Top Tips For Teaching Yoga In Schools - Tip #42: Anchoring, Orienting, and Grounding

Welcome back to the blog, and my first post of 2022!

I’ve taken a nice little hiatus, but am re-committing to being back here more regularly to share my top tips with you all, especially as I prepare to launch another session of Land Your Dream Job Teaching Yoga In Schools, my 6-week online course for school based kids yoga and mindfulness instructors!

This week’s tip is a strategy I’ve found myself using a lot recently as many activities have returned back to being held virtually. I hope you find this tip helpful both for you, and for your students, and if you do, feel free to leave a comment below!

Tip #42: Orienting, Anchoring, and Grounding

The last 6 weeks or so of the school year have been a lot. Just when things started to feel like they might return to “normal”, it felt like we were taking two steps back.

I haven’t had a class with perfect attendance since November, it seems. I’m responsible for having grades in this Sunday, when so many of my students haven’t been present for weeks, or have missed multiple assignments due to quarantine, or absences, or a host of other reasons.

It’s a lot. I want to start by acknowledging that. It’s a lot for teachers, and it’s a lot of students and families, and it’s a lot for our students. 

And so, in the spirit of supporting our students during this unprecedented time that is sure to bring up many challenging emotions, I want to provide you with three tips for helping your students navigate the start of this new calendar year, whether it’s in person, or online. 

I love each of these simple and quick strategies, and I hope your students will embrace them as much as mine have. 

Strategy 1: Orienting

With eyes open, direct students to find three permanent objects in their space to look at. Invite them to remember these three objects as a means for orienting themselves when they start to feel anxious or overwhelmed. Build in time during your class, at least the first session or two, to provide practice. For example, between activities, you might say, “re-orient yourself by directing your attention to your three spots” to help familiarize students with the practice. Eventually, they will be able to orient on their own, when they need it, without reminders from you. 

Strategy 2: Anchoring

Invite students to find their anchor spots on their bodies: either one hand to belly and one hand to heart, both hands to belly, or both hands to heart. Note that some students might need a few sessions to figure out which anchor spot works best for them. Have students take a few breaths with their hands on their anchor spots, and invite them to notice the sensations that arise. Remind students that this tool of placing their hands on their anchor spots can be helpful in times when difficult or uncomfortable emotions arise. 

Strategy 3: Grounding

Nadi shodhana, or alternate nostril breathing, is a pranayama practice geared towards balancing the energy channels in the body, and it can be deeply grounding and offer students an energetic reset. 

To teach nadi shodhana, invite students to find a comfortable seat, and bring their right hand up in front of them, with their palm facing them. Then, direct them to bring their pointer and middle fingers to the center of their forehead, with their right thumb resting on their right nostril and their right ring finger resting on their left nostril. As they inhale, they’ll inhale through both nostrils, then they’ll close their right nostril lightly with their thumb, and exhale through the left. They’ll then inhale through the left, close the left nostril, open the right, and then exhale. Inhale through right, open left and close right to exhale. Invite students into a few rounds of this breathwork practice. 

Please note that you should be familiar with nadi shodhana yourself before teaching it. So, if you’ve never heard of this breathwork practice before, please try it yourself a few times before you teach it to your students. 

Tip Takeaway: The state of the world right now is likely to bring up lots of big and potentially uncomfortable emotions for our students (and teachers and parents). Support your students by making time in class to implement at least one of the orienting, anchoring, or grounding strategies shared above.