Sensory Spaces

Nov 06, 2024

One of the many benefits of taking a yoga class is immersing yourself in a soothing environment. Uplifting images, sweet scents, dim lights and soft blankets.

I feel my nervous system settle as walk into a yoga studio. My bare feet meet the warm wooden floor, my eyes meet the flowing curtains and my ears relish the quiet chants in the background.

For many kid’s yoga teachers though, we’re not teaching in yoga studios but in school classrooms, gyms, lunchrooms, theater stages, and even in hallways. Big, cold, echoing spaces that are the opposite of soothing. 

So how can we support the children in settling their nervous systems with the sensory impressions of the physical space we teach in?

We just do the best we can with what we have.

Consider each of the 5 senses.

I taught weekly afterschool classes in a lunchroom with lights that needed to warm up. These fluorescent lights couldn’t be turned off for the final rest period of class because it would take too long to warm back up afterward -  to share, put away supplies, get shoes on and say goodbye at the end of class. So, I ensured the kids had something to put over their eyes. Their jacket sleeve, a rolled-up washcloth, a stuffed bean toy, or on special occasions, an eye bag. In some cases, I was able to include the cost of a yoga mat and an eye bag in registration so each child had their own.

On another occasion, I taught next to a loud classroom and the only thing I could do was to play soft music to slightly muffle the bubbly voices next door.

Over the years, I’ve learned lots of tricks to create a soothing environment in any given circumstance.

What are some tricks you’ve learned? Share them in the comments below.