Guest Blog—Yogathon to Benefit Kids

By Lori Flynn

Full Circle Yoga

This Saturday marks the return of the Wellness Initiative’s Yogathon in Boulder, Colo.  


Participants in the event pledge to complete 108 Sun Salutations—either as individuals or as part of a team—to raise money and awareness for the organization's commitment to providing yoga, meditation and mindfulness programs to youth in low income school systems.

Why the need for yoga in schools?  Yoga has been recognized for providing many benefits beyond the obvious stretching and flexibility so commonly associated with it. 


Yoga is often credited with providing improved memory function and learning efficiency, increased well-being and self acceptance and increased social skills, concentration and attention.  

A recent study conducted by Purdue and Indiana Universities in conjunction with Yoga For Kids in Central New York concluded that, “YogaKids Tools for Schools has a significant positive effect on the academic achievement, general health, personal attributes and relationships of students in Kindergarten through 5th grade.”  


The kids liked it too, as evidenced in their comments following the study:

I think behavior in the class has changed. It has improved after yoga because we are calm, relaxed and ready to learn.

When I get stressed out, I right away find a quiet spot and listen to music and then do Yoga. It has also made me more calmer [sic] and more patient. In school. I find that I am paying attention more and also raising my hand. Yoga has really not changed my life but is has helped my personality. I feel my confident about myself.

I don't just, out of the blue, scream at someone, I stay calm. I am getting better grades and I participate more. It helps me when my teacher made a Yoga zone in our room because I can go there during free time and silent reading time too.

If you are in the Boulder/Denver area, consider participating in the Third Annual Yogathon this Saturday. If you are not in the area, you can still participate by donating to the Wellness Initiative. 


Cheribundi will be there, with bottles of juice for all of the participants! To register, donate or simply learn more, please visit http://www.wellnessinitiative.org/. 

Namaste!

Lori is a musician, yoga teacher and gypsy currently residing in Lyons, CO. Visit her on Facebookor at FullCircleYogaOnline.com.