Top Tips For Teaching Yoga In Schools - Tip #1: Own Your Why

Hi there, and welcome! I’m Emily, a yoga teacher and educator based in Baltimore, Maryland. I currently teach yoga and mindfulness full-time, as a for-credit class, at a middle school in Baltimore, Maryland.

For the last two years, I’ve been sending these tips for teaching yoga in schools out to my newsletter subscribers, but the time has come to share them with the world. These tips are a combination of insights I’ve learned over the last six year as a school-based yoga and mindfulness teacher.

If you want to receive the most current tips to your inbox, make sure you subscribe!

Otherwise, I’ll post previous tips for teaching yoga in schools here weekly, so they’re all in one place.

So, without further ado, check out my first tip!

Tip #1: Own Your Why

You want to teach yoga to kids. Great. But why? Why is this your passion? What about teaching yoga to kids in a school setting brings you joy?

I knew I wanted to teach yoga to kids because of my experience teaching special education. Nine years ago,  I was a first year teacher teaching students with emotional disabilities, on the west side of Chicago, and yoga naturally made its way into my classroom. I needed yoga breaks throughout the day, and my students did, too. They responded to structured movement, and craved time to quiet their minds. They learned tools to manage their energy levels, and positively deal with the daily stressors in their lives.

 I realized after doing this on a small scale that there was a need for this in our schools--not just for some kids, but for every kid.  

Once you own your why, and get clear on why you want to teach in schools, you’ll be able to get clear on your vision. You’ll know exactly what age group you want to teach, how often you want to run your class, and what you want your students to know at the end of your time with them. Getting clear here allows you to clearly communicate your vision with school administrators. Your passion, your why, will go a long way towards convincing administrators that they, and their students, NEED you. 

Tip Takeaway: What is your why? Write it down. Own it. Share it with me if you feel so compelled. I’d love to get to know you better and support you along the way.