Increasing Engagement and Learning Readiness -

Increasing Engagement and Learning Readiness

Thank you for joining our Increasing Engagement and Learning Readiness: Trauma Informed Mindfulness and Yoga Tools for Classrooms presentation. We’re happy to share these practices, and hope they serve you and your students well.

Explore our School Wellness Program for access to 35 video and audio practices for children and adults.

Mindfulness can help us determine when our energy is too low or high for the situation at hand, and then we can use our practice to help us settle down or build energy.

Sit in a tall and relaxed position…. Take a few breaths and notice how your body feels….

Now think of a number from 1 though 5, with 1 being the lowest energy level (you’re almost asleep!) and 5 the highest (you can barely sit still). Decide what your energy level is right now.

When you’ve thought of a number, place one hand on your chest and one on your belly and take a few breaths…. Scan your body to determine how your body feels at the energy level and say, inside your own mind:

“This is what my body feels like at this energy level….”

Take a breath and say, “This is how my feet and legs feel….”

Take a breath and say, “This is how my chest and arms feel…. ”

Take a breath and say, “This is how my face and head feel….”

Take a breath and say, “This is how my mind feels….”

Take another full breath and say, “This is what my body feels like at this energy level….”

Check in on your energy level through out the day so that you can respond to your needs in the best way possible.

This practice and more like it can be found in our Mindful Chair Yoga Card Deck.

Balloon Breath

Balloon Breath Video
Written Instructions

Explore our School Wellness Program for access to 35 video and audio practices for children and adults.

Sit with your back straight. Place your hands on your knees and breathe in and out through your nose. Imagine that your body is a balloon, and with each breath in you are filling yourself completely with air.

Now as you breathe in, arch your back, lift your chest, let your belly soften and move forward, and look up. This is a modified form of cow pose. As you exhale, pull your belly button in, round your back, and look down toward your belly. This is a modified form of cat pose. Repeat this movement and breath pattern several times, breathing in to fill up your body and breathing out to deflate it.

On your next inhale, open your chest, and this time stretch your arms up and out as well. Stretch all of your fingers and make your body as big as you can. As you breathe out, round your back and wrap your arms around yourself in a hug.

This practice and more like it can be found in our Mindful Chair Yoga Card Deck.

Wide Legged Forward Bend / Chair Yoga Break

Chair Yoga Video
Forward Bend Written Instructions

Explore our School Wellness Program for access to 35 video and audio practices for children and adults.

Sit towards the front of a chair with your feet on the floor and your spine tall.

Separate your feet wide and turn your toes out slightly. Make sure your chair is firmly on the floor.

Take a full breath in. As you exhale, bend forward at your hips bringing your hands to rest on your knees.

If it feels comfortable you can slide your hands down toward the floor and let your head dangle.

For stability press the bottoms of your feet into the ground, and feel your hips connected to the chair.

Hold for a few breaths. If it feels good, imagine letting your body release a little bit more each time you breathe out.

When you’re ready to sit up, pull your belly button in a bit and slowly come back up to sitting.

You can use this practice any time you’ve been sitting for a while, and feel like your brain and body could use a break.

This practice and more like it can be found in our Mindful Chair Yoga Card Deck.

Finger Affirmations

Finger Affirmation Video
Written Instructions

Explore our School Wellness Program for access to 35 video and audio practices for children and adults.

Combine the movement of your hands with a powerful statement or affirmation towards yourself. Begin by connecting your thumb to your pointer finger for “I,” your thumb and middle finger for “am,” your thumb and ring finger for “so,” and thumb and pinkie for “strong.”

Use enough pressure to feel the connection your fingers are making. Begin slowly, saying “i am so strong” using both hands simultaneously, and as you feel more comfortable you can go a bit faster. Experiment with what it feels like to say the statement out loud, verses saying it silently to yourself. Continue for as long as you would like, about 30 seconds is great to start, and when you are finished take a few slow breaths before you go on with your day.

You can always try out other statements as well, such as “I’m Full of Love”, “I Am In Charge”, “I Can Do This” or anything else you think you need to hear.

This practice and more like it can be found in our Yoga and Mindfulness Practices for Children Card Deck.

Child's Pose in a Chair

Video Practice
Written Instructions

Explore our School Wellness Program for access to 35 video and audio practices for children and adults.

Child’s pose can be a wonderful place to rest when you need a break, or anytime things are hectic or moving too fast. This is a version that you can practice in a chair, so you can do it anytime or anywhere.

Start by sitting in your chair and notice how you are feeling in this moment. Take a few slow breaths. Can you feel the sensation of your breath in your belly? Can you feel it in your feet on the floor?

Hinge forward at your hips and bring your elbows to rest on your knees or your desk. Make a shelf for your head by bringing the pinky side edges of both of your hands to touch. Let your forehead rest on your hands. See if you can let the weight of your head be totally supported by your hands. If it feels good, close your eyes.

Take several breaths through your nose, and let your exhalations be long and smooth, resting for as long as you’d like.

When you are ready to finish, slowly lift your head and open your eyes noticing any changes in your body, energy level or mind.

This practice and more like it can be found in our Mindful Chair Yoga Card Deck.

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Increasing Engagement and Learning Readiness

Energy Level Check In + Crazy 8's

Balloon Breath

Wide Legged Forward Bend / Chair Yoga Break

Finger Affirmations

Child's Pose in a Chair