Mindfulness and Yoga in Schools A Guide for Teachers and Practitioners

schools. From an opening chapter that discusses learning and explores how yoga influences
learning, the book moves through chapters that examine the individual experience of learn-
ers and the efficacy of the practices to increase student engagement and to reduce stress. The
carefully crafted figures, tables, and images are helpful to any reader looking to implement
programs in schools. The reader will move from chapters that frame the work of yoga as
an intervention model for developing self-regulation into sections that take a close look at
programs and interventions offered in schools, paying close attention to the philosophical
influences of these protocols.
Dr. Cook-Cottone also integrates the essential element of success for anyone stepping
into a school to offer this important work: She provides a tool for teacher reflection and
self-care. The work of taking yoga into schools demands that a teacher be mindful, aware of
research, and fully educated about the practice, but it also requires that we bring joy, com-
passion, and an acceptance of the process to each encounter. Mindfulness and Yoga in Schools
concludes with a carefully structured and user-friendly tool for self-care; an essential, and
often overlooked, part of offering successful yoga in schools programs.
While reading through this book will give you a lot to consider, the best way to truly
understand these practices, and the many benefits they can offer our children (and us!), is
to explore them yourself. We encourage you to read slowly, and take time to experiment
with and experience both the practices described in the text and the wide variety of mind-
fulness and yoga offerings available. Notice if connecting to your own body changes your
experience—emotionally and intellectually—and imagine how the practices could affect
children’s health, well-being, and learning.
While implementing yoga and mindfulness programming in schools is important and
has tremendous potential to support our children, often the greatest gift we can give a child
is a mindful adult! When we can slow down, stay grounded in the present moment, curious
about our own experiences and the experiences of our kids as well as the world around us,
dedicated to kindness and to inquiry rather than judgment, then we can truly share these
practices by creating an immersive experience of mindfulness for our students. Rather than
just teaching practices, we are creating a space for them in which mindfulness is a core part
of how the community engages with each other and with the world. Ideally, we offer our
students both the gift of our own mindful attention, and the tools to use these practices out
in the world when things get challenging. This takes a commitment to our own practice, and
our own path of self-reflection and inquiry. Catherine Cook-Cottone’s book is a wonderful
resource on this journey.

Jennifer Cohen Harper

Founder, Little Flower Yoga

Board President, Yoga Service Council

Editor, Best Practices for Yoga in Schools

Traci Childress

Cofounder, Children’s Community School

Executive Director, Saint Mary’s Nursery School

Editor, Best Practices for Yoga in Schools

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