Seated Boat Pose: An Engaging Strategy to Support Good Posture and Alertness in the Classroom

Are you students slouching, slumped back in their chairs of lying over their desks? If so, it’s a sign they may be uncomfortable, lethargic and potentially disengaged from learning. A strong core and good posture is a prerequisite for maintaining alertness, focus, attention and overall engagement in the classroom. But that’s not all!  Good posture can even help with the act of writing. That’s why handwriting programs such as Handwriting Without Tears, developed by Occupational Therapists, include a strong focus on posture preparation.

Of course, there’s not a lot of time to spare in the class day. So, how can we support good posture in just a minute or two? Seated Boat Pose! It’s one of the 67 main activities in the Yoga 4 Classrooms program and activity cards, and is a fun favorite of students. The bonus – it’s also a community builder and leads to a lot of smiles!

Watch now as Lisa Flynn, founder of Yoga 4 Classrooms shares about and leads Seated Boat Pose. Then, try it with your students and notice the difference in their posture!

Yoga 4 Classrooms® mission is to empower youth with the skills they need to be healthy, happy and resilient at school, at home and throughout their lives. We provide professional development trainings and research and trauma-informed curricula, resources and consulting to educators, counselors, schools and related organizations who support the social, emotional, physical and cognitive wellbeing of schoolchildren. Our sustainable program and classroom essentials have been been successfully used in thousands of classrooms and schools worldwide resulting in a measurable impact on social and emotional learning, student success and overall climate.

Yoga 4 Classrooms® offers a simple 3-Step Implementation Success Path for Individual Educators or entire Schools or School Districts:

1. Professional development training for educators and school professionals: Self-Paced, Live Remote Online, In-Person, or as School In-service Professional Development
2. Classroom essentials to support implementation including discounted pricing for schools and non-profit organizations that support schools, students, educators and other school-based professionals
3. Optional Advanced School IMPLEMENT Leadership training for school professionals and teams who wish to lead school-wide implementation from the inside, the most sustainable and effective implementation.

Let’s get started.