Mindfulness Through Movement

My personal experience after teaching children for six years is that a solid yoga and mindfulness practice benefits the whole child, maximizing the child’s development of social, emotional and cognitive skills, particularly for children who live daily with stress and the challenges of poverty.

The mindfulness program...is life-changing. When I go by and see 25-28 ‘formerly squirming’ 3rd and 4th graders actively engage their practice, it gives me hope for the future.

The program provided a channel for inner city kids to learn and practice self-control, get to know their bodies, their responses and other ways of handling conflict situations.

Kids that are really impulsive can learn to develop that pause between stimulus and reaction. Then you have the skills to realize when you’re angry, when you feel stress arising. And you have the skills to de-escalate yourself.

Our urban youth are facing uncertainty and chaos in so many aspects of their lives. If we can give them the tools to calm their minds and guide them in learning to control their breath just maybe we can break this cycle of poor choices. For the past six years I have been teaching yoga and mindfulness in urban schools and have witnessed first-hand the transformation that these practices bring to the children.

When I take long, deep breaths, I feel calm and relaxed like everything is right in the world. It really calms me down. And when I take short, quick breaths, I don’t feel calm at all, in fact, I start to get anxious, and it reminds me of when I’m going to take a test or something. So, I guess what I am trying to say is that how I breathe is an indication of what is going on inside of my body. If I change my breath, I can change how I feel.

MTM is such a wonderful tool for all the children in our inner city schools and beyond! Your dedication in teaching such a practice, helps to foster in each and every child a more peaceful sense of being and empowerment. Your work is especially important to these children who are among our most vulnerable!

We LOVE the program so much! My students look forward to it each week… [S]tudents have better coping skills, can breathe through their stress/discomforts. It has been so helpful!

Students are able to verbally express how they feel when problems occur. Also, when students feel stress they know certain ways to calm them down…I loved the fact that students were able to strengthen their minds, bodies and souls.

Thank you for believing in us and picking our school and never quitting on us.

Our classroom made stress balls and sold them at our Open House. We decided to donate all of the money we made to a good cause. Our classroom chose your program to donate to as we practice mindfulness and yoga on a daily basis. It is our hope that with this donation you can provide mindfulness programs to kids who don't have access to it.

I think the women who run the program do an amazing job with students who aren’t easy to work with. Their patience and dedication goes above and beyond.

We are happy that you help us exercise and make us feel fresh inside.

Students have learned how to use the skills from yoga in their daily life like breathing exercises and ways to calm themselves when dealing with situations…Loved the program. They learned to listen and work with others, learned about life, and ways to be happier and healthier.

Thank you for helping me to calm down and stay relaxed.

The Mindfulness Through Movement program allowed students to forget about the responsibilities that may cause them stress and anxiety, both inside and outside of school, and encourage them to focus on their own mental and physical health. Once the students got into the mindset and focused on the class, you could immediately see the tension leave their body. I firmly believe that this program was an incredible experience for the students. The students concluded the class with a healthier approach to relieve stress and anxiety in the future.

Students...seemed to learn respect of personal space.

Thank you for helping children calm down their problems.

When I do my mindfulness breathing It’s like my heart gets bigger and my brain get stronger.

Mindfulness Through Movement has become a favorite part of the week for our students. They look forward to it every Wednesday, and always ask if Ms. Liz can come every day! Not only does MTM get the students moving, it also teaches them social and emotional skills. One student even told me when she gets anxious in class she practices the breathing exercises that Ms. Liz taught her. MTM gives our students a time to 'hit pause' and grow physically and emotionally each week.

Teaching is extremely difficult right now" [2022]. "Kids are going though so much; exactly why mindfulness is so important.