Top Tips For Teaching Yoga In Schools - Tip #48: Make Time For Sharing
Hi there,
I took a little “summer vacation” from the blog, but now that the school year is almost upon us, I’ll be back to bogging (somewhat) regularly here!
Since it’s back to school time, I wanted to share this tip so it’s fresh in your mind when you’re engaging with your students from day 1. Yes, movement is important in the work that we do, but so is making time for students to share.
Enjoy this tip, and please comment or share if you find it helpful.
Tip #48: Make Time for Sharing
As a new school year is upon us (or almost upon us), I want to urge you to make time for sharing in your classes.
Getting kids moving and into their bodies is fantastic, but it’s also important to build in time each days for kids to reflect on how they’re feeling, and what they need.
You can do this in a few ways:
Have a whiparound question for kids to answer when they first arrive to your class that allows them to reflect on how they’re feeling in a fun way. For example, you could ask them to share what flavor of ice cream they’d be based on their current emotions and why, or what color / animal / spice they’d be. Get creative here, and have fun! The point is to provide a space for your students to name and connect to their emotions and feelings.
2. Sharing Circles - I’ve been using this format with my classes a lot lately, and it’s allowed students to be brave, open up, and most importantly, listen. The whole point of a sharing circle is just that: to provide a space for the person sharing to be listened to, without anyone responding. I provide a question or prompt for all students to respond to. It can be as simple as, “How are you feeling right now?” or more focused such as, “What is one goal you have for yourself in 2021? Why?” After a student shares, the facilitator (you) thank them for sharing and allow the next person to share. If you’re interested in using this strategy in your classroom, check out the link below to review the norms / agreements I use with my students. Note that it’s important to review the norms and agreements each and every time and ask students to “Agree” by unmuting themselves or typing “I agree” in the chat, to ensure a truly brave space for all.
I hope you find these strategies helpful, and remember, they will only enhance the movement based activities you’re sharing with your students.
Tip Takeaway: Make time for students to connect to their emotions and share in class. This will help build key body / mind awareness skills in students which are integral to a yoga practice, and will help students engage with yoga as a personal practice in a more meaningful way. Sharing circles and quick whiparound warm ups are a great way to easily incorporate sharing into your class sessions.