5 Minute Yoga Break!

Happy Today.
I hope you are well.  I was at a meeting yesterday where someone was proposing a program that when implemented 20 minutes a day increased students' math scores compared to control groups that didn't receive the additional 20 minutes a day.
I love the reality that 20 minutes a day can impact change. I wondered, what if it had only been ten minutes a day, would that make a difference?

Suppose students had 20 minutes of art, or music, or yoga each day? Or what about time to dream, to create, to have deep conversations of self or community?
One of the things all teachers try to do is set the tone in their classroom. But setting the tone goes well beyond a list of rules.

So in middle schools, there is this thing called Advisory. It is time set during the day to build community, solve problems, set goals. The focus of advisory is to develop the social-emotional resiliency of young adolescents. When I was first learning about advisory I worked at doing activities, but I didn't realize the importance of naming 'community.' I now think, as team members, we need to teach our students how to take care of themselves and one another using words like 'our team, our community.'

But, it is only going to work if we, the teachers, are grounded in our own understanding of the needs of young adolescents and how those needs play out in our own lives... so that we lead by example. So I encourage you to find ways to take care of yourself socially and emotionally, physically and intellectually. Time to set goals!!

One thing that helps us be more centered is yoga. The following video clip was created by a Tammy Clark, a faculty member at UNCW. And if you don't have 20 minutes to see a difference, the following five minutes can be done by you and if you want, show it to your students. Oh yes, and don't forget to breathe! (:
Here is to a peaceful week. Take a 5 Minute Yoga Break .

Nancy