



































Using Yoga, Mindfulness and Social-Emotional Learning to Promote Student Success


Volume 1, Issue 2 

2018 

Allies for Education 2018, 1, 2 
https://journals.library.csuci.edu/ojs/index.php/afe 

 

Using Yoga, Mindfulness and Social-Emotional 

Learning to Promote Student Success 
 

Jennifer Backe 
Educator, Simi Valley Unified School District 
Yoga Educator 

As an elementary school educator I have seen the pendulum swing on educational policy, practices, and 

theory for nearly 40 years. In the year 2018 I find we are still missing the mark on addressing the needs 

of the whole child. We continue to have a test score and standards driven curriculum, expecting all 

students to fit into the traditional mold and meet the expected academic mark. However, all students 

are not the same and should not be treated as so. Teaching At-Risk Learners for most of my career I see 

the traditional educational model fall short of addressing the Social-Emotional needs of most students. 

Much research has surfaced showing a child’s developing brain is changed by repeated traumatic 

experiences. National Education Association (NEA) Today states that one in every four students has 

experienced trauma before the age of four and more than two thirds have by the age of 16. Areas of the 

brain most affected by trauma are retention of memory, regulation of emotion, and the development of 

language skills (Flannery, 2017). This is often the case with At-Risk Learners. When affected by trauma, 

these students exhibit states of fight, flight, freeze. The brain is then in an alerted state of survival. How 

can these students possibly be in an optimal state of learning? Simply stated, they can’t! It is important 

for the needs of the whole child to be addressed so that learning can take hold. Neuroscientists and 

psychologists are zeroing in on the neuroplasticity of the brain and ways to rewire the brain, and the use 

of Social-Emotional Learning, yoga, mindfulness and breathing support this rewiring. 

Looking at the effects of trauma on the brain, it is obvious a shift needs to occur in the educational 

setting in order to promote student success. We are beginning to see this shift in some schools across 

the country but it is not yet mainstream. I made the decision to begin looking more deeply at meeting 

the needs of the whole child in my own classroom. As a Trauma Informed Yoga Educator I began 

implementing several strategies in my classroom to support my students. With the use of Social-

Emotional Learning and a yoga corner, thinking tent, focus jars, and other breathing and calming 

exercises in place, I am observing heightened student success and a reduction of escalated behaviors. 

With the use of these strategies, students are able to identify how they feel and then choose a tool to 

help regulate their emotions. As students reduce their fight, flight, freeze responses they become calm, 

happy, and more present to learning. This not only works with At-Risk Learners, but with all students. 

California Educator cites a study showing participants in Social-Emotional Learning programs had a 

significant increase in positive social behavior and an 11 percent increase in academic achievement 

(Posnick-Goodwin, 2016). 



Using Yoga, Mindfulness and Social-Emotional Learning to Promote 

Student Success 
Jennifer Backe 

Allies for Education 2018, 1, 2 
https://journals.library.csuci.edu/ojs/index.php/afe 
 

Yoga, mindfulness, and Social-Emotional Learning go beyond being useful in the classroom – students 

are also educating their parents on breathing and calming strategies. During a parent conference, a 

parent told me when she came home upset from work, her daughter said, “Mommy, sit down and let 

me show you how to breathe. It will help you.” The fact that students are internalizing these coping 

mechanisms and sharing them with family members speaks to the success.  

Below I will share an activity that I have found useful in my classroom, with hopes it can support others. 

This activity can be used in a school or home setting. 

There’s a Monster in My Body! 

Goals: 

1. To support students in identifying their emotions 

2. To provide students with a safe, non-threatening activity to release emotions 

3. To support students with self-regulation 

4. To support neuroplasticity and rewiring of the brain to increase learning 

How to use: 

1. Discuss how it might feel to have an angry monster in our body when we become upset. It may 

be helpful to read and discuss a children’s storybook about anger. There are a few listed below. 

2. When upset, have the student identify any emotions he/she is feeling.  

3. Remind the student about the angry monster inside. Tell the student we can use our breath to 

blow the monster out of us and it can help us feel much better. 

4. Place a feather or pompom in front of the child on one end of a yoga mat or table. Have the 

student use deep inhales through the nose and exhale deeply through the mouth, blowing the 

feather away from him/her. 



Using Yoga, Mindfulness and Social-Emotional Learning to Promote 

Student Success 
Jennifer Backe 

Allies for Education 2018, 1, 2 
https://journals.library.csuci.edu/ojs/index.php/afe 
 

 
5. Ask the student to “check in” on how he feels inside now. Note any behavior changes. If needed 

the exercise can be repeated. 

6. You may also want to have the student write and draw about the experience. Use your 

judgment. 

7. If writing or drawing, provide the student with paper, markers, colored pencils, crayons. 

8. Ask the student to draw what the monster looked like. Encourage details! What did the 

monster’s face look like? Can you draw his teeth, eyes, and mouth? How many arms and legs did 

he have? What color was he? The more details the better! 

9. Then have the student write about how it felt with the monster inside. What did the monster 

want to say? If you made a speech bubble for the monster, what would you write in it? What 

kind of sounds did the monster make? What did the monster want to do? 

10.  Last have the student identify and write or draw about how he feels now. Tell the student that 
at times we may get upset and it is okay to be upset but sometimes we need tools to help us. 
Reassure the student that the feather/pompom and the monster are always there as tools to 
support him/her when he/she becomes upset. 

Supportive storybooks for children: 

1. The Red Beast, K.I. Al-Ghani 

2. Goldie Is Mad, Margie Palatini 

3. If You’re Angry and You Know IT! Cecily Kaiser 

4. When I Feel Angry, Cornelia Maude Spelman 

5. Hands Are Not for Hitting, Martine Agassi 



Using Yoga, Mindfulness and Social-Emotional Learning to Promote 

Student Success 
Jennifer Backe 

Allies for Education 2018, 1, 2 
https://journals.library.csuci.edu/ojs/index.php/afe 
 

About the Author 
Jennifer Backe is an Elementary Educator in the Simi Valley Unified School District. Jennifer is also a Yoga 

Educator and holds multiple Yoga Certifications, including Adult, Children, Teens, Autism Spectrum, and 

Trauma Informed Training for Youth. She is a member of Educators Doing Justice. Jennifer holds a strong 

belief that supporting the needs of the whole child leads to improved student success, and therefore 

incorporates Social-Emotional Learning, Yoga, Mindfulness and Breathing Strategies in her classroom. 

She also volunteers her time offering yoga to staff members. 

References 
Flannery, M. (2017). How Trauma is Changing Children’s Brains. NEA Today, Winter 2017. 

http://www.nea.org/home/69682.htm 

Posnick-Goodwin, S. (2016). Managing Our Inner Selves, Kids Learn Compassion, Self-Control With 

Social-Emotional Learning. California Educator, 21(4). https://www.cta.org/en/Professional-

Development/Publications/2016/11/November-December-2016-Educator-Magazine.aspx 

 

http://www.nea.org/home/69682.htm
https://www.cta.org/en/Professional-Development/Publications/2016/11/November-December-2016-Educator-Magazine.aspx
https://www.cta.org/en/Professional-Development/Publications/2016/11/November-December-2016-Educator-Magazine.aspx

