TITLE:
Perceived Benefits of Incorporating Yoga into Classroom Teaching: Assessment of the Effects of “Yoga Tools for Teachers”
AUTHORS:
David Dapeng Chen, Linda Pauwels
KEYWORDS:
Yoga, Yoga Ed. Tools, Physical Education Teaching
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Physical Education,
Vol.4 No.3,
August
28,
2014
ABSTRACT: With
rising health issues among
children and adolescents in America such as obesity and diabetes, getting
physically active becomes ever more important. Yoga, as an ancient system of
exercise, has a great potential to teach children to be mindful of factors that
impact their health and improve their total well-being. The purpose of this
study was to examine the perceived benefits of incorporating yoga-based
activities into classroom teaching as a result of implementing the Yoga Ed. Tools
for Teachers program. One hundred and three physical education and classroom
teachers were trained by certified Yoga Ed. instructors for two days. These
teachers, in turn, implemented the yoga-based activities for 5 - 15 minutes
daily for a year. At the completion of
this period, questionnaires from 550 parents and 661 students as well as 103
teachers were analyzed. Triangulation of the data provided solid evidence
suggesting that yoga-based activities produced perceived benefits in such areas
as mental well-being, social well-being, physical well-being, and daily behaviors.
The data analyses also revealed barriers teachers encountered during
implementation and what they did to overcome these barriers. The results were
discussed with regard to their future implications for yoga programs
appropriate for schools in the United States (US).