Matthew Tift
- Yoga Teacher, The Marsh (Minnetonka)
- Former Board Chair, onelove.yoga
- RYT-500 Kripalu Yoga Teacher
- Former coding teacher, Minnetonka Schools
- Free software advocate
- PhD, Musicology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Central Questions
- Why teach yoga in schools?
- What should we teach?
- Who should teach?
- How should we do it?
What you’ll learn
- How people bring yoga into schools
- Challenges to consider
- Ideas for how to get involved
1. Why
teach yoga in schools?
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Chanhassen Farmers’ Market
“Support Yoga in Schools”
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Chanhassen Farmers’ Market: “Yoga in Schools”
“That’s such a great idea!”
Why teach
yoga in schools?
What’s the goal?
- Strength
- Flexibility
- Physical and mental health
- Mindfulness
- Alternative to PE
Encinitas Union School District
- Lacked funds to hire PE teachers
- Classroom teachers & parent volunteers taught PE
- Told children to run laps
- 2012: Jois Foundation offered yoga for K-6
Tonka <Codes> Design Team
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coding = good
Parents drop off kids
All good?
- Reading
- Music
- Art
- STEM
- Cooking
- Coding
- Mindfulness
- Yoga
Why not teach
yoga in schools?
- Promote religious beliefs: Hinduism, Buddhism
- Teach students how to become ‘one with God’
- Cessation of the fluctuations of the mind
- Enlightenment
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“Our mission is to support the physical and mental health of children and teens in Minnesota by providing yoga, mindfulness, and community education.”
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Khalsa Logic Model
Why teach in schools?
- More accessible than yoga studios
- More frequent classes (more benefits?)
- Accessible to all children
Khalsa Logic Model
- Postures
- Breathing
- Meditation
- Relaxation
1975
- Columbia High School (Maplewood, New Jersey)
- Introduced an elective in the Science of Creative Intelligence/Transcendental Meditation (SCI/TM)
- TM was developed by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
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Website today
US district court (1977)
- TM is a “religion”
- Violates 1st Amendment of the US Constitution
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Website in 2024
“Photographs taken as late as 2015 capture posters of Sun Salutations and Lotus.”
—Candy Gunther Brown (2019)
“Many yoga practitioners understand Sun Salutations, with Jois, as ‘prayer to the sun god’ or, more vaguely, as aiding spiritual growth.”
—Candy Gunther Brown (2019)
How about …
- Chanting?
- Sanskrit?
- Namaste?
- Jai Bhagwan?
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Legislate yoga?
Teaching considerations
- Poses with animal names
- Yoga for ages 5-7, 8-10, middle/high school
- Yoga history
- Journaling, crafts, etc. (after school)
- Anatomy
- Self-care practices
- Trauma-sensitive
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onelove.yoga class
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School teachers (my mom)
Yoga teachers
- Should they be paid?
- Should yoga teachers volunteer?
- Does that cheapen our craft?
- Require RCYT?
Organization or individual?
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- Nonprofit yoga studio in Minneapolis
- Multi-year partnership with St. Paul Public Schools
- Grant funded “Yoga & Mindfulness: Tools for Self-Care & Compassionate Leadership for Youth”
Orgs that bring yoga in schools
Orgs that support yoga in schools
Mindfulness focused organizations
Type
Curricular
Co-curricular
After school
How will you develop
buy-in?
Who should champion the programs?
Commitment
- How much time do you need to dedicate?
- Frequency of classes
- Length of classes
- Size of classes
Separate or integrated?
How will the program be integrated with other practices at the school?
Who funds it?
- Schools?
- Government?
- Parents?
- Donors?
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Do you really need funding?
Marketing
- How will people find out?
—Candy Gunther Brown (2019)
Change laws
- 501(c)(3) nonprofits cannot lobby
- Individuals can contact their representatives
Evidence-Based
Practices and Research
- Do what works for you
- Do what you think might work
- Adopted existing science-based programs
Yoga Alliance group
- YA, Yoga in Schools group (Katie Nissley)
- Illinois legislation
Keys to success
- Community Engagement
- Partnerships
