318 • PART iii: YogA foR EduCATing foR SElf-REgulATion And EngAgEMEnT
As our popular culture embraces alternative approaches such as yoga and mindfulness,
many schools across the country are implementing yoga in schools and in the classroom. It
is critical for the scientific community to continue to carefully evaluate effectiveness honor-
ing both the scientific method as well as the roots and authenticity of these ancient practices
(Cook-Cottone, 2015). There are at least two truths at play. Using tools such as the scientific
method is necessary within the current cultural zeitgeist (Cook-Cottone, 2015). However,
use of qualitative methods and other tools that allow for practices such as mindfulness
and yoga to be explored exactly as they are occurring naturalistically is also critical (Cook-
Cottone, 2015). It is a dialectic. Perhaps it is in the simultaneous embracing of tradition and
change that we will find the effectiveness we seek (Cook-Cottone, 2015).
There are several resources school personnel are encouraged to use. First, get yourself
a copy of Best Practices for Yoga in Schools (Childress & Harper, 2015). Next, check out www
.garrisoninstitute.org/insights-tools/resources/. This is the Garrison Institute’s online
resource page designed to provide organizations with the necessary tools, information, and
guidance in the implementation of mindful practices. These resources can be sorted by topic
and type using the web page search tools.
Next, got to K-12YOGA.org/listings/. This is the K-12YOGA.org website designed to
bring the yoga and educational communities together by providing resources for finding a
yoga instructor to teach in your school, ways to connect to school personnel who have imple-
mented a yoga program, getting trained to be a yoga teacher, updates on the body of research,
and ways to disseminate what you have learned. The K-12YOGA.org web page is committed to
being a brand-neutral voice in the promotion of the school yoga-mindfulness movement. The
creators and maintainers of the web page contend that their goal is to provide an open platform
for communities of interest to connect. Ways to search include a zip code locator, fund raising
initiatives, provision of a school-based yoga tool kit, a calendar of events, and job listings.
Last, you are encouraged to attend the YoKid International Yoga Conference (conference
.yokid.org), Yoga Service Conference (eomega.org/workshops/yoga-service-conference),
and Yoga in the Schools Symposium (kriplau.org) to meet with researchers, yoga providers,
yoga teacher trainers, and other school personnel. There are opportunities for continuing
education, professional growth, trainings, and connecting with professionals who can help
you grow in your effectiveness with students. You will also meet people with whom you can
collaborate to make research happen at your school, something that will be of huge service
to the field of yoga in the schools. I look forward to meeting you!
REfEREnCES
Ancona, M. R., & Mendelson, T. (2014). Feasibility and preliminary outcomes of a yoga and mindfulness
intervention for school teachers. Advances in School Mental Health Promotion, 7, 156–170.
Anderson, S., & Sovik, R. (2000). Yoga: Mastering the basics. Honesdale, PA: Himalayan Institute Press.
Bose, B. K. (2013). A necessary catalyst: Dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline with yoga. Journal
of Yoga Service, 1, 23–28.
Broad, W. (2012). How yoga can wreck your body. New York Times Magazine. Published January 5, 2012.
Butzer, B., Bury, D., Telles, S., & Khalsa, S. B. S. (2016). Implementing yoga within the school cur-
riculum: A scientific rationale for improving social-emotional learning and positive student out-
comes. Journal of Children's Services, 11, 3–24.
Butzer, B., Day, D., Potts, A., Ryan, C., Coulombe, S., Davies, B., ... Khalsa, S. B. S. (2015). Effects of a
classroom-based yoga intervention on cortisol and behavior in second- and third-grade students:
A pilot study. Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine, 20, 41–49.