Yoga for the Classroom

As mentioned in the Welcome Back meeting, below are the details for the exciting Yoga in the Classroom workshop.  Be sure to RSVP quickly as it will be a popular event!

Yoga for the Classroom

Sponsored by the Drexel Student Council for Exceptional Children  (DSCEC) (School of Education, Drexel University)

WHEN:    Saturday, November 19th from 12:30-4:30

WHERE:  James E. Marks Intercultural Center; Drexel University; 33rd and Chestnut Street

COST:   $10 DSCEC Members
$15 Drexel Students/Staff/Faculty
$20 Non-Drexel Attendees

Limited Space: Please register ASAP:  drexelstudentcec@gmail.com or via facebook

About the Yoga for the Classroom Workshop

How can a teacher manage the behavioral, psychological, and emotional disturbances of the children in his/her class while being overwhelmed by limited funds and support to help promote an environment of learning and growth? When kids are anxious, frustrated, distracted, and stressed by things outside of the classroom, it is difficult for them to learn. In our current society, teachers work in highly constrained environments with incredibly limited resources. By using Yoga for the Classroom, teachers can move beyond the constraints of the outside world, and inspire change from the inside to the children in their classes through low-cost and effective means.

This workshop will enable classroom teachers (both general and special education)to utilize yoga and meditation to help students focus and de-stress.Teachers will learn about different poses, breathing techniques, and meditation exercises and how to implement them in the classroom environment. Through the techniques taught in this workshop, teachers will be able to provide students with healthy ways in which to express and balance their emotions, encourage community and connectedness within the classroom, improve social and emotional learning, and enhance their own role as engaged educators. This workshop can especially help kids afflicted with emotional disorders and behavioral disorders such as ADHD by promoting healthy brain development. Research indicates that practices such as Yoga that focus on developing the executive center can be beneficial to children who are inhibited in their capacity to learn a classroom setting. Teachers will also learn self-care and self-management techniques to help them become more effective educators.

About the Facilitator: Khushi Malhotra has worked with a broad range of vulnerable populations teaching Yoga and Meditation, including the homeless, substance abusers, at-risk kids, the chronically ill, and the prison population through her foundation  Finding Freedom Within (www.findingfreedomwithin.org). She has implemented these techniques in classroom settings throughout schools in Philadelphia (including Head Start classrooms), with specific attention to children and youth who have undergone trauma and co-occuring developmental disorders. She currently provides services at the Penn  Center for Youth and Trauma, where she integrates the practices of Yoga  and Meditation with other evidenced-based modalities such as trauma focused CBT and CFTSI (Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention).  Khushi is a strong believer in self-care, and is committed to helping  alleviate the burden of those that serve these vulnerable populations.  She is currently in her final year of her Masters in Social Work and Masters in Public Health at Temple University.