Document text
0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Ashland water tops regional taste test ... Walker team claims regional crown ... Film fest unveils this year's lineup ... Ashland water tops regional taste test ... Walker team claims regional crown ... Film fest unveils this year's lineup ... EDUCATION Yoga comes to Bellview AHS students bring YoMIND lessons to elementary P.E. classes Comment By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Follow @@Joe_Zavala99 DailyTidings.com By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Follow @@Joe_Zavala99 Posted Mar. 11, 2016 at 8:24 PM By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Follow @@Joe_Zavala99 Posted Mar. 11, 2016 at 8:24 PM » Social News The yoga students plank in tandem. They bend down to touch their toes, stretch out their arms over their heads and violently throw them down between their legs, swinging imaginary axes. They slowly raise their arms from their sides to a clap above their heads, like a no-legs jumping jack. Later, they sit on green mats across from a partner, feet touching, hands clasped, and attempt to split the halo of their arms with conjoined feet. If done correctly, the shape from above looks like a diamond split by parallel arms. Other than the high-pitched giggles and hum of perpetual conversation, Thursday’s morning class looked and sounded very much like any other yoga class — except that the teachers were Ashland High School students and the students were Bellview Elementary fifth-graders. “It was really cool and I’m considering doing it at home, maybe,” said fifth-grader Lily Loos. “I don’t have a yoga mat, of course. It was fun. I really liked it. It was relaxing. You have a lot of energy at the beginning, and then at the end you feel like you just have no energy and you feel calm with the earth.” The class, which took the place of physical education at Bellview on Tuesday and Thursday, is the brainchild of local yoga instructor Libby Edson, whose YoMIND program “fuses yoga, mindfulness and neuroscience education” into something she believes can be easily incorporated into a classroom environment. She’s already done that at Ashland High, where the AHS Yoga and Wellness Program she helped create has become a popular alternative to more traditional P.E. Now, she’s looking to expand YoMIND’s outreach to the local elementary schools, with Bellview’s students serving as willing guinea pigs. Edson trained eight AHS students to run the classes all day — from 10:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. – and on Thursday she was on hand to film, observe and jump in, if needed. Every class from kindergarten through fifth grade participated. During the first class, each of the four AHS instructors introduced some two dozen fourth-graders to a different exercise — the axe-swinging move came first. After a brief demonstration, the fourth-graders were invited to give it a shot, which they did with gusto. Another exercise required the students, working together two or more to a team, to keep a small piece of laced fabric from touching the ground using only their breath. “So this is the equivalent of a shorter exhale in a yoga practice, extending the exhale for relaxation,” Edson said. “So while they’re being really rowdy and playful right now, what these high school students are really doing is helping calm the kids’ nervous system.” Edson’s student-teachers participate in the exercise, though fabric still ends up on the gym floor, despite the fourth-graders’ best efforts — which often include diving to the floor, mouth blowing upward in desperation. “Libby asked us to do it and we were excited, but we didn’t really know what to expect,” said AHS senior Allayana Darrow, one of the instructors. “Kids are so willing to try new things and to figure out how to relax if someone just guides them through it. So we get a bunch of rambunctious kids, they’re all rowdy. But then we split them up into groups and we show them how to breathe, how to focus, how to just relax. And they were so into it. They loved what they were doing.” Darrow, who’s planning on studying journalism at Arizona State University, said she was able to try a partner pose with one of her Bellview students and was surprised at how well it went. “It was really kind of awkward, but in a fun way,” she said. Struggling to complete one of those tandem plank bridges during the fifth-grade class, two boys finally got it right and celebrated accordingly. One of them shouted, “We did it,” then ran a victory lap around the gym with his arms in the air, as if he’d just won an Olympic gold medal in the 100-yard dash. “It might not catch on for most of them,” said AHS freshman Kaj Pandey, another student instructor, “but (for) some of them I may be helping to plant a seed and I’d be really thankful for just being able to spread that to other people because I think it’s a really positive and healthy thing that people can choose to incorporate in their lives. My hope is that I plant the seeds in some people and maybe some of them carry it on and it becomes a really positive thing in their lives.” Later, during the fourth-grade class, each child is instructed to lay on their back, relax every part of their body and focus on a spot on the ceiling. An electronic bell reverberates from a speaker in the middle of the gym. Other than that, the room is deathly quiet. Pin-drop quiet. More quiet than a large group of fourth graders could possibly be in almost any other setting. “It’s kind of mind-blowing sometimes,” Pandey said. “But I think sometimes we take them for granted and we expect less than they’re capable of.” Joe Zavala is a reporter for the Ashland Daily Tidings. Reach him at 541-821-0829 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @Joe_Zavala99. By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Follow @@Joe_Zavala99 DailyTidings.com By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Follow @@Joe_Zavala99 Posted Mar. 11, 2016 at 8:24 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... Business Name address Location, ST | website.com Find Southern Oregon Attractions Bars Restaurants Beauty Salons Entertainment Doctors Medical Specialists Contractors Education Lawn Services Lawyers Shopping Travel Tanning Used Cars Wedding Services ▼ Add your business here + Events Calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2016 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. DailyTidings.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501