Graduate Course

Yoga for Self-Regulation Graduate Course

Teaching Self-regulation to Improve Academic Performance and Interpersonal Relations: Yoga in the Classroom

Instructors:

• Gail Bentley Walsh, ERYT -500, Director of Yoga Mountain gailwalsh@verizon.net
• Rodney Fisher M.S.Ed, RYT, CHC, Founding Principal of the Marie Curie High School, Bronx, NY   rfisher@healthandnutritionhome.com

Course Description
Participants will explore how practicing awareness of breath and centering stimulates the potential for self-regulation, enhanced physical and mental strength, health and focus, clarity of intent, and improved inter-personal relations. They will learn how simple yoga postures and movement variations, most of which can be done at the desk, beside the desk, in groups or individually, may be implemented to improve classroom interactions and prepare students to do better on exams. Course requires 10 hours fieldwork which involve implementing the strategies learned in class and collecting data to document specific ways in which the strategies helped to improve student achievement in a particular content area.

Dates and Times
Spring 2010
Tuesdays 4:30 to 7:30
April 13, 20, 27; May 4, 11, 18, 25; June 1, 8

Required text “Yoga in the Classroom,” by Gail Bentley Walsh. NYS Learning Standard HPE.
This course is designed to teach educators how to integrate mindfulness, breathing techniques and yoga stretches/postures/movements into the classroom to support students with physical strength, flexibility, attention and concentration skills. Teachers learn, practice, and test out effective strategies to address anxiety, stress, fatigue and anger in themselves as well as in their students. This course helps teachers build and maintain a positive classroom environment.

No prior yoga experience is required.  This course does not attempt to make actual yoga teachers out of classroom teachers; but gives classroom teachers the tools to EXPLORE YOGA with their students.

This course adheres to the following New York State Department of Education Learning Standards for Health and Physical Education.

Standard 1: Personal Health and Fitness
Students will have the necessary knowledge and skills to maintain physical fitness, participate in physical fitness and maintain personal health.
Standard 2: A Safe and Healthy Environment
Students will acquire the knowledge and ability necessary to create and maintain a safe and healthy environment.

The graduate course is approved by College of Mount Saint Vincent’s, Bronx, NY, for 3 graduate credits and/or in-service credit, and offered through the Rockland Teachers’ Center Institute (RTCI). 845 942-7603 www.rockteach.org

This course is included in the RTCI Certificate Program- Connecting Health with Learning “A Bridge to Wellness and Achievement”. Call Marianne Smith (RTCI) 845 942 7604 for details.

The course will be offered in starting April 13 of 2010. For info contact Gail Walsh gailwalsh@verizon.net, or Rodney Fisher rfisher@healthandnutritionhome.com