an alternative curriculum. School Yoga curriculum combines fundamental yoga techniques such as conscious breathing, basic and challenging yoga poses, relaxation, and yoga theory/practice into simple as a15-30 minute sequences practice that elementary children can do or a 30-45 minutes challenging practice for secondary students. It can be practiced one to five times a week in either 15 minutes School Yoga, 30 minutes School Yoga, or 45 minutes School Yoga based on capability of and time availability of students. A typical School Yoga class includes five segments, conscious breathing, warm up sequences, lesson focus sequence, closure sequence, and relaxation.

SchoolYoga™ Curriculum

SchoolYoga™ Goals and Objectives

Improve Psychomotor Domain Skills
Ability to maintain and improve overall fitness including cardiovascular, muscular, flexibility, and body composition
Ability to execute SchoolYoga postures and sequences with or without modifications
Ability to develop spatial awareness and stability skills and balance skills
Ability to develop kinesthetic awareness and control
Ability to apply basic body mechanics, alignment and proper posture
Ability to move gracefully, stretch and hold physical postures
Ability to find center of gravity and balance oneself
Ability to understand and regulate breathing in regular and challenging situations

Enhance Cognitive Domain Learning
Ability to focus and concentrate on a given task
Ability to understand the physical, mental, and social benefits of SchoolYoga practice
Ability to comprehend the connection between mind and body

Develop Affective Domain Skills
Ability to find enjoyment and success in physical activity
Ability to facilitate the transference of yoga skills and outcomes to other academic and social situations and environments.
Ability to establish and maintain a lifetime of wellness

Learn Emotional Domain Skills
Ability to develop awareness and understanding of feelings
Ability to poster appropriate processing and expression of feelings
Ability to slow down and connect with one’s inner self
Ability to relax and release tension
Ability to utilize specific learned techniques to manage stress
Ability to observe, identify, accept and work with thoughts and feelings
Ability to make positive choices that respect and support oneself and others
Ability to formulate and accomplish a self created goal
Ability to tolerate conflicts and creatively and compassionately resolve them
Ability to develop critical thinking, creativity, perseverance, confidence, Respect and tolerance
Ability to develop self-awareness to enhance social, physical, mental, and emotional health wellbeing
Ability to develop self-esteem
Ability to foster awareness of choices and self-control

Appreciate Social Awareness Domain Skills
Ability to foster personal responsibility
Ability to understanding of one’s impact and contributions
Ability to develop respect for different perspectives and respect for the greater community
Ability to develop conflict resolution skills

Achieving Physical Education Standards
Through SchoolYoga™ Curriculum

SchoolYoga curriculum can be integrated in school physical education program at all grade levels. The unique ancient form of exercise is aligned with the NASPE national standards as well as California State Physical Education Framework. Help children and youths become physically educated as an essence of physical education program. Through practicing SchoolYoga students master the necessary fundamental stability movement skills to participate confidently in many different forms of physical activity including this ancient form, value physical fitness, and understands both are intimately related to health and wellbeing.

NASPE National Standards

Standard 1 Has skills to participate in various activities
Through practicing SchoolYoga students learn in fundamental movement skills including body awareness, spatial awareness, body control and alignment. These skills lead to further participate in other life time activities and sports.

Standard 2 Demonstrate proficiency to participate in a few form of exercise
Through practicing SchoolYoga students demonstrate proficiency in participating in an ancient exercise form – yoga routines.

Standard 3 Is physically fit
Through practicing SchoolYoga students develop overall physical fitness including muscular strength and endurance, cardiovascular capacity, flexibility, and body composition.

Standards 4 Does participate regularly
Through practicing SchoolYoga students become proficient and confident in this ancient form of exercise and fell good about themselves and others. As a result of such experience students participate in yoga regularly.

Standard 5 Value benefits of exercise
Through practicing SchoolYoga students value the benefits of the ancient exercise form and cherish the feeling of peace, joy, love and inner stillness.

California State Physical Education Framework

Goal 1 Movement Skills and Movement Knowledge
Through practicing SchoolYoga students develop fundamental stability movement skills and movement knowledge, understand fundamental of movement, appreciate aesthetics of creative movement, enjoy movement for movement’s sake, and develop a skill to maintain a high level of health related physical fitness.

Goals 2 Self-image and Personal Development
Through practicing SchoolYoga students develop and maintain a positive-image and strive to the best they can be. SchoolYoga curriculum is carefully planned and implemented to help students learn to move effectively and efficiently, thereby enhancing a positive self-image and helping students to achieve their best.

Goal 3 Social Development
Through practicing SchoolYoga students develop appropriate social behaviors by working independently and working with others. SchoolYoga emphasizes learning to respect others, appreciate the diversity of society, and recognizes the importance of understanding other culture.

Scope and Sequence of SchoolYoga™ Curriculum

School Yoga curriculum maps an introductory yoga program for elementary children and an intensive yoga program for secondary students. It can be taught once to five times a week. The content of SchoolYoga curriculum is progressive in nature yet consistent throughout. Difficulty levels are presented according to age group from Kindergarten to 12th grade. Within the curriculum there is variations from easy to difficulty to challenge all levels of student’s ability. The curriculum covers a lot of materials and could easily be used for more than one school year. Since the study of yoga deepens with practice and repetition, the lessons presented here can be returned to again and again. Students will naturally relate to the information, tools and yoga at deeper and more sophisticated levels as they progress.

School Yoga Scope and Sequence

1. Conscious Breathing
Conscious breathing allows you and your students to de-stress, release tension, calm and balance the nervous system and to turn within and letting go all thoughts and dramas.

2. Warm-up Sequence
It includes 29 poses

3. Lesson Focus: Sequence
a. Simple movements and postures that integrate, soothe and
energize the body and mind by releasing tension and stress, activating coordination and awareness and stimulating circulation and participation.
b. Standing sequence postures
a. Primary series postures
b. Intermediate series postures

4. Closure Sequence
4-8 postures

5. Relaxation
Complete relaxation usually accompanied by visualization. This time allows students to rest and recharge. By slowing down brain waves, the right brain is activated for greater creativity and students feel a deeper connection to their inner selves and resources. This time also allows students to integrate and process what they are learning. Because of the pressure of constantly being asked to pay attention and do what is being asked of them, permission to rest, do nothing and listen to nurturing imagery and music can be the very popular with students and produce the most dramatic results.