Yoga for Children/English in Movement

I'm very pleased to be teaching "English in Movement" for my sixth year at a public elementary school here in Sitges. This year I have four sessions and thirty-eight students from the ages of four to seven years old.
"English in Movement" is a program I designed while working as a bilingual kindergarten teacher for five years while living in California. I teach English through yoga, songs, dance and games. For more details about the program, please visit my website.

I find teaching yoga especially fulfilling. Here is an article that I've written on the subject:


Play, eat, go to school--a child’s life seems simple, yet, it can be greatly improved with yoga. Why is that? Because children now more than ever are showing many symptoms of stress--could anything be better for this than a class of yoga? A yoga class for children is very different than one for adults. Although children don't need raise their Kundalini or get rid of the stress of the work week, children have their own sources of stress and need to be taught awareness and relaxation techniques. At first kids may say "I do gymnastics" or "I play football," but if they knew how much yoga could help with everything they do (including sports) they might show more initiative to "study" yoga.



So how is children's yoga different from adult yoga? We play more, we dance. We work on co-ordination through special games and exercises. We use both sides of our brain, creating and activating the synapses that allow us to learn, grow wiser and more physically co-ordinated. When I teach adults, I incorporate what I've learned from working with kids because regardless of age, we all learn and remember better when we are having fun. Yoga gives children the tools to become more self aware and healthier in their physical and psychological selves. In class, we imitate animals, make up stories, go on adventures with the animal postures we practice, sing and play movement games with mantras. We also learn how to use mudras (hand/finger positions) to help us in situations outside of class. Along the way, we learn how to breathe in a way that uses our lungs' full capacity, to reflect before we act, how to calm ourselves down and relax if we can't get to sleep. We learn about the patterns we carry in our bodies, how they affect our behavior and how to change the ones that hold us back. We learn that discipline can be fun and also learn tricks to entertain us on long journeys without needing our parents' attention.



My first experiences teaching yoga to children was as a Kindergarten teacher (P5) in California . We started everyday with exercises to help us wake up and "get our brains working." At that same school I invented a 15 minute workshop, "Yoga for Testing," for all the students from Kindergarten to 6th grade at the school as their preparation for hours of grueling standardized tests. Teaching students to become aware of their posture, breathing and the tension in their body when they write (most commonly in the fingers and jaw) helps them to relax and become more efficient in their thinking process. Next I designed a yoga course for children with learning difficulties. What I discovered, with the help of classroom teachers, was that for many of these students the main issue that prevented improved learning habits was self esteem. Yoga gives children many opportunities for success. With the help of their teacher, the children can monitor progress in the postures, their ability to balance and concentrate as well as their flexibility. As I’ve shown, an early grounding in yoga gives children a foundation to build upon, a framework for moving with confidence, security and success in this changing world.