The Pond Cove Elementary School health teacher rolls out a new ‘mind-body connections’ initiative.

Students at Pond Cove Elementary School say they are benefiting in many ways from a new wellness initiative that kicks off class with 15 minutes of yoga.

Last week at the school in Cape Elizabeth, fourth-graders in Heather Kennedy’s weekly health and wellness class rolled out their yoga mats to begin the 45-minute lesson with a “leapfrog,” “tree pose,” and “boat pose,” among other stretching exercises.

For the first time, the Pond Cove Parents Association in Cape Elizabeth provided $350 for Kennedy to purchase 25 yoga mats for the third- and fourth-graders to use as part of her curriculum’s movement portion.

“Heather Kennedy’s grant for yoga mats is well aligned with our mission of enriching, supporting and enhancing the social and learning environment of Pond Cove School,” said Shannon Auritt, co-president of the Pond Cove School Association and parent of two kindergarten boys.

While students spend 10-15 minutes of their class on yoga mats, the remaining 30 minutes of their lesson is spent learning about health-related topics. Kennedy has started her health classes with a series of physical movements in previous years, but the yoga mats have enhanced the movement portion of her class for all Pond Cove students, she said.

The physical movements at the beginning of each health lesson are “designed to further develop each student’s strength, flexibility, focus, balance, coordination, range of motion and transition skills,” said Kennedy.

“Look up at your hands and be still,” she told the students. “I am counting to eight, and then we will take a deep breath. Put your arms fully up. Let’s go into our warrior pose.”

In her grant application to the parents’ association, Kennedy said students are given the opportunity to lead the other students in yoga – or “mind-body connections”– which helps bolster their participation and leadership skills.

Since fall, students say that they feel less stressed and tired after their 15-minute yoga routine, according to Kennedy. Mind-body connection poses prepare the students for optimal learning throughout the school day, she added.

Fourth-grader Anna Eremita said yoga helps improve her flexibility. Her favorite position is the boat pose.

“I noticed that it calms down the class a lot,” she said. “It really can help people in many different ways. It can even help with emotions. I feel more confident.”

Emma Halter, another student, said that yoga is a “great art” and “keeps you up and going throughout the day. It helps you focus on certain things, like for example, a test. You’re able to concentrate. It’s free-spirited.”

According to Will Fibich, yoga boosts his energy every morning. His favorite positions are the tree and boat poses.

“It’s calming,” he said, of yoga.

According to Kennedy, yoga in the classroom promotes a more relaxed, comfortable learning environment for the students as it eases anxiety and tension. It also enhances motor skills and balance, improves listening skills, and “wakes up sluggish minds,” she said.

“The biggest impact of students developing a practice on yoga mats that I have witnessed is their increased readiness to learn,” said Kennedy. “Their body language is more settled and relaxed and each of them is more productively engaged with the health lesson.”

She said that her yoga instruction at Pond Cove School differs from yoga outside of the classroom in that her health lessons are linked to national and state learning standards. The biggest difference, she said, is the short duration students are performing yoga.

Since August, when she began implementing mind-body connections, Kennedy said her students have shown improvement in posture, as well as confidence and self-esteem.

“I would like parents to know that when their children participate in movements that enhance flexibility, strength, balance, voice and body control, this practice expands and strengthens their learning skills, not limited to increased readiness and focus in their learning; a stronger awareness of their body and feelings; and an ability to calm themselves, release stress and embrace a healthy, lifelong skill,” Kennedy said.

Students at the middle and high schools in Cape Elizabeth also have opportunities to practice aspects of yoga through physical education classes, health classes and special activities offered throughout the academic year, said Kennedy. At Pond Cove School, the yoga mats could also be used by teachers in different grade levels for special programs or throughout the school day, she said. Her students may even have the opportunity to use the yoga mats outside during the warmer months.

This is the first time the parents’ association has funded yoga mats for the elementary students, and the mats will likely be used by the students at Pond Cove school for years to come, Auritt said.

“PCPA was pleased to be able to support an initiative to allow students to express their creative energy through yoga during class,” she said.

Fourth-grader Josh Petruzzi said yoga allows him to stretch his muscles, and that it prepares him mentally for the rest of the school day.

“It helps wake me up,” he said.

Students in Heather Kennedy’s fourth-grade health and wellness class at Pond Cove Elementary School hold their yoga mats after a 15-minute session in the classroom last week. Staff photo by Kayla J. CollinsFourth-grade students at Pond Cove Elementary School in Cape Elizabeth ease their way into a cobra pose during a health and wellness class taught by Heather Kennedy last week.Staff photo by Kayla J. Collins