For many adults, yoga is an escape from the stresses of everyday life. It quiets the mind and gently stretches the muscles. Yoga also has recognized benefits for children, including developing motor skills on both sides of the body and increasing balance, coordination, concentration, focus, and attention span.
Understanding these benefits, first-grade teacher Dr. Toni Wengerd was excited when Mrs. Sara Smith, the parent of one of her students, approached her about offering yoga sessions to the class.
“Mrs. Smith visited our class several times this past year,” Dr. Wengerd explains. “Each time, she tied the yoga poses to a storybook with a theme relating to the time of year.”
For example, at Halloween, Mrs. Smith read Room on the Broom; in the winter, she read the Mitten. In honor of Dr. Seuss’s birthday, Mrs. Smith taught poses named for popular Seuss books or characters.
If giggles and smiles are any indication, Mrs. Smith’s yoga sessions will stay with the first graders for quite some time.