From the Classroom to College: Spreading Mindfulness in Arizona

Let’s hear from Lesley Ford, a former educator with over 20 years of experience, including serving as a classroom teacher, mentor teacher, reading interventionist/specialist, instructional coach, educational consultant, and assistant principal. Lesley is now a Clinical Assistant Professor at Arizona State University.

Lesley’s mission is to equip educators with research-based, practical strategies to help every student thrive —especially multilingual, culturally diverse learners. She is driven by the belief that every child deserves an excellent teacher, and every teacher deserves strong support.

After attending the “Yoga and Mindfulness in the Classroom” training at The Phoenix Children’s Hospital in 2018, I took away a lot of useful and applicable information that I put into practice right away with my K-12 students. Fast forward, I have now been a clinical professor at Arizona State University for almost 3 years and have implemented Yoga 4 the Classroom into my instruction for the pre-service teachers I now serve. I explain to my students how important it is to teach children how to self-regulate and be mindful of their bodies and feelings. We know feelings are real, however, they may not be true! I begin my classes with a “Let’s Breathe” activity or an “At Your Desk” or “Stand Strong” activity. I display one of the Y4C Activity Cards and proceed to model the mindful moment of the day. Most of my college students appreciated the time to reflect, breathe, and/or focus and prepare for learning. Yoga 4 Classrooms is a resource that I definitely promote and encourage my students to implement with their future students. I also use my focus chime in class (one of my favorites). Many of my students inquire about it.

My advice to novice teachers who would like to implement Y4C would be to practice it in your own life, too. Be the example and model you want to see in your students! I believe yoga, intentional breathing, and mindfulness are practices that help us become more in tune with our bodies and emotions. They help us stay grounded and cultivate inner strength— a strength that fosters resilience and consistency, both of which are essential to thriving as an educator. I also believe it is important to focus on 1-2 activities at a time, to allow students to fully engage and practice over and over. I started with the “Let’s Breathe” activities (ie., Peace breath, Countdown to Calm), as I felt they were less intimidating for students and can be done pretty quickly. Students may feel awkward at first, but with consistency and a positive attitude, these practices will become the norm in your classroom. I found that starting and ending the day with mindfulness was very beneficial.

As teachers, we have to understand how crucial it is to teach children that they can control and manage their emotions, behaviors, and attention by practicing mindfulness. This enables them to improve their learning, navigate social environments, and develop healthy relationships as they grow into adults. I absolutely love Yoga 4 Classrooms!

It brings us great joy to hear about Yoga 4 Classrooms making a difference, beginning with pre-service teachers. Thank you, Lesley, for the many ways you positively impact the future of education! We would love to hear how you are using Yoga 4 Classrooms, too. Contact us and share your story.