In the Classroom -- Stretch of the imagination

Deirdre Newman

As relaxing music flowed through the classroom, Daniel Theron, 9,

stretched out his body like a cobra.

Theron wasn’t playing charades but was engaged in an ancient practice

that has brought serenity to its students for centuries: yoga.Teacher Jen

Blizzard has been teaching yoga techniques to her hearing-impaired

students at Kaiser Elementary School since the fall. She said the

experience imbues her third- and fourth-graders with a sense of calmness

during times that can be chaotic and stressful.

“What I find first and foremost is their attention and focus are so

much better,” Blizzard said. “If we have a big lesson coming up that I

know will be difficult -- in particular vocabulary is hard for them --

then we’ll do yoga first. They’re calmer, more quiet and focused.”

Blizzard, who embraces yoga herself, said she first conjured up the

idea of yoga for her students during a teaching seminar in which Yoga for

Kids was being demonstrated. The program comes with cards that show the

poses and describe the benefits of each pose.

She tried it one afternoon during a crazy time of day -- right before

her students headed out to catch the bus.

“They didn’t know what it was,” Blizzard said. “I just called it an

activity and told them it was stretching.”

She was impressed with how quickly they took to it.

“I asked them how it felt,” Blizzard said. “They used words like

‘calming’ and ‘focus,’ and I’ve never even used those words before.”

Daniel said he liked the snake pose the best.

“Because you’re stretched out, it feels good,” Daniel said.

Allison Perry, 9, said she enjoys yoga postures for both the mental

and physical benefits.

“I like to do the bird and waterfall [poses] because they’ll make you

strong,” Allison said. “It also makes homework easier.”

Blizzard said she has noticed a steady improvement over the year in

her students’ performance, but is not exactly sure how much of that

progress is attributable to yoga.

* IN THE CLASSROOM is a weekly feature in which Daily Pilot education

writer Deirdre Newman visits a campus in the Newport-Mesa area and writes

about her experience.