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At Gorman Crossing elementary, after-school yoga brings a sense of calm

Students, from left, Maanasa Sista, Sriman Sista, Ellie Ahn and Kaila White stretch during their after-school yoga class at Gorman Crossing Elementary School.
Students, from left, Maanasa Sista, Sriman Sista, Ellie Ahn and Kaila White stretch during their after-school yoga class at Gorman Crossing Elementary School. (Staff photo by Brian Krista)

As the dismissal bell rang at Gorman Crossing Elementary School earlier this week, a small group of students filtered into the media center, kicked off their shoes that revealed mismatched socks and unrolled yoga mats.

Proving yoga isn't just for adults, the six students, ranging in ages 5 to 10, are part of the Yoga Imaginarium class being offered by SoilSound, a music production company started in 2003 by Columbia residents Valencia Wood and Joseph Murray. The company started offering youth yoga classes over the summer, and the program has spread into several county elementary schools this fall.

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Tyson Echentile, a third-grade teacher and wellness committee co-chair, said the yoga class is unlike anything ever done before at the North Laurel school, and is indicative of a larger emphasis on physical and mental fitness.

Nicole Mazzei-Williams, the PTA after-school activities coordinator, agreed.

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"This is a great way to introduce fitness and mind-body awareness with the students," Mazzei-Williams said.

For some of the children, though, the class is just plain fun.

Fourth-grader Bradley Davidson and kindergartner Sriman Sista like yoga for the same reason.

"We get to do poses," said Sriman, 5.

His favorite, Sriman said, is the boat, but his older sister, Maanasa, said he was confusing that pose with the candle, in which a person must lay on their back and touch their toes to the floor behind their head.

Fourth-grader Maanasa, 9, also likes the different poses of yoga, but likes them because of how they make her stretch.

"It makes me relax my thoughts," she said. "All the bad stuff goes away when I stretch, and it gives me more concentration on my homework later."

The poses and stretching are also favorites of Elli Ahn, 8.

"When I don't stretch, I feel stiff," said the third-grader.

With the lights dimmed, the class begins, Wood in the center of the semi-circle. The students fall into silence in their own meditative poses. Some, like Maanasa, sit up straight, hands folded, while others lay flat on their stomachs. As they stand and strike their first poses, some lose balance and teeter over onto their mats.

Murray helps, offering additional directions from his post at his laptop, which plays music to guide the yoga.

"Listen to the music," Wood tells the students as they change poses. "Listen to the sounds."

After a sequence of poses, Wood passes out Ohm stones with words painted on them: among them are "respect," " love" and "peace."

Sriman's word is "respect."

"Tell me what that means to you?" Wood said.

"To be nice to people, and share toys," Sriman answered.

The word respect is much larger than that, Wood told the class, and with tropical sounds playing from the laptop, she began to tell the students a story.

"You're taking a journey to Ohm Island," she said. "We just washed upon the beach. Imagine it's very warm, and the sand is on your face, and the waves touch your feet."

As the story progressed, the students walked the beach, finding footprints that weren't their own. Wood reminded them that like on the beach, so too in life there are other people around them they must be mindful and respectful of, as well as respectful of themselves.

While there are lessons to be found in the stories, students agreed their favorite part of the class was either the poses they get to try or, more commonly, the quietness they find in meditation.

"I get to have calm without my sister, who's crazy," said fifth-grader Janaya Hill Chapman. "I can have peace and quiet."

The relaxing aspect of yoga is Kaila White's favorite part – it allows her to forget everything else, she said, like the nagging feeling of chores left undone. A third-grader, Kaila has taken yoga classes before. But the class at the school, her mother said, is convenient and worthwhile.

"They're so calm after the class," said Thalia White. "These kids are constantly running everywhere, and this helps them just stop and breathe."

That's exactly the point, Wood said. By incorporating storytelling with meditation and yoga, the calming activity is more fun for the students, she said. The after-school time slot is a chance for the students to decompress after the school day in a stress-free environment.

"We've found kids are stressed, too," she said. "They just express stress differently. They may act out more, cry more, they may not eat, and they'll tell you nothing's wrong. You want to be able to identify it, and say, 'It's OK, we get stressed, too, and we're here to help you.'"

Currently, Wood said, she and Murray instruct about 50 students in county elementary schools and several day care centers. The six-week session costs $15 per student, per week, and SoilSound is working toward forging partnerships and securing grant money with several Howard organizations to possibly offset that cost, Wood said.

While the program is new, Wood said it had been met with positive response from parents and students alike. The class offers the young students a chance to bring balance into their lives, Murray said, and stress-management is a valuable skill for kids these days.

"With school, it's all about tests, and the kids need a break," he said. "They don't have enough time to relax and find themselves. This is helping them find way to get through stressful situations. We're bringing balance, reminding them of being mindful."

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