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First time isn’t always a charm, but failures often bring blessings in their wake.
For instance, the first time we offered a training in Colorado, low enrollment forced us to cancel. But one who had registered offered to help us try again. An occupational therapist (OT) in the Littleton Public Schools, Ilga Paul helped make our second try into a big success.
What’s more, she’s since become a Certified Yoga Calm Instructor and trainer, and she’ll be teaching our next two Denver workshops: Integrated Approach to Wellness 1 with Kim Oliva, September 17 – 18; and Integrated Approach to Wellness 2 – Physical Connections to Learning with Jim Gillen, September 24 – 25.
Ilga first began sharing yoga with students several years ago, after learning that her OT intern also practiced. “We were working with a group of 2nd graders who all needed help with developing fine motor skills,” she says, “especially as it related to legible handwriting. The students also had very poor muscle tone, decreased core muscle strength and difficulty paying attention. We worked with them outside of the general education classroom, starting our sessions with poses such as Tree, Downward Dog and Cat/Cow. The students loved it!”
After she began working at a school where special education services were provided within the general education classroom, Ilga’s use of yoga expanded. There, she says, “I had a Kindergartener on my caseload and was asked by his teacher to collaborate on a 30 minute weekly session with the whole class. One thing led to another, and soon I was visiting many classes, teaching poses and breath work to support their academic effort, concentration and ownership of their learning.”
As soon as she began learning Yoga Calm’s principles and activities, Ilga put her new knowledge to work. At the time, she says,
my caseload was such that I served students at five schools (Pre – 5) and supervised three OT Assistants. At the same time, word spread of my 10 – 15 minute yoga sessions. At one point, I was going into 19 classrooms a week!
I saw amazing benefits from even this little bit of time and came to realize that Yoga Calm was the most meaningful and results-producing approach I had used in my 35+ years as an OT. Becoming a Certified Instructor seemed like the natural extension of what I had been doing, and now it’s opened the door to a new career! Some things are just meant to happen.
Using Yoga Calm in the classroom is a wonderful way to provide Response to Intervention support, particularly for students who struggle with attention or are highly restless or anxious. Kids love these short “yoga breaks” and get excited when I arrive. I stand quietly at their classroom door and watch the transition process, as that tells me how to structure the session.
One day, I silently walked into a 3rd grade classroom while the teacher instructed the kids to put away their math activities. When the students saw me, without any further instruction, they put away their things, pushed in their chairs, found their personal space and were ready for yoga. It’s so wonderful – and fun and exciting! – to see students go from being silly, distracted and restless to focused, able to complete activities with attention and intention. When a whole class is calm and focused during an activity such as Roots, the energy feels almost magical!
I regularly see students use yoga on their own to help them self-regulate. I have seen 3rd graders with significant anger issues use Belly Breathing to de-escalate. I have seen others use poses such as Chair Twist and seated Forward Bend during standardized testing to help them attend to their task.
The power of Yoga Calm, I believe, comes from students becoming aware of the messages their body is giving them, knowing what to do with those messages and implementing strategies to maximize academic achievement. I find it extremely well-suited to help manage anxiety and distraction. The physical yoga is a wonderful way to work on things like posture, core muscle strength and awareness of the body in space. Students on the Autism Spectrum definitely benefit from the activities, yet even those with more profound needs may benefit in a small group outside of the general education classroom.
In practice, I use a problem-solving approach in which students participate in developing strategies and are responsible for trying them out between sessions. They then report the strategies’ success or failure, and we determine the next steps. The sense of empowerment-in-action is amazing!
And all students can become so empowered, not just those designated with special needs, even though the special needs student was why I went into the classroom in the first place.
I believe that students with almost any dis/ability can benefit from Yoga Calm, in part due to its sheer adaptability to student and class needs. If needed, sessions can be shortened: Better a successful 15 minute session than a disjointed 30 minutes. If you have a group with mixed physical abilities, chairs or bolsters can be used to provide extra balance support. Completing yoga poses with Deaf and hard of hearing populations is a great way to improve vestibular functioning. (Having Deaf students lead poses also gives them an opportunity to practice oral skills.) With blind students, I stand nearby and mindfully use clear, specific and descriptive words in my directions. Often, a sighted student can be paired with a blind student, so they can help position them.
I love watching students change over the course of the school year, and it is so exciting when they independently use strategies that I have taught! I also love watching the teachers. Their class interactions evolve, and they, too, receive the benefits of yoga. Every day, I see the seed Yoga Calm spread and grow. It’s exciting to be able share strategies that really work!
Our next Denver workshops will be held September 17 – 18 (Wellness 1) and September 24 – 25 (Wellness 2). To register online, just click the appropriate date.
Trainings are also slated for January and March 2012, including courses needed for Certification. To see our full schedule of courses around the US, visit us at yogacalm.org.
Guest post by Kathy Flaminio & Laurie Ellis-Young
It was serendipity – our meeting at a Health Expo: two yoga teachers who shared a passion for wellness, peace and human connection, and a vision for expanding that passion to a global audience. Having lived in Guatemala, Laurie suggested connecting with a local school in Santa Cruz la Laguna to facilitate an authentic cultural experience for the group of teachers who would accompany us.
While Laurie worked on those arrangements through Amigos de Santa Cruz – a nonprofit whose mission is to support the education and health care needs of this small Mayan village – Kathy recruited passionate teachers from across the US who shared our enthusiasm for making global change through yoga and mindfulness activities.
This past July, we made our first trip – 13 of us total, traveling to Villa Sumaya, a yoga retreat center on picturesque Lake Atitlan that would serve as our home for the next couple weeks. Once settled and rested, we engaged in personal reflection and community building to lay the foundation for Yoga Calm training. The group radiated gratitude as they gathered inspiration from their amazing surroundings to enhance both their personal yoga practice and lesson planning. And those surroundings were part of our practice. We learned about breath work on a dock as the waves rolled in. We experienced grounding work while gazing at three majestic mountains. We cultivated a relaxation story based on the local sounds of native birds and rain.
We also gathered at breakfast to brainstorm on the integrative lesson plan we’d design and take to the village. Creativity and cultural mindfulness were the foundation as the teachers explored ideas of yoga poses related to the local natural environment, Spanish translations and accommodations for cultural dress. Ultimately, the group decided on two Yoga Calm lessons centered on the principles of Strength and Community, honoring the volcanoes and strong sense of family present in Mayan culture.
Excitement built as we crossed the lake and made the rigorous mountain trek to the school. We reflected on lesson content and Spanish vocabulary, practicing to make sure we had the key words down cold: inhala, exhale…
The children – many dressed in their traditional traje – eagerly awaited their “guest teachers” from the States. Their eyes were wide and smiles, bright as we engaged them in activities such as breathing the Hoberman sphere, Volcano Breath and Tree Circle with distracters. Their school teachers happily participated, as well. One remarked on the calm feeling that filled the classroom when the children were breathing together using the sphere. Others spoke excitedly of using the Yoga Calm principles and practices in their school on a regular basis.
Ending the school day with a relaxation story, one of the local teachers carried the Hoberman sphere above her head, uniting the departing students in mind, body and heart.
Kathy Flaminio is a Yoga Calm Trainer, K-8 social worker and founder of 1000 Petals, LLC. Laurie Ellis-Young is a yoga teacher and director of Breathe The Change, LLC.
They already have a second journey to Guatemala planned for summer 2012. Click here for details.
It’s a little astonishing, how quickly a year passes! Yet here we are, Lynea and I, getting ready for our annual Summer Intensive at beautiful Still Meadow Retreat in Damascus, Oregon – the first of two Intensives we’re offering this summer. (The second will be held in Wisconsin this August.)
These workshops, combining all three of our basic Integrated Approach to Wellness courses, offer more than just the opportunity to learn the complete Yoga Calm Wellness System in a single week. They also provide time to rest and rejuvenate in a peaceful, natural setting and to meet, share and network with colleagues from around the world. (Last year, one student traveled all the way from Turkey to attend!)
Community is crucial to what we do. More than just a Yoga Calm principle, it’s how we stay informed and inspired in our teaching, counseling or other work. Gathering together to learn, network and socialize matters. It keeps us going.
It’s why professional associations hold conferences, such as the upcoming American School Counselor Association (ASCA) conference – of likely interest to many Yoga Calm users. Scheduled for June 25 – 28 in Seattle, it’s a great opportunity to “Perk up your Program,” as this year’s theme puts it – an event “jam-packed with hard-hitting, informative sessions; engaging, entertaining keynote speakers; and networking opportunities galore.”
And Yoga Calm will be there with special info, products and freebies at our booth (#1032). If you’ll be at the conference, do drop by, say hi and see what’s new with Yoga Calm.
Wish you could attend both our workshop and ASCA? You can! The introductory component of our Integrated Approach course will be held June 23 – 24, and Seattle is just a short drive or flight away. To register for just this component, click here.
To learn more about and register for the complete Still Meadow Summer Intensive, June 23 – 29, click here. Group discounts are available.
Whether in Seattle or at Still Meadow – or later in Wisconsin – we hope to see you this summer to learn, share and grow in the important work we’re doing to help children lead happy, healthy and successful lives.
When we announced our latest pilot workshop – Boys, Coyotes & Other Wild Creatures: Healthy Alternatives for Harnessing “Wildness” – we figured there would be a lot of interest, but nothing like the outpouring of enthusiasm we’ve received.
Scheduled for May 14 – 15 in Portland, Oregon, this workshop will explore the importance of movement and “rough” play, and the need for boys to find meaning, initiation and physical connection to the world. We will learn how to use traditional stories of animals such as wolves, coyotes and cougars, as well as current cultural mythology such as Star Wars and its Jedi knights, to explore the warrior archetype and its importance in addressing the global challenges of this era.
Certified Yoga Calm Instructor and Intervention and Prevention Specialist Jeff Albin will be teaching the course with us, and recently, we asked him if he would share some of his thoughts on how yoga can help connect boys and men with their masculinity. Eagerly, he agreed:
Channeling the Need for Rebellion & Autonomy : Nurturing the Peaceful Warrior
A Lakota elder once joked to me that he felt the reason his people had so many problems with their young men was because nobody let them steal horses any more. In the horse culture of the Plains, stealing horses was a time-honored way for young men to prove their merit. Few died in those escapades, and it gave young men a chance to practice all of their warrior skills. Of course, these days, the ranchers in South Dakota would most likely frown upon young Lakota warriors stealing their horses. Still, I believe the spirit of the idea can be entertained.
It is with these stories and traditions in mind that I approach the young men in my Yoga Calm classes. I understand and appreciate their need to be young warriors. Sometimes when I introduce myself at conferences, I tell people I am a reluctant pacifist. Yet I am a warrior. My true nature is to be a warrior and defend the village, the tribe, the school, the nation from threats. These days I have different battles to fight: addiction, indifference, apathy, abuse, sloth. The battles have changed, but the role of the warrior remains the same.
Young men and boys are no different. The warrior instinct lies deep in their bones. The desire to be strong, competent, fierce and protective at the same time runs through the DNA of all males. Getting boys to do yoga requires a different strategy than the contemporary Yoga Journal image of super-slim, scantily clad 20-somethings in difficult and advanced poses.
Adults beginning a yoga practice are generally motivated by a need to seek relief from pain, spiritual aspirations, the desire to be fit or to ease depression, arthritis and other maladies. Boys have different motivations, and much of which come from the conscious and sometimes latent warrior instinct.
A majority of youth in rural, isolated Eastern Washington communities involve themselves in sports. I tell both boy and girl athletes that practicing yoga will make them better athletes. Depending on my audience, I may expound upon the ability a person can develop during yoga practice to see everything at once, to slow things down internally when everything is happening very fast around them. In a rapidly paced, always-moving sport like basketball, this is indeed a valuable skill to master.
Rebellion and autonomy are primary needs of young men. Rather than trying to quash this trait, I talk about the need to channel it. I introduce them to the idea of intelligent rebellion. There are many fine causes to rebel about: bullying, obesity, addiction, mental slavery from the media and other injustices. I remind them, often, that self-destruction is not rebellion.
During the actual physical yoga practice, I take time to point out that the Warrior poses can actually appear to be a martial form of yoga. I introduce them to the concepts that Dan Millman articulated so well in his seminal work The Way of the Peaceful Warrior.
Perhaps much of my approach comes from my own philosophy and identification with the Peaceful Warrior archetype. The boys know I’ve “got their back” in all sorts of situations. They know that I stand up for what I believe in and say what needs to be said, and practice stillness when that’s called for.
One of my favorite and most popular wind-down activities is getting the boys to sit in a circle and share “scar stories.” All boys – and indeed all girls – have some scars just from being on the planet. I allow enough time for each student to share a story about a scar they have. If it is a physical scar in an appropriate place, I let them show the group. This is akin to a “red badge of courage.” It lends validity to their adventurousness. Every boy has a scar that comes with being young and foolish. It is the joy of being young and foolish that makes them boys.
Jeff Albin, CDP, is a Certified Yoga Calm Instructor and has worked as an Intervention and Prevention Specialist for ESD 112 in rural Washington schools. His rich and varied background includes over 10 years running a high ropes course, owning and operating his own sea kayaking business, co-leading the first joint USSR/USA kayak expedition in the former Soviet Union and extensive wilderness and survival skills experience. Jeff claims to have forgotten more activities than most people will ever learn! Perhaps that’s why he wrote Changing the Message: A Handbook for Experiential Education.
We still have a few spots open for our inaugural Boys, Coyotes & Other Wild Creatures workshop. To register or learn more about the workshop, click here.
With all the political turmoil in Wisconsin these days, it can be easy to overlook what else is happening there, such as the good work being done at the Genesee Lake School, recently featured in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The school was developed to meet the needs of young people dually diagnosed with emotional and developmental disabilities, whose behavioral issues have been deemed too severe for them to continue classes in their home schools. And this year, they’re in a new facility, also designed with students’ special needs in mind.
The classrooms at Genesee Lake have rooms within them so that students can meet in small groups with their teachers or aides without disturbing students working independently in the larger classrooms. The classrooms also hold a variety of furniture, from traditional desks to stand-up desks with kickbars to cubicles, so that students can find the spot that works best for them.
There also are calming rooms and a sensory room, which is right next to the school’s computer lab and across from the much-heralded library.
In a room filled with mats and chairs, Handrich also regularly leads groups of young students through “Yoga Calm” routines.
“They beg for it all the time,” she said.
In addition to helping students learn things like focus, self-regulation and social/emotional skills, Yoga Calm helps Genesee Lake educators meet their goal of providing ways for students to “replicate successful behavior regulation techniques” away from school – whether at home or, for those who can transition back to a standard public school environment, in mainstream schools.
One development not mentioned in the article – but one that we’re ver excited about – is that the school’s Director of Education (and Certified Yoga Calm Instructor) Wendy Handrich will be hosting us at their beautiful new facility in Oconomowoc for our first Summer Intensive outside of Oregon, to be held the last week of August.
Encompassing all three of the basic Yoga Calm workshops, the Summer Intensive is our favorite time of the year. We get to share our life’s work with interesting people from all over the world who come together for one basic reason: We care about children and want to give them the tools to be successful and happy in their lives. We find strength and inspiration from our growing Yoga Calm community. Knowing that there are so many talented and passionate professionals working together gives us hope. And that’s the real gift of the Summer Intensive: finding that we are not alone in our belief that we can create a positive future for our children and ourselves – a future that includes joy, love and beauty.
And now, with our first Intensive outside of Oregon, it will be much easier for those in the Midwest and points east to gather and learn the entire Yoga Calm curriculum. Located just 30 miles west of Milwaukee, Oconomowoc is also home to a serene retreat center within walking distance of the school – a perfect location to renew and learn.
As ever, graduate credits are available for the course, and this brings us to one more bit of good news we’d like to share. The new accreditation from Alverno State College brings us to a total of 5 colleges and universities that have accredited Yoga Calm courses (the others: Portland State University, Colorado State University, Lewis & Clark College and St Mary’s University). No other children’s yoga program has done that before!
To learn more about the Intensive program, click here.
To register for the Wisconsin Intensive (August 21-27, 2011), click here.
To register for the Oregon Intensive (June 23-29, 2011), click here.
Did you know that the heating and cooling of our buildings creates more greenhouse gas emissions than our cars and all transportation? That’s why earlier this year, we replaced our home furnace and also “earth conditioned” our yoga studio, which is able to be cooled or heated from the earth by a high efficiency geothermal heat pump. We are excited to have the opportunity to use this new technology, and we want to share our enthusiasm with you, so we have included some before and after photos of the 300 feet of tubing that comprises our geothermal loop field. It was quite a process! Our hope is that with creative minds and teamwork we can help create a a greener planet for future generations.
In our environmental education experience in the schools and past work with the National Science Foundation, we see how much children thrive in the natural world. There’s so much to do and see and explore! And it’s this curiosity and love that can set the stage for teaching about our natural world and working to protect it.
And its not bad for us adults either, as new research offers powerful evidence of the positive psychological and physical effects that come from merely spending time in natural environments.
These are the reasons why we’ve developed our new Eco-Education course that integrates movement and art with natural science, which we’ll be offering for the first time next month. The sub-title of the workshop is Love, Knowledge and Action – and this is what we hope to develop. Curiosity and Love for the environment, scientific Knowledge, which can lead to stewardship Action. For example, even our most urbanized cities have opportunities for children to connect with nature through school gardens as Farm to School advocate Michelle Ratcliffe so elegantly expressed at our recent Children’s Wellness Conference.
Eco-Education: Integrating Art, Movement & Natural Science will show participants how art education, simple schoolyard environment explorations and movement activities can be effectively integrated to serve diverse populations of students and address multiple intelligences less targeted in schools, including the naturalistic, kinesthetic, interpersonal and intrapersonal.
Workshop sessions will teach you how to
- Lead explorations and inquiries that draw out children’s innate curiosity and appreciation for their communities, animal life and the natural world as motivators for science education and environmental stewardship.
- Use accessible, everyday environments (e.g., schoolyards, parks, backyards) to teach art and basic natural science curricula.
- Teach lessons that develop an ecological perspective and understanding of our interconnectedness with the world and empower personal responsibility and engagement.
- Learn ways to incorporate artful expression into the classroom and into the child’s experience.
Using nature as the touchstone to develop imagination ands creative expression, you’ll be introduced to fun and effective class plans (K-12) and themes that support writing, literature, science and health education goals and standards.
This new workshop will be held October 2-3 at our new Still Moving Yoga Studio, here in Portland, Oregon.
Learn more about the course and how to register. Or order the Children’s Wellness Conference DVD set to experience a sample session and receive Michelle Ratcliffe’s presentation on school gardens, too .
The week of our Summer Intensive – an annual event encompassing all three of the basic Yoga Calm workshops – is our favorite week of the year. Not only to we get to spend time at the beautiful Still Meadow Retreat, but we get to meet and share our life’s work with interesting people from all over the world. All of us come together for one fundamental reason: We care about children and want to give them the tools to be successful and happy in their lives.
While the challenges to children’s health and well-being are significant, we find strength and inspiration from our growing Yoga Calm community. Knowing that there are so many talented and passionate professionals working together gives us hope. And that’s the real gift of our Summer Intensive – finding that we are not alone in our belief that we can create a positive future for our children and ourselves – a future that includes joy, love and beauty. The week at Still Meadow helps us to remember that. Here are a few of the highlights from this summer’s event.
Restoring with Yoga
Daily yoga classes with YogaJim – plus our Yoga Calm workshop sessions – helped participants heal from past injuries, develop new skills and strengths and rest and restore themselves. Here’s what a few of them said:
- “The training was nothing short of amazing. I had a very powerful mental, emotional, and physical shift in my body – very grounding, centering and healing.” – Desiree Gruber, Children’s Yoga Instructor
- “I want to thank you both for a most wonderful experience. [I] had no idea how great the experience was and how quickly the week went by. There is much that I can bring to our clinic as well as the yoga classes I teach. I really did not look forward to leaving. It was so peaceful to be there.” – Tess Kerzner, LMSW, LMHC
- “When I read the flier on Yoga Calm, I decided [that] I really wanted to see what this was all about. I have struggled with group ideas and how to truly involve the middle school students. I want to especially reach the students who on a daily basis cannot focus or organize themselves. I thought this workshop [could] be the answer for what I have been looking for in my practice. I was excited about the experience and it was much more than I expected. I believe that I left there a stronger person physically, emotionally, and professionally. I love the curriculum and came back and read the book from cover to cover. I find my mind exploring the possibilities of the different ways that I can implement this in my school. I am confident that the students who are involved in Yoga Calm will not only benefit from the classes but will develop skills that will be life-long. – Sandra Luecke, Middle School Counselor
Dancing with Lynea
Accompanied by Jim’s percussion ensemble, Lynea got everyone moving with her infectious African Dance class on Thursday night.
Time to Relax
We always include one “rest” day during our summer retreats – part to provide the opportunity for relaxation and processing all we’ve covered over the first few days, but also to take advantage of Oregon’s spectacular environment. Some took the opportunity to hike the old growth forest surrounding Still Meadow. Others headed to the beach.
Some paid visits to the nearby lavender farm or Columbia Gorge waterfalls.
Pretty active “rest” if you ask me!
Eating with Impunity!
With all the yoga and dancing and hiking, we all could certainly afford to have second helpings of the amazing food Kristin and Thomas made for us. (Be sure to check back here for future posts that will include some of our favorite of their recipes – including Thomas’s incredible gluten-free chocolate-raspberry cake! Yum!)
Add to that many enjoyable evenings telling sharing stories and singing songs around the campfire, massage and other health services from Tommy and Leslie, and the general atmosphere of camaraderie as we all got to know each other – all this made for a most memorable week.
In fact, we’re already looking forward to next year – and we hope to see you there. So save the dates: June 25 – July 1, 2011. We’ll be posting the Yoga Calm Summer Intensive 2011 event and registration info on the main Yoga Calm site as we have it available.
Image credits: Alan Vernon., (^_^)wellwin via Flickr.
Yoga Calm’s inaugural Children’s Wellness starts just a few weeks from now. This annual two day event features presentations, discussion panels and expert guest speakers on a variety of children’s health topics including Yoga Calm applications for ADHD, preschool, counseling, family work, physical/health education, occupational therapy, working with adults and therapeutics. And, of course, there will be lots of yoga to rejuvenate yourself, deepen your personal practice and develop your ability to teach theme-based classes.
Space is filling up, but you still have a chance to be a part of this unique gathering of creative professionals, which we blogged about earlier this month. Since then, we’ve confirmed five additional sessions for the conference:
- Contemplative Education: Dr. Rob Roeser of PSU and the Mind & Life Institute will share information about the Dalai Lama’s research initiative to support mindfulness and compassion in our schools.
- What to Look for in a Program Evaluation: Dr. Jack Hollis will show how to create effective evaluation tools for demonstrating the benefits of classroom program innovations and the value of what you do.
- Yoga – 1, 2, 3!: Carrie Green will share ideas on incorporating Yoga Calm in the preschool classroom, with lots of visuals, props and ideas.
- Rise & Shine Morning Yoga: This pre-conference yoga class with Jim Gillen will give you the opportunity to take a moment for yourself, stretch out those hips and shoulders, and restore your spirit.
- Yoga Renewal: Afternoon yoga with “YogaJim” will help you integrate the day’s activities, release tension and start the process toward healing.
Full descriptions of these and the other 10 conference sessions, including instructor bios, are available here (PDF).
Prerequisite: Integrated Approach to Wellness 1, ADHD: the Mind/Body Connection or Immersion workshop. Registration for the 2010 Summer Intensive also qualifies. (Questions? Contact us!)
The Children’s Wellness Conference is offered in conjunction with Portland State University, Continuing Education in the Graduate School of Education (CE/ED) and qualifies for 10 CEU/Clock Hours and/or 1 PSU Graduate/Undergraduate Credit. Coursework also applies toward Calm Certification Teacher Continuing Education. Certificate of training hours provided.
One of the things we often hear from people who take our workshops is how surprised they are to learn so much in two days while leaving the workshop refreshed and relaxed. What’s the secret? It’s no secret at all to education researchers who have found that active learning processes, rest and relaxation, and a stress-free environment contribute together to maximum learning.
And that’s what we’ve put together for our June 23-24 Children’s Wellness Conference.
Held at the beautiful Still Meadow Retreat, the conference will feature 10 interactive and engaging sessions on a variety of topics of interest to creative educators. And with special yoga sessions and great meals, you’ll have plenty of time to relax and renew yourself. There’s even an overnight option for those who really want to soak up the quiet of Still Meadow.
Below is a sneak peak of this year’s conference program, which qualifies for 1 PSU graduate/undergraduate credit. (See below for details.) Full descriptions of the individual sessions are available on the Yoga Calm website (PDF).
- Food for Thought: Dr. Michelle Ratcliffe is on a mission to change school food.
- Love, Hope & Action: Lynea Gillen gets us outside with a new environmental education curriculum.
- The Attentive Mind: Dr. Jeff Sosne shares his latest practical tips on how to help children engage, shift and sustain attention.
- Yoga for Families: Yoga Calm Trainer Kathy Flaminio will lead us in a fun family class.
- Prop-Based Processing: Jeff Albin’s interactive session provides you with a variety of innovative reflection tools and approaches.
- Meeting ASCA Standards with Yoga Calm: Anna Thedford, will present and lead a discussion of how to develop class plans that are effective, fun and meet standards.
- Yoga Camps for Girls: Cat Monroy will share 5 key tools and tips for using music, art, movement and writing to develop themes important to girls.
- Literature Circle Yoga: Carolyn Mosiman creatively matches Yoga Calm’s social/emotional learning activities with books to meet student needs.
- Yoga on the Ropes: Jeff Albin leads us in variety of classroom-based group challenge initiatives using only the standard yoga equipment.
- Addressing Loss with Children: Lynea Gillen shares from her experience and upcoming book.
Prerequisite: Integrated Approach to Wellness 1, ADHD: the Mind/Body Connection or Immersion workshop. Registration for the 2010 Summer Intensive also qualifies. (Questions? Contact us!)
The Children’s Wellness Conference is offered in conjunction with Portland State University, Continuing Education in the Graduate School of Education (CE/ED) and qualifies for 10 CEU/Clock Hours and/or 1 PSU Graduate/Undergraduate Credit. Coursework also applies toward the Yoga Calm Certification Teacher Continuing Education. Certificate of training hours provided.
Italy.
The name conjures up Mediterranean images of rolling hills carpeted with vineyards, ancient architecture, art and culture, fashion, great food and wine – and an art of living all too easily forgotten in our fast-paced world.
Indeed, the Mediterranean is the historical epicenter of Western culture. But few realize that it’s also the birthplace of many great modern educational traditions including the Montessori method and Italy’s recently discovered Reggio Emilia approach.
Recently, the U.S. Secretary of Education and 250 educators traveled to Reggio Emilia, Italy, to see this wonderful model of early childhood education and learn of its principles. These include:
- Children must have some control over the direction of their learning.
- Children must be able to learn through experiences of touching, moving, listening, seeing and hearing.
- Children have relationships with other children and material items in the world that they must be allowed to explore.
- Children must have endless ways and opportunities to express themselves.
Yoga Calm’s philosophy mirrors the Reggio Emilia Approach principles and is based on the belief that children want to learn – and are innately motivated to do so – when they feel safe, supported and appropriately stimulated. In this type of environment, children discover and develop their own unique abilities. Their natural beauty and compassion grows. They blossom.
You can experience the benefits of Yoga Calm firsthand in Casperia, Italy, where we will be holding our first international Yoga Calm training July 30 – August 6.
In one of the last Italian villages untouched by mass tourism, during the lushness of the Italian summer, we will have the luxury of diving deep into Yoga Calm’s principles of Stillness, Listening, Grounding, Strength and Community. From rooftop yoga decks inspired by views of the Sabina Mountains, we will learn new tools to help children and expand our skills. With restorative yoga practices, we will experience wellness practices that rejuvenate and renew. And with storytelling, inquiry processes and ample time to hike, bike and share with educators from around the world, we will reflect and grow.
We hope that you’ll join us!
