A Semester in the Life of the Welby High School Yogis
by Allyson Levine
Filed Under General |
Last semester the yoga program at Welby New Technology High School was transformative and inspiring. The group was eclectic in many ways and included a mixture of all ages (freshman through senior), body types (prepubescent to overweight) and energy levels (talkative showoffs to wallflowers.) As the students removed their shoes each day to find their seats on the mats, they also began to break down preconceived, and often self- imposed, limitations about themselves. The eighteen teens, 7 guys, 11 girls, completed the semester with expanded awareness of mind, body, and possibility.
Each class began as the students transformed a computer-filled classroom into a yoga space. Once everyone was seated we would start with some type of ‘check in’ activity, giving everyone a chance to express their feelings that day. More often than not, the majority of the comments would be negative complaints about how “bored”, “tired”, “angry”, or “stressed” they were. Sometimes they were given a chance to journal quietly about these feelings, or another specific topic. At first there was a hesitancy to write anything down, but once it became clear that journaling was a chance for them to clear their minds and explore the issues at hand, journaling became a requested activity. Class would typically close with another sharing circle. With almost disbelief, students would describe their ‘post practice’ feeling as, “better”, “calm”, “peaceful”, or “happy”.
The majority of most classes included an hour of intense physical practice, followed by at least ten minutes of rest pose. Partner poses were also a part of the curriculum and in some classes they had to work with everyone in the class, not just their friends. At first there was shock at the idea of working with other students, but eventually the complaints faded. Students would always comment on the heat and/or difficulty of the practice, and ask for more rest. As the semester went on however, students were asked to lead the class for a few moments, picking the poses they wanted to practice. Interestingly, they always opted for the challenging poses (splits, arm balances, backbends, and partner poses).
At the end of the semester each student had their favorite poses, and many reported using their yoga practice at home when they needed to calm down or use their time constructively. The last few weeks also became a celebration of how far the students had come individually. When given free time to practice choice poses there was cheering and encouragement for legs to go behind heads, bodies to balance upside down, and for everyone to go deeper than initially thought possible.
Allyson Levine
TWI Instructor
Fax: 303.265.9193