Yes, you read that right. We have pigeons, dogs and cobras in the classroom. Of course, we are referring to the pigeon pose, downward dog and cobra yoga poses that are a part of most yoga classes.
Lakeshore Excellence Foundation awarded Jennifer Engleman, a middle school teacher, two grants to bring yoga to the middle school. Engleman shared, “The pandemic and all the restrictions can be very stressful on students. There are so many positive outcomes from doing yoga. When doing yoga, students are learning tools to help them cope with stress and much more. Even if there hadn’t been a pandemic, students can use breathing techniques to help curb anxiety in a non-disruptive way in the classroom.”
Engleman is working toward achieving a Registered Child Yoga Teacher certification, and is training with Yoga in My School. It is an accredited provider of the RCYT certification program located in Alberta, Canada. She has already completed a level one children’s yoga class, teen yoga training, and is currently taking a trauma-informed yoga class.
Engleman’s long term goal is to start an after school yoga program where any student wanting to participate and learn yoga will have the opportunity to do so.
With the covid restrictions this year, she was not able to do that. Instead, she has been teaching yoga to students in her Lancer Time class. “The students love yoga! Some love to use yoga as a fitness tool to increase their strength and flexibility, while others enjoy the mindfulness part of it, and share that it helps them to relax and not be so stressed,” said Engleman. Additionally, she has been given the green light to begin an after school class in the fourth quarter of this school year!
