Healing Classrooms: Embracing Trauma-Informed Yoga in Education with Yoga Guide Kim Louria

Discover how the gentle art of trauma-informed yoga can impact our approach to mental health and education. Join me and my inspiring guest, Kim Louria, from Roots, Nature and Leadership Academy, as we unpack the profound effects this practice can have on alleviating the impact of trauma on learning. You'll hear heartfelt stories and gain expert insights into how incorporating yoga into school curricula can foster a nurturing environment for personal growth, improved focus, and a re-engaged thinking brain essential for academic success.

The journey through yoga's transformative power doesn't end with the students—it's a voyage that equally touches the lives of educators and parents. I open up about the challenges and triumphs of personal growth, sharing my own yoga hurdles and how they've shaped my philosophy on teaching and persistence. Learn how tailored yoga sessions can create spaces of patience and reflection, helping children to develop and embrace a growth mindset—a gift that lasts far beyond the classroom walls.

Wrapping up our conversation, we explore the practical application of techniques like flower breath and storytelling in yoga, designed to engage students and teach them invaluable emotional regulation skills. These methods aren't just about mastering poses; they're about nurturing a regulated nervous system that can have a profound ripple effect on a child's academic journey. As we share strategies and stories, consider how the integration of trauma-informed yoga could transform the well-being of students in your local schools and within your family life.

To learn more about yoga in education go to Yoga Ed at https://yogaed.com/.

Chapters

• 0:31 Childhood Trauma and Yoga in Class Settings, Research
• 2:12 Kim Louria, Path to Trama-Informed Yoga and Importance.
• 6:33 Difference from Traditional Yoga
• 10:24 12 Principals for Growth
• 15:45 Integration and Typical Class
• 20:52 Academic Benefits
• 25:02 Student Response
• 25:32 Yoga Ed
• 26:15 Call to Action

Transcript

Dr. Lisa Hassler: 0:10

Welcome to the Brighter Side of Education. I'm your host, Dr Lisa Hassler, here to enlighten and brighten the classrooms in America through focused conversation on important topics in education. In each episode, I discuss problems we as teachers and parents are facing and what people are doing in their communities to fix it. What are the variables and how can we duplicate it to maximize student outcomes? In today's episode, we dive into childhood trauma and its connection to the transformative potential of yoga within school settings. Can a trauma-informed yoga practice truly enhance academic achievement? Disturbingly?

Dr. Lisa Hassler: 0:46

20% of America's youth experience mental illness and over 50% of 17-year-olds have encountered trauma directly or indirectly. Dr Brekitz Research in 2019 emphasizes the importance of recognizing the impact of trauma on learning, as failing to do so can exasperate trauma and undermine students' educational prospects. Adverse childhood experiences not only affect mental and physical health, but also impair cognitive function, deepening the academic achievement gap between traumatized and non-traumatized students. It's crucial to address these issues at the school level, providing academic, social and emotional support for children.

Dr. Lisa Hassler: 1:26

In 2022, a remarkable study led by Lauren Davis titled "Trauma-Informed Yoga Investing in Intervention for Mitigating Adverse Childhood Experiences in Rural Contexts aimed to enhance the well-being of adolescents in rural Montana through the implementation of trauma-informed yoga. This seven-week intervention produced remarkable results, including substantial reductions in anxiety, improvements in depressive symptoms, reduced salivary cortisol levels and enhanced sleep duration. Qualitative feedback from participants highlighted improved focus, relaxation and overall well-being, making a strong case for the thoughtful and purposeful application of trauma-informed yoga in public schools. We are privileged to have Kim Louria, the Yoga Mindfulness Guide at Roots, Nature and Leadership Academy, joining us today to discuss the impact of trauma-informed yoga on children and its potential to revolutionize our educational system. Welcome to the show, Kim.

Kim Louria: 2:30

Hi, thank you for having me.

Dr. Lisa Hassler: 2:32

So what drew you to yoga for children with a trauma-informed focus, and why is it important?

Kim Louria: 2:38

Well, I've been teaching for a lot of years and the first couple of decades that I was teaching it was in a typical blue-color middle-income schools. In July I think 2017, my family moved from the north down here to Florida. I quickly secured a job in the charter school because school starts the first week of August down here, so it was just a really quick transition from moving all your stuff, getting in your house and find a job, and so the first school I interviewed at was a Title I charter school and it was a county school and they had about 95% of the students receiving free or reduced lunch, and so this was quite a culture shock for me. The first year there. I learned a lot about myself.

Kim Louria: 3:35

So go back a little bit In the first over 20 years that I'd been teaching. Prior to that, I could probably count on one hand the number of times the student fell asleep in class, and by that I mean they were just like nod off because of the droning of the teacher, the hum of the fluorescent lights. It's really warm in there, but at this school I'm talking like a full on sleep, where the student just doesn't wake up for an entire class period.

Dr. Lisa Hassler: 4:04

Wow.

Kim Louria: 4:04

Doesn't matter how noisy it got. So initially I was pretty offended by all that and I hated mid that I even did that powed hand clap over the head to try to wake them up, to startle them. Yeah, she didn't. Hindsight is kind of horrible. But you know, like as I knew better, I did better and I eventually realized that if this is the only space that the child had to feel safe enough to sleep, then I would give them that luxury. You know, at nine or 10 years old a few missed lessons really isn't going to alter the course of their life. So working there was really challenging at times. You know, the students were needy, materials were in short supply unless we bought them, and then those items usually went missing and broke. Yeah, and administration really tried their best. We had what we had and we all worked together as best we could.

Kim Louria: 4:59

But so fast forward a couple of years and the school's director secured a day of yoga PD for the teachers and so we did some yoga at the school and you know the instructor talked a bit about how you know and not only helps teachers but it also helps students, and so that's such a simple thought and it just sort of put a light bulb in my off in my head, and that night I went home, did some digging on the internet and found a company called yoga ed. So from there I wrote a donors choose grant and it was funded quickly. So donors choose lights, title one schools. So when I say it was funded quickly, I mean within a matter of a couple of days. Wow, yeah, that was something.

Kim Louria: 5:43

So the reason I wanted to do that was, you know, I know that it was helpful to me, but having now been there a few years, I could see some of the problems at the school and I really wanted to help them learn strategies to de-escalate. Suspensions were high at the school and I know the school was working hard to find better alternatives to being sent home, where often there was little or no supervision. So that was my why and how. So, unfortunately, covid and some other things facilitated changes and, although that was a good place to get started, I am no longer there, but I do know that that school utilized a lot of the things that I had started and they do have a sunshine room where they helped combat some of the escalations.

Dr. Lisa Hassler: 6:31

Nice yeah. So how does trauma informs yoga differ from traditional yoga and what makes it distinctive?

Kim Louria: 6:39

Alright. So most of us understand that trauma can stem from poverty, violence, marginalization, divorce, war, abuse, neglect, yada yada. But we don't often realize that it can manifest from events that adults might not consider very traumatizing, like car accidents and surgeries. So trauma is any event that overwhelms our capacity to cope and respond. And it's not to say that every traumatic event will traumatize the child, because humans are resilient and we heal, especially if we have the proper resources to deal with them. So trauma-informed yoga isn't so much a different approach to yoga poses, but more a different approach to instruction. So, as a yogi with trauma-informed training, I should have the tools and understanding to work with at-risk students, which is to say I should understand that any of these students may have significant trauma. So I need to understand the physiology of trauma and how it manifests in the body and mind. And knowing this doesn't necessarily change what I teach in yoga, but more how I teach it.

Kim Louria: 7:47

So an example would be that a student who has experienced a trauma of abuse might not trust that he or she is safe in my yoga space, so that student might need to always have eyes on the door to see who's entering. Allowing students to choose their sitting space provides a safety net. Some children don't trust with their eyes closed, so offering them option during meditation you know, to lie with your eyes closed if you feel comfortable, or maybe soften your gaze if you wish to keep them open, is important. Well, a lot of times in a traditional class you may hear the instructor just say close your eyes, and a student hearing that may not feel comfortable. So someone casually observing a trauma-informed yoga float may not notice any difference from a regular yoga class. Really, down dog is down dog and kids like to meow and moo during cat-cow, no matter who's teaching, but what you might notice distinct difference is in the discussion.

Dr. Lisa Hassler: 8:48

Nice. One of my very favorite things was Cosmic Yoga. The children really loved being able to act out stories and I saw that it was a relaxing, fun event for them that they looked forward to being able to participate in, and many parents asked for the information so that they can continue those things at home with their other siblings or on the weekends or even like during breaks, because the child enjoyed it so much. So I could see where being able to have access to ways to stretch your body and to relax is really beneficial, and as a teacher I never thought about I have said to children put your heads down and close your eyes. I can't tell you how many times you know I taught first and second grade for 20 years whether it was that they were talking too much and I needed them just to like shut it down.

Dr. Lisa Hassler: 9:39

You know, shut the lights off and say "everybody heads down on your desk and then, even during simple things like time for me to read a novel, everyone you can put your heads on your desk and close your eyes and visualize. Many times I would have said close your eyes. So that's, that's very interesting to be able to come back and reflect on my own teaching practice and think of something as simple as that language to be mindful of.

Kim Louria: 10:01

Absolutely. Same thing, I spent, like I said, a lot of years teaching, and it wasn't until recently I realized how some of my words were maybe not the best choices.

Dr. Lisa Hassler: 10:12

Yeah, you don't really think about it. If you'd, if it, I guess if you're not traumatized by that, that's not your trigger then how would you know? You know, like what would alert you to that? So that's exactly good to be informed, of that one. But there are 12 principles for growth that are integral to this approach. Can you delve into how these principles are applied into a classroom setting?

Kim Louria: 10:32

Yes, so I'm just going to list the "12 Principles of Growth for general knowledge. Okay,

Kim Louria: 10:38

Yeah, So: 1-Be curious, 2-Be open to feedback, 3-Be willing to take risks, 4-Be reflective, 5-Be persistent, 6-BeCollaborative, 7-Be creative, 8-Be strategic, 9-Be organized, 10-Be accountable, 11-Be positive and 12-Be patient. So those are the "12 principles of growth. The discussions during the yoga instruction tend to focus more heavily on only some of those about half of them. So if there are concepts I want the students to take away, it would be to be willing to take risks, be persistent, be reflective, be accountable, be positive and be patient. And actually the be patient is actually more for me than it is for the kids Like, for example, be willing to take risks right. Try new things even if you're not sure you're going to succeed. So when I introduce a new pose that may present a challenge, I like to share a time with them when I tried something and failed. So the students generally like my story and always laugh when I tell them about how the first time I tried crow pose. Are you familiar with crow pose?

Dr. Lisa Hassler: 11:52

Oh, I still have trouble with crow pose. Yes, well, I can't do it anymore.

Kim Louria: 11:56

There was a point in time when I could, but the first time I tried it fell right on my nose, and so it elicits a chuckle every time.

Kim Louria: 12:04

So letting them know that you know risks. Sometimes you fail. Okay, the next thing is you want them to be reflective. So take time to reflect on your learning and growth, and that's not just in yoga, that's in pretty much everything we do Like. Stop and think about what we did today, what went well, what didn't Be persistent. So when I introduce a pose that is challenging for me, I let them know that I'm going to try it, even though I may still not able to do it, or that I was once able to do it, and if I succeed they celebrate with me. And if I fail, well, I tell them I'll try again next time. And so just offers them that safe place to know that they can try and fail, but they should just keep trying.

Kim Louria: 12:53

For them to be accountable, it's generally associated with learning to take responsibility for your own learning and growth, but here I stress the importance of also being accountable for your actions and words. So we have to be careful with the words that we use to others in the classroom. Be supportive if somebody's not doing it correctly, especially with the little ones. If somebody's on your mat, we don't need to hit them and yell at them and tell them to get off, even though the rule is we should stay on our own mat, be positive, believe in yourself and your ability to grow.

Kim Louria: 13:29

Super important for kids to maintain a growth mindset. But we have to model this. Too often we believe that kids should have a growth mindset but we don't exhibit it. You know, it's very easy to fall in that fixed mindset and just like, oh, I can't do that, I'm old. Or oh, I can't do that, I'm overweight, I'm not flexible. So it's just, I may never be able to touch my forehead to my knees, but I should always say I'm willing to try again. And then, like I said, being patient is really more as much for me as it is for not more. So it takes time to grow.

Dr. Lisa Hassler: 14:07

I can see how that growth mindset. As an adult you do start to see your abilities sometimes decline as you age and there's an acceptance to that and then there's like a grace.

Dr. Lisa Hassler: 14:19

And recently I was scuba certified and so that I was Petrified about I'm not gonna lie and all I can saying is I'm going to try and we'll see what happens. And I did and I got certified and I haven't. I have not been back out since, but that was in August, so it hasn't been too long, but that was one of those things. And I just keep saying you know, there are bucket lists, I guess for all of us, and you just keep having to maybe grow a little bit more and not be, afraid of those challenges.

Kim Louria: 14:50

Yeah, I'm like a breathing deeply, trying, trying to get in all that air that you're not Getting in your scuba.

Dr. Lisa Hassler: 14:58

It was. It was terrifying. I'm not gonna lie the idea of it was more terrifying than the actual doing it, but I was so happy to you know, to have done it and then to say, wow, that's always a big challenge for me and and I and I overcame that, so yeah, exactly, it's the idea of something frightening.

Kim Louria: 15:22

Is really, yeah, more frightening than thing actually is.

Dr. Lisa Hassler: 15:26

Yes, the idea of it right, that anxiety and the fear that comes with it of, I guess, the unknown or the possibilities of, you know, death. That's scary. They could make me pause a little bit. By I pursued All right. So how do you integrate trauma-informed yoga into a school environment and what's a typical class experience based on students age?

Kim Louria: 15:53

Okay. So I've been in a couple different schools since I've had this yoga training. The previous schools it was quite a bit different. So I currently work at the most amazing school ever and it's because I'm here I'm able to implement all of the amazingness with these lessons that I do. So at our school we have three classes seeds, which are pre-k and kindergarten, okay. Sprouts, which are first and second grade, and seedlings, which are third and third, fourth and fifth grade okay. So I Teach yoga once a week for an hour to each of these groups. So teaching yoga three times a week, and so an hour, as you might imagine, is a really long time for four and five.

Dr. Lisa Hassler: 16:38

Yeah, to be gauged yeah.

Kim Louria: 16:40

Yeah, yeah, you gotta know, going in it's not really 60 minutes of yoga with them. So we start with, you know, like one or two breathing techniques, such as you know, like flower breath or Lion breath, and we talk about when we might use them. So flower breath, we want to calm down, so it would be a slow breath in a slow breath out in lion's breath. You know, hey, you do that if you're feeling a lot of energy and you want to get rid of some of it. So, teaching them it's not just a calm your body, there are also other breaths for if you're feeling fatigued and tired, that will give you energy as well. So, anyhow, we we do a breath or two and then we practice it a few times and, if I'm lucky, I will get to introduce a pose or two or three before I've lost their attention. So when I lose their attention, I will like I'll pull out a storybook I and I'll read them a story and then read it again, this time incorporating some yoga poses into it. It's like we did caps for sale. Do you remember that? Oh, yeah, do like it's such an old tale, but they loved it and it's one you can pull out because For the most part, they've never heard it, and it's always fun to do stories where the predictions are real because they've never heard it before. So, anyway, we did caps for sale one day and just Did some stretching things and walking things and did incorporated poses in there, and if it's not so much the Yoga poses, then the message will be a kindness message, and so we might do two or three stories and then maybe practice the poses again and maybe play a yoga game at the end. Try to spend five minutes to calm down with peaceful music. It usually takes the solid five minutes for them to just be quiet for five seconds, so the five minutes is spent learning. This is how we get to be quiet, but we actually is five minutes of quiet. So that's it. With the little kids. With the older kids it's kind of the same thing. We'll start with breathing techniques and we'll talk about when we use it, and then this is when we will introduce some topics of discussion, not so much with the little kids, more with the first grade, and so I'll introduce a topic for discussion and, depending on their level of engagement, it might last, you know, four or five minutes, it might last up to ten minutes and they include things like finesse, centering, focus, kindness, things like that, and then after that I will introduce or review some poses and then we'll go through about, you know, ten minutes of the yoga flow where we do poses and breathing, and and after that we play a game or do some partner poses and then another five minutes of peaceful reflection.

Kim Louria: 19:33

I think it's important that anyone listening today understand I am not a professional yoga instructor. I don't know the name of a lot of the poses. I always have to go back and refresh myself on how to do some salutation. I cannot remember that. I don't go into the classroom with the intent to create knowledgeable little yogis that have incredibly flexible and strong bodies. I'm just a compassionate teacher that's trying to do better and I spend as much time as necessary Helping them feel their emotions, name them and learn how to manage them. So I'm not great at it. I'm just still learning myself.

Dr. Lisa Hassler: 20:14

There's, there shouldn't be a fear of jumping in and trying it. I think the kids are very forgiving and they love to learn new things, and so they would love to join the journey of you know, "let's, let's try this approach into something kind of maybe new, yes, and that we could all benefit from Absolutely, the kids are very forgiving absolutely, and a couple of them have.

Kim Louria: 20:38

I don't know if their parents teach yoga, but they'll say, "oh yeah, that's expose and no right, yeah, that's it. Great, I'm glad you knew that, and then my mind, yeah.

Dr. Lisa Hassler: 20:52

So can you shed some light on the academic benefits that students derive from trauma informed yoga?

Kim Louria: 20:59

Absolutely so. To start, let's take a very simplistic look at our brain, right? So if you hold up your hand and then fold down your thumb, like you're showing that you're four years old, yeah, now fold your fingers over your thumb like a fist, with your thumb inside it, if you do that with both hands, you have a pretty good representation of your brain's actual size. Okay, so just look at one of those hands. Your four fingers on top would be what we would call your thinking brain, which?

Kim Louria: 21:27

is made up of your prefrontal cortex and it is responsible for solving problems, logic, planning, organizing, giving you the Flexibility to shift if necessary. And then your thumb would be your amygdala or your feeling brain. And your feeling brain is responsible for looking out for danger, feeling big emotions like anger and fear, and it will jolt your body into action. So when your feeling brain is activated, okay, it shuts off your thinking brain. So suppose you turn a corner and there's a wild animal. So your brain would signal danger and your feet would start running. It would do little good and probably a lot of harm if your thinking brain stayed activated At this time and started wondering, wonder what kind of animal that is, and calculated how quickly you would need to move to Outrun it. So by the time you finish your calculations, you'd probably be lunch, yeah.

Kim Louria: 22:29

So after you escape the wild animal, it takes some time for the calming part, the logical part of your brain to retake control of your brain. So a child who is dysregulated or suffering from anxiety is trapped in that feeling brain. Okay, so if I know that my feeling brain is activated and I know that my thinking brain is shut off, it's pointless for me, as a teacher, to try to get that child to learn anything. Simply, they just simply can't, right. Right, it's not that they don't want to, they just can't. Physically cannot because the learning brain is shut off. So now imagine you run into wild animals. Nearly every time you turn the corner, your feeling brain would be in a constant state of activation and the logic and calm parts would really struggle to get back control from the feeling brain. And trauma is like that. So a rudimentary lesson from a neuroscience book I read compares neuroplasticity of the brain to a path in the weeds. So if you travel a path from, like say, the parking lot to the beach through some very tall weeds, you might struggle to find that same path back. However, if you traverse that path many times, it will become worn and it's easier to traverse. Someone who experiences trauma often will more easily slide into the feeling brain. So if I take that idea and apply it to breathing techniques and classroom discussions, I can feel confident knowing that the more we practice these techniques and the more discussions we have about our mind-body connections, that we can make a more worn path back to the thinking brain. So that's a lot of talk to set the stage to say, like.

Kim Louria: 24:23

I try to incorporate tools from somatic-based therapies practices to help students address symptoms like anxiety and dysregulation, depression and disassociation. By that I mean I'm providing tools to their toolbox to address just the symptoms. It would be the equivalent of me seeing someone with a runny nose and giving them a tissue. I can help them with the symptoms of a runny nose, but if you want to know why it's runny, you're going to need a physician. I'm not qualified to evaluate or treat you for anything any of the dysregulation. I'm just giving you the tissue. It's a good way to think about it.

Dr. Lisa Hassler: 25:02

How have the children responded?

Kim Louria: 25:05

They love it. So the other day we had some fun activities at school and I said to them how about we just don't do yoga today and collectively, no, let's do yoga.

Dr. Lisa Hassler: 25:18

Oh, that's good.

Kim Louria: 25:20

So, yeah, they really do enjoy going in there, and I try to make it fun. It's not poses and breathing. There's a lot of the fun games too. So then learning, partnership and things like that as well.

Dr. Lisa Hassler: 25:33

So for those interested in introducing trauma-informed yoga to their children or their students, where can they find some resources and support?

Kim Louria: 25:42

So I would say, start first with yoga ed. It's an amazing online resource. They provide classes online classes from chair yoga to yoga for differently-abled students, as well as trauma-informed and regular yoga for children of varying ages.

Dr. Lisa Hassler: 26:02

Very nice Well, thank you.

Kim Louria: 26:04

It's the best place to start, of course, thank you.

Dr. Lisa Hassler: 26:06

Yeah, thank you so much, Kim, for sharing your insights on the impact of trauma-informed yoga on children and its potential to inform our educational system. Reflect on how trauma-informed yoga can benefit the children in your community or your own family. Take conversations with your local school, your child's teachers or within your family circle to explore the introduction of trauma-informed yoga into their lives. If you have a story about what's working in your schools that you'd like to share, you can email me at drlisar ichardson hassler@ gmail. com, or visit my website www. drlisarhassler. com and send me a message. If you like this podcast, subscribe and please tell a friend. The more people that know, the bigger impact it will have. If you find value to the content in this podcast, consider becoming a supporter by clicking on the supporter link in the show notes. It is the mission of this podcast to shine light on the good in education so that it spreads, affecting positive change. So let's keep working together to find solutions that focus on our children's success.