EDUA 5524 Stretching Bodies and Minds
STRETCHING BODIES AND MINDS: USING YOGA TO ENHANCE STUDENT FOCUS AND MOTIVATION
For thousands of years, the practice of yoga has been embraced around the world as one of the best ways to calm the mind, build physical strength and balance, increase confidence and emotional resilience, and improve focus and concentration. Practicing yoga in the classroom can be done at any age, in any subject area, and does not require the teacher to have prior yoga experience. In addition, the benefits of yoga can be gained with little instructional time, and yoga enhances classroom instruction by preparing students to listen, focus, and learn.
This course provides teachers with strategies to effectively implement a wide variety of yoga exercises and poses in the classroom, including those that settle students at the beginning of class, refocus students when attention wavers, calm and center students before assignments and tests, and build their confidence and self-regulation. By the end of the course, teachers will be able to use yoga practices to help all students grow emotionally, socially, cognitively, and physically, which are skills that reach far beyond the classroom walls.