The Yoga Factor in Social Emotional Wellness
by Elena Shahom, LCSW, Meeting House Parent and Certified Children’s Yoga & Mindfulness Instructor
As a newly certified children's yoga and mindfulness teacher I chose The Meeting House to complete the mentorship component of my yoga certification because there were so many similar philosophies between The Meeting House and Little Flower Yoga (LFY) where I have been studying yoga for the past year. LFY’s mission is “to help kids thrive in the world regardless of circumstances and navigate the many challenges they face with a sense of personal power and self-awareness.” LFY's approach to teaching yoga and mindfulness is unique in that it incorporates 5 elements of practice in all its classes. These 5 elements, Connect, Breathe, Move, Focus and Relax, are explored in each class through group discussions, playful games and poses, mindful movement, focus activities, various techniques to use the breath to regulate, and practices to foster relaxation. Students at The Meeting House have shared that they have enjoyed the program very much as they have developed their own yoga practice.
What did this 5-element approach look like during the 6-week workshop I led for the 9-11 year old’s in the spring? In the first class, the Connect element was explored through creating community agreements that all children in class agreed upon. I also facilitated a discussion to elicit the children's understanding of "yoga" and how we would explore it over the 6 weeks we were together. As the Connect element aims to foster self-awareness and awareness of others, later classes focused on tuning into thoughts, feelings, and body sensations, as well as mindful communication with peers. For example, I led the kids in a "meet and greet game" in which we all danced to music and froze in place when the music stopped. I then instructed the children to turn to the person closest to them and ask them predetermined questions such as, "What do you admire in the person standing in front of you?"
We explored the Breath element in a variety of ways. As it is often hard for our kids to even find their breath, we first focused on bringing awareness to the feeling of the breath in the body and then on specific kinds of breath to energize or relax. For example, I brought in fresh flowers to help the children feel what it is like to inhale through their noses. Playful games using candles, straws, and feathers helped the kids to find and feel their exhale. I focused a lot on the power of extending our exhale as a tool to calm the body.
The Move element included both simple yoga poses and mindful movement activities and games. I encouraged the kids to become "self-scientists" by getting curious about their bodies, their energy levels, and the ways various movements and breathing exercises made them feel. An example of this was exploring tree pose, first while looking around the room while in the pose and then by focusing on a spot on the floor. The children were able to identify experientially how having an object of focus helped them to balance. We also had a lot of fun creating different types of trees with our bodies and falling out of them.
We explored the Focus element through a variety of activities. The use of glitter jars to practice focusing was a big hit with the kids. First, I introduced the concept that all humans have wandering minds. Our thoughts are always going, often without our awareness, and this can make it hard to focus. In this activity, each child is given a glitter jar and instructed to shake it up. The children were instructed to watch the glitter fall slowly to the bottom of the jar, notice when their minds wandered and then bring their minds back to the glitter with a kind, internal message such as, "Come on wandering mind, come on back." The noticing of distraction and bringing our minds back to the object of focus with kindness is at the core of mindfulness.
Relaxation elements included guided visualizations, tensing, and letting go of various muscles, body scans and nature sounds. LFY emphasizes that we should never leave out the Relax element, as our kids are all tired and struggle to find ways to bring ease into their bodies and minds to foster sleep. This is especially relevant for teens who have tons of homework and are glued to their screens.
Separate from their yoga roots, these five elements, Connect, Breathe, Move, Focus and Relax can also be essential practices in developing social emotional competency. After almost 30 years in the mental health field, I find myself both surprised and excited to discover the synergy between traditional therapeutic modalities and the philosophy and practices embedded in yoga and mindfulness. Whether I am treating an adult in my private practice or teaching children and teens the practices of yoga and mindfulness, I am working to foster self-awareness, emotional regulation, meaningful connection with others and resilience in the face of life’s many challenges. I am thrilled to continue this exploration with the young teens who are part of The Meeting House community!
About LFY
LFY incorporates mindfulness in all its activities. Jennifer Cohen Harper, Founder and CEO of LFY, refers to Amy Saltzman's definition of mindfulness: "Mindfulness is paying attention to your life, here and now, with kindness and curiosity." As Ms. Cohen Harper explains, "yoga is a playground for mindfulness," and play is a huge part of LFY's approach, especially with the younger kids.
LFY’s mission is to help kids thrive in the world regardless of circumstances and navigate the many challenges they face with a sense of personal power and self-awareness. Importantly, LFY offers the practices of mindfulness and yoga through a trauma informed lens that fosters a sense of agency, embodiment and resilience in the children and teens it serves. They recognize that so many of the kids we encounter in our work are experiencing or have experienced trauma. LFY's de-emphasis on how kids look during poses and their focus on creating a safe and supportive environment where kids are encouraged to find what works for them are ways to help children and teens harness their personal power and sense of agency.
For more info on LFY - Here is the link to their website: https://www.littlefloweryoga.com/).