Oftentimes teachers complain of having to compete with the hurlyburly of iPod's, cell phones, video games and the internet for the attention of their young students. One wonders what effect this hyper-accelerated digital media universe has on those delicate nervous systems. Even to us grown-ups the daily multi-tasking is enough to induce cognitive vertigo. What better way to lengthen attention spans and promote general well-being in children than yoga? In 2002, Tara Guber, a former schoolteacher and the wife of Hollywood super-producer Peter Guber, asked an Aspen, Colorado public elementary school if she could implement her "Yoga Ed" program into their curriculum. Christian fundamentalists had a serious problem with this clear violation of church-state separation. The solution? Take out the mention of Hindu deities and the Sanskrit, which was already above the heads of the kids anyway. It worked.

"I stripped every piece of anything that anyone could vaguely construe as spiritual or religious out of the program," Guber told MSNBC. And by the beginning of 2007, over 100 schools in 26 states adopted Guber's 36-week program for public schools. And it's spreading. At elementary schools in places like Chamberlain, S.D and Seattle, WA, variations of the K-8 yoga curriculum are on the rise. And in San Francisco, in a school in the heart of a housing project, yoga programs are flourishing. And in the fast-moving Baltimore in 2006, the non-profit Baltimore Yoga for Youth was founded by Anjali Sunita "in order to introduce a series of Hatha yoga workshops for inner city school students and teachers as tools for developing inner calmness, mental clarity, and much needed stress relief." Glory be!

The Mona Shores Public Schools in Michigan have also incorporated yoga into the K-8 special education. From the Muskegon Journal:

"Many of the students -- who range in abilities from cognitively, physically and emotionally impaired -- live with limitations such as poor muscle tone, rigidity in posture or poor balance.

"But after using yoga movements, they have experienced a greater range of motion, increased physical strength and better general mobility, according to students, their parents and teachers.

"Teachers also found the usually 'chatty' students became 'centered' and focused during the hour-long exercises. They developed social skills by leading class and helping their peers with moves."

But my favorite story of a teacher using yoga methods in a K-8 school setting is Thoughts on Yoga From A Substitute Teacher in the Chicago Public Schools by Anna Poplawska. Anyone wondering about the motives of yoga enthusiasts in elementary schools should check that out.