The Yoga Calm Blog Year in Review, 2018

The end of year is a natural time for reflection – and for us, that includes some reflection on the life of this blog, which is now entering its 11th year.

That alone is a little hard to believe. It seems just yesterday that we were creating our first post over at wordpress.com, which featured video of a spot we had recently done on Yoga Calm for KATU here in Portland.

Since then, our blog has grown right along with Yoga Calm. In that time, we’ve trained nearly 25,000 teachers and impacted the lives of more than a quarter of a million kids. We have certified instructors in 16 nations and counting.

And this blog has become one of the resources they can count on for tips on implementing Yoga Calm and adapting it to different settings and circumstances – as well as a resource for others to learn about how using an integrative curriculum such as ours can lower student stress, improve behavior, and boost academic outcomes.

One way we can see this is through a look back at the top 10 new posts of 2018:

1. It’s Time to Address the Root Causes of School Shootings
2. Not Just for Twenty-Somethings in Spandex: Teaching Yoga to Seniors
3. Co-Regulation & Hoberman Sphere (Guest Post)
4. Bringing Yoga Calm into Mental Health Settings
5. Beyond the Classroom: Yoga Calm in Juvenile Detention Centers & Other Settings
6. Before Soothing, Release: The Sensory Memory of Stress & Trauma
7. Why Yoga Calm Is the Right Choice for Teaching Social-Emotional Skills
8. Mr. Rogers & the Place of Radical Caring in Education
9. Classroom Yoga, Mindfulness Keep Trending Upward. Why?
10. Why You Should Make Regulation & Release Practices Part of Your School Safety Drill Routine

But with an archive reaching back over 10 years, this barely scratches the surface of what people have been looking at and sharing across social media. When you look at the top 10 most viewed posts of the year, one thing that jumps out is the emphasis on practical advice you can put to use right now:

1. Teaching Yoga to Preschoolers: What Works Best? (May 2015)
2. 5 Tips to Teach Kids with ADHD Better Focus & Self-Control (November 2009)
3. Yoga Hits the Super Bowl: 5 Tips for Teaching Boys (January 2015)
4. Breath Work with a Breathing Sphere (November 2010)
5. A Different Kind of Test Prep: Yoga Calm Before Standardized Testing (February 2016)
6. Applications & Adaptations: Volcano Breath En Masse! (October 2009)
7. It’s Time to Address the Root Causes of School Shootings (February 2018)
8. How to Bring Yoga & Mindfulness to Your Classroom (October 2016)
9. School-Based Yoga & the Religion Issue (December 2009)
10. Not Just for Twenty-Somethings in Spandex: Teaching Yoga to Seniors (January 2018)

Of course, our certified instructors have access to far more resources than just our blog, including our library of teacher-tested class plans, free online courses and access to our video library of over 70 training videos, and free retakes of courses – not to mention business development support and discounts on clothing, products, and international retreats and trainings.

For above all, we want to support you in the work you do with kids, as well as your own kids. We want you to have the tools you need to excel.

So why not start the new year with a resolution to earn your own certification and become even more part of the Yoga Calm community? You can do it online, at your convenience, or join us for one of our live trainings. You can check out all of your course options here.

Or if you’re still not sure about making that commitment, check out our new Empower program instead – a ready-made, science-based curriculum centered around mindful movement that you can implement in your classroom right now. All you need to do is press “play” and go.

Meantime, all of us at Yoga Calm wish you the happiest of new year’s. May 2019 be everything you want it to be.