Mrs. Coomber's Kinderland

The daily practice of mudras (yoga for your fingers) and breathwork to support student focus, emotional regulation, and social interactions.

Teaching is hard. In the last few years, it has been difficult for me to find moments of joy in the classroom. Through the pandemic and the aftermath, I faced high levels of anxiety from parents worried about the future, which fed their children’s anxiety and, in turn, fed into my own. Teaching took everything out of me every day, and I knew something had to change.

A few years ago, I came across an ad for a 95-hour Kids Yoga Teacher Training through Challenge to Change. I didn’t know how it would change me or my teaching practice, but the opportunity felt like a lifeboat. For the next five months, I dedicated an entire weekend each month to learning about mindfulness. It helped me to slow down and just breathe. It helped me to realize I was not alone. The training not only rejuvenated me personally but also brought new life and depth to my teaching practice. I began to use many aspects of this yoga training in my kindergarten classroom. Slowly, over a few years, I found a rhythm of incorporating breathwork into the school day that helps my students harness their joy and curiosity and spread it into their work and interactions.

While I incorporate breathwork throughout the school day, stopping to do a “buzzy bee breath” or a “waterfall breath” when students clearly need to move their bodies, I think it is the practice of regular morning mudras that has changed the overall energy and flow of my classroom. It is the one part of my morning routine that I do not want to skip. In fact, the few times I have forgotten to do mudras, I noticed that students have a hard time regulating their bodies later in the day.

Mudras are hand gestures used in meditation and yoga practices. I introduce mudras to my students as “yoga for your hands.” Every morning, we do three mudras before we begin the academic work of the day. After I have introduced students to mudras and familiarized them with several cards from my deck, we add this practice to the morning routine:

• I mix up my cards and pick one out from the deck. (I use this deck of mudra cards created by Challenge to Change.)
• I hold the card up facing the students and tell them what the mudra is called. We talk about when they might want to use this mudra. For example, there is a mudra called I Need Some Space, in which you hold your hands in front of your body, palms facing out. I tell my students that there are times when we all just want to have our own space, and that is okay. If your friend shows you that they need space, they are not being mean.
• I then guide the students in taking two deep breaths while holding the mudra. We pretend to put that mudra aside and then pick another card, going through the same process. I particularly like the Lotus Flower mudra, which reminds us that we can do hard things, just like this flower that grows up through the muck and mud.
• For the third round, I ask students to pick a mudra that feels best for them at that moment. They can choose one that we did that morning, or one that they remember from another day. On the count of three, I ask each student to do their mudra and guide them in taking two deep breaths, in and out.
• We then rub our palms together and put the warmth of that energy into our hearts (pressing both palms on our chests). I tell the students to keep that mudra with them during the day.

My students often ask me to introduce more mudras from the deck (I try to pick cards with finger positions that are simple enough for kindergarteners to do). They have also started creating their own mudras to use during the third round. I love the way they make this practice their own.

I also love this practice because it reinforces important social and emotional learning that should be taught in the early years. The students and I use these gestures daily in the classroom. Students hold up their hands when they need space in the line or on the carpet. I do the Lotus Flower hand gesture when I am encouraging a student or when I see a student persevering. These are important messages for students to hear repeatedly. This practice gives students the tools regulate their emotions and get along with others, characteristics needed to be successful in school and beyond.

In a previous post, I wrote about a beautiful example of one of my students using the tool of mudras to help himself regulate during an overstimulating transition. He decided he could “Plug into the Earth,” and so he did.

Thank you for reading. I would love to hear about mindful practices in your classroom or in other spaces.