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Kripalu Yoga in the Schools

KYIS Program | KYIS Research | KYIS Teacher Training | KYIS Team

 Yoga has made a huge impact on our school…It is making our school a better place.
—School administrator

Kripalu Yoga in the Schools (KYIS) empowers adolescents to shape their own existence with skillful-living tools such as self-regulation, self-inquiry, and self-care. KYIS targets Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) competencies, including stress management, emotion and behavior regulation, self-appreciation and confidence, and strong relationship skills. Each KYIS session creates a safe environment during the regular school day for teens to cultivate mindfulness, which develops into compassionate awareness of self and others. The KYIS program builds a sense of community and connectedness for students within their school.

KYIS incorporates practices such as breathing exercises, warm-ups, experiential activities, yoga postures, deep relaxation, and meditation techniques to strengthen students’ awareness of the connection between their minds and their physical bodies.

KYIS Benefits

Students who have completed the KYIS program have reported that yoga classes during the school day provides a much-needed break, allowing them to recharge, digest, and integrate their course work. Some additional benefits of the KYIS program gathered from student evaluations of the program include the following:

  • Emotional Benefits
    • Less reactive
    More optimistic

  • Mental Benefits
    • Increased focus and concentration
    Improved quality and duration of sleep
    Reduced stress

  • Social Benefits
    • Dissolved social barriers
    Enhanced peer-to-peer relationships
    De-emphasized belief in stereotypes

  • Scholastic Benefits
    • Improved academic performance
    Improved school attendance and enthusiasm for school participation

  • Physical Benefits
    • Improved athletic performance
    Increased bodily awareness
    Increased flexibility, alignment, and core strength
    Increased confidence in physical abilities
KYIS

I’ve learned to take a deep breath in a stressful moment and not let it affect me as much.
—Female, 10th grade

It made me want to be nicer…to realize that I didn’t need stress in my life…and I became friends with people I wasn’t friends with before…I made up with people and I don’t have any drama…which would stress me out before.
—Female, 12th grade

When I get angry, I don’t lash out on my brother, I do breathing instead…I feel better.
—Male, 10th grade

In my opinion, the structure of the class has progressed absolutely beautifully. From a teaching standpoint, when you actually watch the progression, you see everything, from the foundations of breathing to the influence that the postures have on the physical body. To me, as a teacher, that is one of the most important things these guys can see. They can take it out of the class and apply it to their everyday life: on the field, at a performance, or taking a test…. the ultimate goal is self-sustainability.
—PE Faculty