Yoga Journal Misses the Point of Yoga in the Classroom?

Teaching yoga in schools is a way for yoga teachers to expand their reach—and their income.

The above statement from Yoga in Schools, a Yoga Journal business article, has kept me up at night.

The gist of this article is that teaching yoga in schools is a great way to make quick cash. Get a little training and then get paid well (the article sites examples of $150, and $200 per class) through a readymade, captive audience.

Really? Is this why we bring yoga into schools?

In addition, it seems out of date, citing only three organizations working to bring yoga to school children. If YJ truly had the pulse of the kids’ yoga community they’d be aware of such remarkable organizations such as Shanti Generation, Yoga4Classrooms from Childlight Yoga, BentonLearning, the Newark Yoga Movement, Headstand (in their own backyard), YogaCalm, Yoginos, Move With Me Action Adventures and Yoga Recess—all actively bringing the benefits of yoga to children.

Yes, it is a “business” article and as such provides some ideas for how to market yoga to school teachers and administrators including starting through volunteering. As well, it warns of the possible controversy, that of yoga as a religion, which one can expect to encounter and how to avoid it. But there is so much more to teaching yoga to children, never mind the complexities of working within the school system.

Yoga Journal: step up to the plate and offer more support to the kids and teens yoga movement. I, myself, and others in this field have continually submitted proposals to this end which have all fallen on deaf ears.  We’re more than happy to do all the research and writing in order to provide quality information in a timely manner. I’d love to see a regular column dedicated to yoga for kids and teens, or even a rising generation YJ special edition.

Well, I’ll get off my soap box and get back to trying to provide a valuable resource for parents, teachers, caregivers and yoga instructors so that they can touch the lives of children and teens through the beauty and power of yoga.