Yoga during algebra? A good arguement for it in this BT Bite!

It’s great for your breathing, flexibility and stress relief and it isn’t just for grown-ups. Donna Freeman is the founder of YogaInMySchool.com, an innovative program aimed at kids and teens, and she joins Breakfast Television with a few young friends.

Teens are at an ideal age to practice yoga. It helps them de-stress, focus, develop mentally, emotionally and physically, get to know themselves and become all they can be.

[flv]http://yogainmyschool.com/video/YogaInHighSchool.flv[/flv]

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Pythagorean Theorem (a²+b²=c² ) is a classic equation which defines the relation among the three sides of a right angle triangle. This equation can be effectively proven by practicing Extended Side Angle pose (utthita parsvakonasana). This is also a wonderful way to incorporate kinesthetic learning into a sometimes challenging algebraic concept helping all students to solidify their understanding through whole body integration.

With a partner use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the length of your hypotenuse (the longest side of the triangle) with one person performing the pose, and other measuring the distance from the tips of the fingers straight down to the floor (the height) and the distance between the feet (the base). Next measure from the tips of the fingers along the length of the body to the end of the toes (the hypotenuse) to verify your answer. Switch roles and repeat.

Once you have these measurements you can delve deeper into understanding the geometry of a right angle triangle by performing these calculations.

• Calculate the perimeterof your triangle by adding the length of the three sides: a+b+c = perimeter
• Calculate the area of your triangle: 1/2(base x height) = area
• Calculate the height of your triangle when using the hypotenuse as the base in your calculations. You may have to sketch a scale drawing of the triangle to perform these calculations, flipping the triangle so that the hypotenuse is the base to make it visually easier to understand. This step will involve some understanding of sine and angles and is more advanced than the previous calculations.

Finally make a chart of the different calculations including diagrams to reinforce visual understanding.

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Most kids learn to tell time between 5 and 8 years of age. Digital clocks have made it much easier, and my children will walk around the house looking for a digital display before trying to figure out what the ‘old fashioned clock on the wall’ says.

There are a number of yoga eye exercises which refer to clocks, their face & how the hands move, which will help reinforce lessons on learning to tell time.

Yoga Eye Exercises

1. Circle your eyes clock-wise, repeat 10x
2. Circle your eyes counter-clock-wise, repeat 10x 
3. Imagine the face of a clock, look up at 12, then down at 6, hold each position for a count of 3, repeat 3x
4. Imagine the face of a clock, look over at 3, then at 9, hold each position for a count of 3, repeat 3x
5. Now go diagonally, first look at 2, then at 7, hold each position for a count of 3, repeat 3x
6. The other way, first look at 10, then at 4, hold each position for a count of 3, repeat 3x
7. Now rub your palms together quickly, creating heat from the friction. Gently cup hands over your eyes (called palming) and leave them there for a minute. This will relax the eyes and allow them to rest.

These yoga eye exercises will help the youngsters in your life maintain healthy eyes as well as learn to tell time from any clock in the house. They are easy, fun and take less than 3 minutes to complete. So give it a try. Get your yoga eyes on and become a master at telling time.

If you enjoyed this post please subscribe via e-mail for more articles on similar topics as they come hot off the press. Also check out the yoga classroom page for lots of great ideas on using yoga in your classroom.

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Some possibilities include:

child's pose

warrior pose

mountain pose

corpse pose

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