The bell rings, doors open, and I hear the squeaking of tennis shoes and the crackling of adolescent voices down the hall. Students file chattily into the "studio"—a media center with carpeted floors and computer stations against the walls. They know to take off their shoes, place their electronic devices on the window ledge, and grab a thin, purple mat before flopping down.
I notice how many of my students have arrived today and put them into rows of three or four. One boy asks quietly if he can sneak out and apply deodorant to his feet before practicing. Forget overpriced, patterned tights; most of those stretching are in jeans and hoodies. This isn't your normal yoga studio. These are my students, and I love offering them this class.
I'm a principal at a countywide center-based high school for emotionally impaired students. To attend Neil E. Reid High School, a student must have been officially diagnosed with an impairment in interpersonal relations, behavior or emotions, or physical symptoms stemming from emotional issues. Most of these kids come from abusive, trauma-filled backgrounds. They often have significant mental illness issues, juvenile court involvement, or both. Because of trouble controlling their behavior, most have missed significant classroom time. They come to school loaded with anxiety, depression, rage, or fear—and searching for a way to manage their emotions. It's our job to help them cope.
But what answer do you have for a student who finds her father covered in vomit because he tried to take his own life? Or who overhears from a grandmother that she was appointed guardian because the parents wished their child didn't exist? Our students would rather not hurt others with words (or fists) or threaten suicide. But they need tools to manage their emotions.
Often, there seems to be nothing we can say to calm them—certainly no pat answers. One answer I've found is to offer yoga.
Why Yoga?
Google the benefits of yoga and you'll find that it improves body awareness and self-confidence. It also encourages mind-body connections, something my students desperately need.
As a yoga practitioner for several years, I'd considered teaching my students yoga. I believed that if they could move their bodies and learn to breathe deeply, maybe they could find a healthy replacement for destructive behaviors. During adolescence, when their bodies are rapidly undergoing massive physical and emotional changes, being able to simply understand how and why their bodies and minds are doing what they are can help students make better choices.
I'd come to the mat myself at first to counterbalance all the running I do. But once I started practicing, like many people, I found that what I'd been running from was myself. I was pushed into healthy self-discovery. There was a chance yoga would help my students claim similar self- discovery.
My idea came into focus when I found the website YogaMinded, which offers an online course for people working with youth who hope to teach yoga. After taking that course, I began planning how to offer it to my students, and I completed a 200-hour yoga teacher training program. To give students the opportunity to discover yoga themselves, we had to make it voluntary. Class couldn't happen every day, but had to be somewhat predictable. I chose to offer a class the last hour of the day each Friday, letting students (up to 20) sign up in the office any time before Friday.
I pitched the idea to my staff and asked for their assistance selling drop-in yoga. I, too, pounded the pavement drumming up students, to mixed reactions. Some didn't know what yoga was. Some didn't think they would get much of a workout. Some enthusiasts, to be fair, were just looking to get out of one class a week.
Moving—Slowly
This fall, at our first class, students moved—slowly. Just getting teenagers to silently sit in a room, noticing their breath for a few minutes is pretty significant. We begin with inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth, and moved toward inhaling and exhaling through the nose with the mouth closed. Noticing the breath, my colleagues and I hoped, would lead these teens to notice their internal reactions better—which would serve them off the mat.
As the semester progressed, we ended up with a few regulars at every session, and 10 attendees on average. Besides breathing, students moved through a series of postures that I felt was just enough to break a sweat and push them physically, but not turn them off. We tried, among others, Downward Dog, Warrior 1, Child's Pose, Tree Pose and Savasana (which students often requested).
I shared with students the saying, "When lost, simply begin again," as they tackled poses. Often, the sweaty ambiance in the room showed they had engaged with the practice. But when I taught the same class to my fellow yoga teachers, they challenged me to push my kids further.
The next class, I told my students that they were going to fly and led them into Virabhadrasana 3, also called Warrior 3, which requires one to simultaneously balance on one leg and fold forward with arms outstretched. Faces contorted as if the kids were trying to use their facial muscles to balance on one leg. Most wobbled side to side and fell, but no one got upset. They giggled and tried again.
Is It Having Impact?
People often demand data to show that something is successful. So here are the data. During this school year, 40 percent of our student population (of 101 kids) attended at least one of the 20 drop-in yoga classes we've offered. Each Monday, students sign in at the office or catch me in the hallway to ask me to jot their name down. I no longer have to sell yoga.
Staff members have witnessed students try to apply some of the breathing techniques when faced with tough situations. Instead of storming out of a classroom, some students have been able to pause, inhale, exhale, and choose a more proactive response. Students tell me they look forward to the class each week. They learn that they can do more than they think they can, and some have commented that yoga is relaxing and helps them deal with the drama. For some, it might be the only space where they're able to simply be.
In one instance, two young men were sent to my office because they were about to get into a fight in the lunchroom. I reminded them I was supposed to have them in yoga class soon. One young man said, "I have a lot of sh—going on right now and need yoga, that's why I signed up." The other young man agreed. Less than an hour later, they were both going through Sun Salutations.
I stepped outside my comfort zone as a principal to share with my students something that I've found to be of great value. In one session, as I wove a subtle message into class about taking the practice off the mat and into your daily lives, one student said, "I see what you are trying to do there, Mr. Croy." That is the real work and benefit of yoga. One breath, one mindful movement can help so much. When lost, simply begin again.
