Yoga Ed. trainer awarded $150,000 grant to bring yoga to Pittsburgh public schools

The nonprofit organization Yoga In Schools (YIS), founded by Yoga Ed. trainer Joanne Spence, has received a $150,000 grant from the Heinz Endowment to introduce Yoga Ed. to the entire Pittsburgh School District, which includes 75 schools, 150 physical education teachers, and 2,400 classroom teachers. Additional foundations are contributing to the initiative, and Joanne projects that total donations to this project will exceed half a million dollars.

A certified trainer for Yoga Ed., Joanne completed her training in June 2005 and that fall launched a 16-week pilot program at three inner-city Pittsburgh schools. Since then, YIS staff and volunteers have used the Yoga Ed. Curriculum to bring yoga to some 600 children and 100 teachers in the Pittsburgh area. A follow-up study conducted by YIS showed that 73 percent of teachers reported using yoga techniques, particularly breathing and body awareness exercises, in the classroom and for self-care “most or all of the time.”

“This is one of the best programs I have seen brought into our most underserved schools,” one teacher wrote. “It is important for the program to last and grow over time. Children participating in such a program over a period of three or more years would learn habits that would last a lifetime. It is so important for such programs not just to start and stop, but actually to stay and last so they can become part of the fabric of our schools.”

The Rachel Greene Memorial Fund, administered by KYTA, awards scholarships and stipends to train and support members who wish to bring yoga into Title I elementary schools, using programs such as Yoga Ed. This year three Yoga Ed. trainings will be offered at Kripalu: Yoga Ed. High School Instruction Certification, April 6 to 11; Yoga Ed K-8 Instructor Training, July 25 to August 1; Yoga Ed. Pre-K Instructor Training, October 13 to 17. This year Yoga Ed. also debuts its Tools for At-Risk Youth Training and Tools for Learning Differences Training, and offers free instructor trainings in Los Angeles.

For more information about Yoga Ed., visit www.yogaed.com. For more information about the Rachel Greene Memorial Fund, click here.