211CHAPTER 10
THE YOGA CLASSROOM: CREATING
SUPPORTS AND STRUCTURE FOR YOGA-
BASED SELF-REGULATION AND LEARNING
As goes your breath, so goes your heart.
As goes your heart, so go your thoughts.(Cook-Cottone, 2015, p. 200)
Watch your thoughts;
they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions;
they become habit.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character;
it becomes your destiny.(Barwick, 1983, p. 23)The Barwick (1983) quote is one of my all-time favorites. The original version comes from
an interpretation of an ancient yoga text by Eknath and Nagler (2007). I cite this quote along
with a reminder I often give in yoga class, “As goes your breath, so goes your heart. As goes
your heart, so go your thoughts” (Cook-Cottone, 2015). In each breath and each moment
our destiny is created. Steadiness of breath yields steadiness of mind. From there, we
intentionally self-regulate, choosing our actions as we engage in our lives and relationships.
To me, this is yoga. It is well accepted that yoga enhances overall physiological health,
strength, and flexibility (Cook-Cottone, 2015; McCall, 2007), but research tells us that yoga
offers even more. Consistent with the quote “As a person acts, so he becomes in life...”
(Eknath & Nagler, 2007, p. 114), yoga is the embodiment of intention and growth. That is,
yoga gives you an on-the-mat and in-your-life opportunity for development.
As explicated by the principles for growth and learning in Chapter 3, teaching these
skills begins with teaching competence in breath, awareness, presence, and feeling. Tantillo
(2012) says that we honor the social and emotional needs of our students by including daily