As more and more news circle around accumulating research findings on the efficacy of yoga, it is exciting to see the greater emphasis on yoga for children, especially in school settings. Being at the heart of the movement to bring more yoga to school aged kids, ChildLight Yoga and Yoga 4 Classrooms have been actively involved in spreading the word about its benefits and contributing to the research.
We are excited to share the results of our study, Effects of a Classroom Based Yoga Intervention on Stress & Attention in Second & Third Grade Students, conducted by the University of Massachusetts-Lowell Department of Exercise Physiology research team.
Statistically significant improvements were observed in both 2nd and 3rd graders in the areas of ability to be in control of behavior, to manage anger, and creativity.
As well, according to the teachers, overall improvements in 2nd and 3rd graders were evident in:
•social interaction
•attention span
•ability to concentrate on work
•ability to stay on task
•academic performance
•ability to deal with stress/anxiety
•confidence and self esteem
You can learn about the details of this study on our webpage and download an extensive database of resources and peer-reviewed articles for your reference.
As well, our new article, "Bringing yoga to the classroom: Tools for learning, lessons for life", has been published in the Summer issue of the Yoga Therapy Today, a publication of the International Association of Yoga Therapists. In this article, we encourage teachers to follow the core principles in rolling out their yoga in schools: prepare, invite, serve. These are keys to the successful and sustainable implementation of yoga programming in schools.
We hope this article inspires you to further investigate and support the movement to bring yoga to school, and learning about the ways to do this important work.
You can download the full Yoga Therapy Today article here.
In addition, our programs were featured in the recently published book chapter, “The Yoga in Schools Movement: Using Standards for Educating the Whole Child and Making Space for Teacher Self-Care”, written by Dr. Andrea Hyde of Western Illinois University. Read more here.
In the spirit of constructing a collaborative bridge between yoga therapy and scientific research, we are excited to contribute to the field with the publications and results from our study. You can learn more about the leading opinions and directions dominating the yoga research and practice world in the most recent peer-reviewed International Journal of Yoga Therapy published by the International Association of Yoga Therapists.