Mindfulness and Yoga in Schools A Guide for Teachers and Practitioners

310 • PART iii: YogA foR EduCATing foR SElf-REgulATion And EngAgEMEnT

Program WebPage brief DescriPtion

Holistic Life

Foundation

hlfinc.org The Holistic Life Foundation is a non-profit organization

committed to nurturing the wellness of children and adults

in underserved communities. Founded by Ali and Atman

Smith and Andres Gonzalez, the program offers an after-

school program called Holistic Me, which teaches students

yoga, mindfulness, meditation, centering, and breath work.

They offer a Mindful Moment program of 15-minute breath

work and meditation recordings at the high school level.

They offer a youth and yoga mindfulness training through

the Omega Institute. Other programs include a workforce

program, mentoring, stress reduction and mindfulness

program, environmental programs, and programs that

address mental illness and drug treatment. There are

opportunities for interns and volunteers. Research on the

program includes Ancona and Mendelson (2014); Mendelson

et al. (2013); and Mendelson et al. (2010).

Integral Yoga

Institute:

Yoga at

School

iyiny.org The Integral Yoga Institute: Yoga at School program

offers grades K to12 yoga classes that range from 45 to

60 minutes and include yoga poses, breathing, relaxation,

and meditation. They offer classes for students as well as

teachers, staff, and parents. Integral Yoga will customize a

program for your school and help schools look for funding

and sponsorships.

Karma Kids

Yoga

karmakidsyoga

.com

Karma Kids Yoga offers children’s yoga teacher training

for educators. The course is designed for early childhood

educators as well as elementary and secondary school

teachers who are looking to integrate yoga techniques

in their classes. They offer professional development, an

educator’s manual, certificate of course completion, and

opportunities to Skype the course.

Kripalu Yoga

in Schools

kripalu.org/

kyis-teacher

-training

Kripalu Yoga in Schools is a yoga teacher training program.

According to the web page, this training provides a

scientifically validated yoga curriculum appropriate for

high school physical education and health classes, or

extracurricular settings. Further, the program offers practical

guidance on how to effectively partner with high schools,

non-profits, and after-school programs serving teens.

Teacher trainees are given tips and resources to create

professional development workshops for educators. The

program is delivered with developmentally appropriate

lesson plans, outlining the introduction of postures;

centering, breathing, and relaxation techniques; and key

yoga concepts. Specifics are offered for working with

teens, appropriate verbal communication methods for

schools and youth, and opportunities for practice teaching.

There have been several studies of this program including:

Conboy, Noggle, Frey, Kudesia, and Khalsa (2013); Felver,

Butzer, Olson, Smith, and Khalsa (2015); Haden et al. (2014);

Noggle, Steiner, Minami, and Khalsa (2012).

(continued )

TABlE 13.1 Additional Yoga Programs for Schools and Youth (continued )