Yoga In Urban Schools

Yoga can be done right in the classroom.

Yoga and kids - more and more frequently the two are becoming a winning combination. And why not? With the focus on getting kids moving, instead of vegging in front of computer screens, with urban schools in aging buildings without much space to incorporate physical activities, it has become something of a challenge to figure out ways to put kids and physical activities together.

That situation was noted by Nicole Cardoza, who had been volunteering in New York City public schools as a yoga instructor for four years. She also was aware that yoga could be done in a smaller space and needs much less funding than formal sports programs, so it made an ideal fit in urban school districts.

Combining her degree in business management and advertising with her observations and love of yoga, she formed YOGA FOSTER, an initiative that brings free children's yoga programs to schools and community centers. The program that was designed by this initiative combines yoga poses and controlled breathing with storytelling and problem-solving. Kids participating in the program receive not only physical activities but a dose of creativity. The program provides yoga  mats and other resources, while providing training for teachers and staff. By the end of the first year and a half, the program had served 450 students in more than a dozen settings.

Now, the science is supporting the observed relationship between physical activity and well-being. The University of Pittsburgh was able to map the effects of movement on specific brain structures.

At first, the Pitt researchers didn't think that the motor cortex would affect the adrenal medulla. But they found that a number of neurons located there do. And those neurons are found in the axial muscle portion of the cortex.

A class full of students gets their wiggles out at Pacific Boulevard School.

Peter Strick, one of the researchers, said, "Something about axial control has an impact on stress responses. There's all this evidence that core strengthening has an impact on stress. And when you see somebody that's depressed or stressed out, you notice changes in their posture. When you stand up straight, it has an effect on how you project yourself and how you feel. Well, lo and behold, core muscles have an impact on stress. And I suspect if you activate core muscles inappropriately with poor posture, that's going to have an impact on stress."

A quick burst of yoga activity in the gym with teacher Daniel's third grade students.

So, projecting that information back into the classroom setting, if teachers have their students move in their seats, stand, and/or stretch, those movements can help to reduce the amount of stress that children experience. That means less stress inhibiting learning, for a better learning experience.

Thanks for information from this article on Pollination Project: https://thepollinationproject.org/grants-awarded/nicole-cardoza-yoga-foster/; this blog article on Yoga Foster: http://www.yogafoster.org/yoga-in-schools/resources/2016/8/29/this-is-the-neuroscience-that-links-movement-with-stress-reduction; and the above link.

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