Media Room
Media Release Index:
April 10, 2008 - Classroom Yoga Action Research Showing Promise
March 21, 2008 - Yoga Calm for Children Wins Mom's Choice Silver Award
March 5, 2008 - Yoga Calm for Children Named ForeWord Book Award Finalist
Today’s Children – Over-scheduled, Over-stimulated and Over-stressed
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 10, 2008
| Media Contact: | Emily R. Lowther Media Relations Assistant 612-668-0237 emily.lowther@mpls.k12.mn.us |
Classroom Yoga Action Research Showing Promise
MINNEAPOLIS – For Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) school social worker Kathy Flaminio, yoga is more than an extracurricular activity. The certified yoga instructor and her co-worker, MPS occupational therapist and fellow yoga instructor Julie Hurtubise, are over halfway through a 12-month action research project designed to measure the benefits of integrating yoga techniques into all types of classrooms.
Flaminio and Hurtubise, both on sabbatical for the 2007-2008 school year, implemented their pilot program in September of 2007 at Jefferson Elementary School using the Yoga Calm curriculum, which was created by Portland, Ore., youth and yoga experts Jim and Lynea Gillen. Yoga Calm uses mindfulness, centering and breathing techniques to help students calm their bodies in the classroom.
“It’s about movement, creating stillness, getting grounded and working on the nervous system to get kids ready to learn,” said Flaminio.
In addition to working with classes of students and teachers at Jefferson on a weekly basis and offering staff development seminars to 500 Minneapolis and St. Paul teachers, Flaminio and Hurtubise have also provided two-day curriculum training sessions for 50 MPS teachers interested in integrating yoga into their classrooms. Of these, about 25 are participating in classroom-based action research designed to measure the effects of implementing the Yoga Calm curriculum.
The official findings of the action research project will not be available until after data from the study, which concludes at the end of the year, have been analyzed. Until then, Flaminio, Hurtubise and their Yoga Calm teacher corps are relying on their observations to measure student behavior change.
By integrating Yoga Calm into the practice of teaching in a variety of classrooms, including those geared toward regular education, special education and Developmental Cognitive Delay (DCD) education, teachers are noting improvements in attention span, comprehension and respectfulness. For students in a fourth-grade classroom, Yoga Calm has resulted in “a calmer class,” “more focus,” “feeling stronger,” and “more energy for those students who slouch.”
Susan Saly, a fourth-grade teacher at Jefferson, reported that her students are better able to sit, listen, stay on task and deal with stress when they spend up to 15 minutes a day doing breathing, stretching, balance and positive self-talk exercises. Saly said, “Yoga Calm has been a positive force in helping the students with their physical well-being and health. Yoga Calm has also been helpful in establishing a positive classroom climate. Our behavior referrals have decreased from 14 per month to three per month. Students want to be in the classroom.”
Furthermore, teachers themselves are feeling the positive effects of classroom-based yoga practices.
“There are not a lot of curriculums in which teachers are impacted as much as students,” Flaminio noted.
With Yoga Calm, however, teachers leading purposeful movement also participate in it and gain the same benefits, which include increased concentration and fitness skills and a greater sense of community. For Saly, incorporating yoga into the classroom is truly a group endeavor. Saly said, “The students and I now begin each morning with a simple yoga flow to get us ready for our classroom meeting and for the day.”
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Media Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE OR ANYTIME
| Contact: | Kate Bandos KSB Promotions 800-304-3269 kate@ksbpromotions.com |
March 21, 2008
Yoga Calm for Children Wins Mom's Choice Silver Award
The book that has been called "beautiful," "invaluable" and "indispensable" can claim another superlative: "award-winning."
Lynea and Jim Gillen's Yoga Calm for Children: Educating Heart, Mind, and Body was recently honored with a Mom's Choice Award. It was given Silver in the Educational Products and Software category.
Published in Fall 2007, Yoga Calm for Children offers an innovative method for teaching kids and teens the keys to managing stress, building social skills and creating lifelong fitness habits. It is built around more than 60 activities that include yoga-based movement, nervous system regulation, social/emotional skills-building, relaxation and storytelling. Specially designed for use in schools (K-12) and therapeutic settings, Yoga Calm’s principle-based approach makes it effective in any environment and with a broad range of ages, populations and abilities, including those with ADD/ADHD.
As the Gillens write, "Over the years, we ourselves have observed amazing results stemming from Yoga Calm practice. We have seen seriously wounded children begin to believe in themselves again. They stand taller, trust their inner instincts and express their thoughts and emotions with confidence because they have been trained to understand their hearts, minds and bodies. The ongoing practice has a profound impact on their daily lives."
Each year, the Mom’s Choice Awards (MCA) recognizes authors, inventors, companies, parents and others for their efforts in creating quality family-friendly media, products and services. The MCA seal helps families and educators navigate the vast array of products and services and make informed decisions.
MCA judges include education, media and other experts as well as parents, children, librarians, performing artists, producers, medical and business professionals, authors and others. All are bound by a strict code of ethics which ensures expert and objective analysis free from manufacturer influence. The evaluation process uses a propriety methodology in which entries are scored on a number of elements including production quality, design, educational value, entertainment value, originality, appeal and cost.
"It is always our pleasure to recognize outstanding products, and this year was no exception," says Tara Paterson, founder of the awards program.
Media Release
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| Contact: | Kate Bandos KSB Promotions 800-304-3269 kate@ksbpromotions.com |
March 5, 2008
Yoga Calm for Children Named ForeWord Book Award Finalist
Yoga Calm for Children has been named a finalist in the Education and Health categories for the 10th annual ForeWord Book of the Year Award.
Nearly 1,600 books were submitted from 350 publishers. These books represent some of the best work coming from today's independent press community.
ForeWord is a bi-monthly trade publication that reviews new titles from independent presses and affects the choices of booksellers and librarians across the country who tell millions what to read.
Its Book of the Year Award winners will be determined by a panel of librarians and booksellers selected from the magazine's readership.
Yoga Calm for Children is a clear guide for teaching kids and teens the keys to managing stress, building social skills and creating lifelong fitness habits. Detailed, yet easy to use, the lavishly illustrated book includes more than 60 activities, as well as lesson plans, alignment and safety principles, "emotional first aid" tips and an extensive and quick-reference bibliography. It also shows how to integrate Yoga Calm with regular classwork, modify it for specific classroom situations, and offers examples from the authors' direct experience to illustrate and inspire.
According to school psychologist Dr. Frances Douglass, "This is an invaluable handbook that provides detailed and thoughtful information....It is a beautiful expression of how, just by shifting the way we are with children, we can affect their lives."
Gold, Silver and Bronze winners, as well as Editor's Choice Prizes for Fiction and Nonfiction, will be announced on May 29 at BookExpo America in Los Angeles. The winners of the two Editor's Choice Prizes will be awarded $1,500 each. The ceremony is open to all BEA attendees.
Media Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE OR ANYTIME
| Contact: | Kate Bandos KSB Promotions 800-304-3269 kate@ksbpromotions.com |
Today’s Children – Over-scheduled, Over-stimulated and Over-stressed
Children today are over-stimulated, over-scheduled, and overwhelmed. This naturally leads to a lot of stress. Jim and Lynea Gillen, through their combined years of teaching yoga and working with children in schools, have seen the results of this stress.Yoga Calm for Children helps them :
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Our fast-moving society created this environment — now we need to offer our youth some relief. While searching for a solution, the Gillen’s thoroughly researched the subject, then built a program they call "Yoga Calm®"that is effective in helping kids find new physical, mental and emotional strength — and subsequently provides new-found control in their lives.
The Gillen’s innovative workshops, and now their new book, Yoga Calm for Children (Three Pebble Press, $29.95 pb, www.yogacalm.org), teach children (from preschoolers to teenagers) the keys to restoring balance — both physical and mental, building social skills and creating life-long fitness habits.
Yoga Calm for Children can be used as a handbook for all adults who touch children’s lives, such as teachers, counselors, occupational therapists, parents and caring adults. The book features more than 60 easy-to-understand activities to help teach children how to develop self-control, concentration, and imagination, as well as the physical fitness that is so often missing in their stressed-out lives.
Yoga Calm has also been called "emotional first aid" for effectively dealing with children’s strong feelings that can arise in the classroom and other settings. The Gillens offer time-tested advice and endearing stories of the resiliency, depth and innocence of children in their richly illustrated, beautifully photographed book of wisdom.Now more parents and educators throughout the United States can discover the benefits of the Yoga Calm techniques and put them to use in educational, counseling, and home settings as a way to nurture, support and educate the whole child. Taking anywhere from just ten minutes a day, the yoga exercises address the needs of today’s children to find an antidote to everyday stress.
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To request a review copy of Yoga Calm, to schedule an interview with either or both of the Gillens, or for any additional information, contact Kate Bandos, KSB Promotions, kate@ksbpromotions.com or 800-304-3269. Learn more at www.yogacalm.org. Books are available at your favorite bookstore or online.