Articles and Practices: For Schools

How to Make Kids Yoga Engaging, Playful and Effective

I loved talking with Kathryn Ashworth of Yoga International for this article exploring children’s yoga and offering practical advice and encouragement. Check out the full article below and let me know… Read more »

Six Classroom Management Strategies to Live & Breathe By

A few years ago I decided to take on a position as a full-time Yoga Specialist at a charter school. I was ecstatic about the groundbreaking experience that lay ahead. It… Read more »

Kind Wishes Practice: Compassion for Ourselves & Others

The Kind Wishes activity is a child-friendly version of a lovingkindness practice, a type of meditation that can help develop compassion for others, and crucially for the self. In a… Read more »

Nurturing Gratitude in Young Hearts: Activities and Quotes to Inspire Appreciation

Gratitude is the ability to be thankful and to see and appreciate the good that’s in our lives. As an educator, mother of two children, and program director, gratitude is both… Read more »

Secularity: Guiding Questions for Inclusive Yoga in Schools

As the school year begins and we have the priviledge of working with children from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences, it is essential that we work to create… Read more »

The Peace Corner: An Essential Classroom Resource

The peace corner is a powerful and touching space in the classroom that supports self regulation.  It’s private. It’s structured. It includes choice. It’s an experiment. It’s inviting. It’s a… Read more »

Power Down: Robot Relaxation for Kids

With the increase of ADHD, behavioral disorders, child stress and anxiety, relaxation is becoming more and more important for children of all ages. With so much going on in their… Read more »

Finding Your Anchor: 3 Creative Ways to Explore Mindful Breathing with Your Students

Anchor breath is one of my favorite practices to teach my students. Anchor  breath is the practice of using your breath to help focus your mind on one point. The… Read more »

Managing Frustration – Empower Tools for Children

Life comes with a lot of challenges. Sometimes these challenges can lead to frustration. I find one of my most effective ways to empower the children I work with is to… Read more »

What Can We Do When The World Feels Like It’s Falling Apart: Cultivating Safety in Community

I recently had the pleasure of being a panelist for the East Harlem Scholars Academy charter network community in a discussion about how to cope in the face of the rash of conspicuous police… Read more »

Bringing Best Practices to Yoga in Schools

LFY founder Jennifer Cohen Harper was recently interviewed, along with Traci Childress, by Kelli Love for YogaDork on the process of creating Best Practices for Yoga in Schools, a guidebook… Read more »

So What Is It That First Year Teachers Need To Know?

This year as an adjunct lecturer at Hunter College’s Department of Curriculum and Teaching I’m getting the opportunity to work with a lot of first year teachers and that’s made… Read more »

Beginning with Intention by Kelli Love

As I explore my intentions for the beginning of another school year, I take a look at what I want for my teaching practice and turn to vital topics such… Read more »

Wishing Tree Reflection – Music, Yoga & Mindfulness

Each month Lianne will be writing a reflection on each one of her songs on her soon to be released album, “Breathe In”.  Her first song and reflection is called… Read more »

Cultivating JOY While You Teach

As we embark on the holiday season, I am realizing more and more that joy is an essential quality of life that needs to be present when I teach. Oftentimes,… Read more »

From the Field: The Value in Allowing Kids to Share What They Learn

As a children’s yoga and mindfulness educator I enter each lesson with a plan in mind, but there is also a grand scheme, my ultimate purpose for exploring this work… Read more »

Let It Go: The Importance of Reflective Teaching

Did you ever have a moment teaching where you say something or do something that in retrospect was not supportive to your students? Yes, is the answer, no matter who… Read more »

5 Reasons Teens Love Partner Yoga

In my last fifteen years of teaching yoga in schools, community centers and studios, one of the most effective methods I have found for engaging adolescents is partnership. ! Developmentally, teens… Read more »

Layers of Sound

This mindful listening practice asks your children and students to explore what they can hear around them in an intentional way.  Our hearing is so sensitive.  All of the sounds around… Read more »

Less Reactivity and More Reflection

Simple tools to create more space in student/teacher interactions     Every so often teachers are caught up in interactions with a student or even a whole class where they feel… Read more »

5 Tips to Reduce Anxiety

“Give It A Try”  So simple yet so full of power – yet so scary for some of us.   This morning I was fortunate enough to attend a conference at… Read more »

Mindfulness for Kids – A 5 Second Practice

Well-Wishes Creating a practice takes time for all of us and for children it’s no different.   In our home I like to think of it as building a house.  First… Read more »

The School Yoga Project and Social Emotional Learning: Research

CLICK HERE FOR ENLARGED VERSION OF RESEARCH POSTER   Database Coding and Interpretation:  April 20, 2014, Colin Pearsall Social emotional learning (SEL) theory posits that a child’s capacity for self-understanding… Read more »

Chair Yoga Exercises for the Feet and Toes

by Mayuri Gonzalez, The School Yoga Project Director and Little Flower Yoga Teacher Trainer   Chair yoga is beneficial for teachers to practice during their long stretches of desk-time and… Read more »

Six Simple Ways to Help Your Child Increase Focus Today: Tools from a Yoga and Mindfulness Practice

We often ask our children to pay attention. Pay attention to your school work, pay attention to your father, pay attention to your teacher. But we don’t always have a… Read more »

A Counselor’s Thoughts: Let’s Get Moving

As a former school counselor, LFY teacher Jess Belanger has a unique perspective to share with us. She will be contributing a monthly article to our conversation, offering information to… Read more »

In the Spotlight: The School Yoga Project – Montebello Road Elementary School

The School Yoga Project, a program of Little Flower Yoga, is honored to work with some incredible schools. Each month we will be sharing the story of a school with… Read more »

How to Use Books in Kids Yoga Classes

Reading meaningful and engaging books can really add to a child's experience of yoga and mindfulness. When we chose relevant books for our kids, we provide opportunities to connect more… Read more »

Expanding Energy Meditation

This meditation is a favorite for many children. When you are really focusing in on the practice, it is an exciting way to feel the energy that makes up the entire… Read more »

Heart and Belly Breathing

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