Empower your students through yoga and mindfulness with our proven 30
week curriculum. For PK-12 schools and youth organizations.
Today’s students face tremendous pressure to achieve within a world that is often overwhelming. The tools of yoga and mindfulness offer proven methods of managing physical, mental and emotional stress. Bringing these practices to your school or community organization is a simple way to make your students’ lives happier and healthier, increase their capacity to learn effectively, manage their emotions, regulate their own behavior, and achieve personal and academic success.
The School Yoga Project offers a unique program combining yoga and mindfulness practices in a straightforward and intentional way. Our approach incorporates five key elements in each session: Connect, Breathe, Move, Focus and Relax. Within these elements students are taught fundamental life skills that are immediately available for daily use.
In New York City and Westchester County we offer yoga and mindfulness classes for students, and staff development workshops for teachers. Our affiliate program is available nationwide and provides participants with our 30 week curriculum and consultation support.
These first few weeks of classes are probably your student’s first experience with yoga. The emphasis is on creating a safe space, introducing them to a variety of asana and teaching them to recognize how they are feeling. This is the time to establish a meaningful sense of community and a tone of respect and support in the classroom. It is also the time to teach students that they don’t have to participate in anything that hurts or feels uncomfortable. General familiarity with a range of activities is established now so that future units can explore more depth of experience.
The second unit focuses of building a foundation of confidence and strength in all of your students. There is much emphasis placed on the physical experiences of yoga, learning more about how our bodies work, and exploring how capable they are. Along with the development of physical strength we will be building inner strength and resilience. Students will be introduced to the idea that strength is not only about power, but also about flexibility and balance.
Unit three shifts the focus onto the students emotional life. By this point they have a good working knowledge of many aspects of the yoga practice, and as the physical movement is becoming more comfortable we ask them to reflect more on their internal experience. Winter is a natural time for turning inward, and this unit spends time on mindfulness and meditation practices, as well as grounding and restorative yoga poses. This is also where we begin to introduce students to some simple, reflective art projects.
Unit four brings the lessons of the previous units into the larger class community. Working off of the foundation of confidence and strength that have been building throughout the year, we will focus on communication, collaboration and building a community of support and encouragement. Students will work together on challenging partner and group activities that allow them opportunities to both support others and be supported. Unit Four comes at the beginning of spring, and we will use this time of vigorous energy to introduce more challenging movement.
As we prepare to finish our school year, the focus is on giving students tools that they can take with them into the world. Many of the activities from earlier units are revisited, with an emphasis on helping students understand how and why they would use them in daily life. This unit also gives students the opportunity to share what they have learned via student teaching.
Direct service yoga and mindfulness classes for students, based on our proven 30 week curriculum. Classes are available in New York City and Westchester County, before, during and after school, for 30-60 minutes each. All LFY teachers have completed our Yoga Alliance certified children's yoga training, and receive ongoing support and continuing education.
One day workshops that give your school staff the tools to integrate yoga and mindfulness into the daily lives of students. Help students maintain focus and concentration, regulate their emotions, and become more engaged in learning. No yoga experience or special equipment is needed.
Our Affiliate Program offers the opportunity to teach our comprehensive 30 week curriculum at locations around the country, or around the world. As an affiliate partner you will have access to the SYP curriculum, consultation support, and all future curriculum updates. You will have the confidence of knowing that you are teaching an evidenced based program developed over many years of work in schools, and the credibility that comes with offering an established and well respected program.
