- Call us at 412.287.4591 for a free 45-minute initial consultation to discuss your needs and how we may be able to help.
- Locate the interested leaders and involve them in the planning of a yoga program for their areas. Embrace the early adopters and leaders and target future efforts on those groups/areas; don't push anyone to be involved until they are ready.
- Hold an all staff informational meeting (in-service) on the benefits of yoga. Collect information during that sessions on concerns; respond to questions; develop and plan with the staff.
- Plan with the teachers/curriculum director to connect the program to teach skills that meet state and national standards. Yoga is not something that needs to be added to the curriculum (for example, it is not something extraneous to the HPE curriculum).
- Sample pilot study/pilot program for elementary: Identify HPE teachers who are willing to teach yoga as PE (no other sport/activity) for at least 9 weeks and classroom teachers who are willing teach MBTT in every class for at least 9 weeks. Follow the progress of students and teachers who have received this level of yoga for 9 weeks. (Option to use pre- and post- tests for awareness, stress, attention, etc.)
- Identify who on your staff is responsible/will take responsibility for teaching stress reduction and behavior management (SEL): behavior specialists? HPE teachers? Special Education teachers? Counselors?
- Offer stress-reduction and self-care techniques to your staff and let them know that taking care of themselves is the first priority and is a necessary prerequisite to successfully teaching students to do the same.
Every district and every school is different. There are many moving parts to consider. Schools can be a frenetic place. Since we have had the opportunity to work in many school districts in the U.S. and around the world, we are familiar with some of the challenges that many schools are facing today. We usually suggest calling to set up an appointment for a free 45-minute consultation (as suggested above) so we can LISTEN and hear what your specific needs and challenges are and how we might be able to help address them. We have worked with both large and small school districts, urban and rural, high-poverty, and well-to-do schools. We have found that stress is no respecter of persons. We may just be stressed for different reasons. We have met plenty of well-paid, stressed-out teachers. Yoga tends to be an "equal-opportunity," since being able to breathe is the only prerequisite. If we are unable to help you, we may be able to recommend someone who is more uniquely suited to your situation.