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Kids Yoga 101: Simple Breathing and Mindfulness for Every Teacher with Giselle Shardlow from Kids Yoga Stories [#156]

November 12, 2024

Click below to listen to episode 156, Kids Yoga 101: Simple Breathing and Mindfulness for Every Teacher with Giselle Shardlow from Kids Yoga Stories:

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Key themes from Kids Yoga 101: Simple Breathing and Mindfulness for Every Teacher with Giselle Shardlow from Kids Yoga Stories [#156]:

Power of Kids’ Yoga and Mindfulness: Kids’ yoga and mindful breathing exercises can bring calm and focus into classrooms and homes, providing emotional balance and improved focus for both kids and adults.
Simple and Accessible Techniques: Incorporating mindfulness doesn’t require extra time, space, or elaborate setups. Small, practical methods like chair yoga, breathing exercises, and brief mindfulness moments are easy to integrate.
Positive Impact on Children’s Mental Health and Learning: Mindful breathing and yoga can help children manage emotions, focus better, and feel more prepared to learn, making it a valuable tool for both educators and parents.
Mindful Role Modeling: When educators and parents practice mindfulness, they model emotional regulation for children, creating a ripple effect that promotes a calm environment.
Starting Small with Breathing Exercises: For those new to mindfulness, starting with simple breathing exercises is an effective way to introduce and experience the benefits of mindfulness with children.

What if there was a way to bring calm and focus to your classroom or home without needing extra time, space, or materials? In our latest episode of the *Educate and Rejuvenate* podcast, we explore how kids’ yoga and mindful breathing can do just that. Special guest Giselle Shardlow from *Kids Yoga Stories* joins us to share simple, impactful techniques that any teacher or parent can incorporate into daily routines. Here’s a breakdown of our conversation, filled with insights on how yoga and mindfulness can transform both teaching and parenting experiences.

Why Kids’ Yoga is a Game-Changer for Educators and Parents

Many people think yoga is just a series of poses or a workout routine, but in reality, it’s so much more. As I’ve recently discovered in my own journey, yoga is a lifestyle—a way to bring mindfulness, calm, and focus into everyday life. Giselle, a passionate advocate for kids’ yoga, explains that it includes not only poses but also breathing exercises, meditation, and positive affirmations.

The Benefits of Yoga in the Classroom or at Home

Incorporating yoga into your instruction or parenting can be life-changing. According to Giselle, yoga helps children build physical strength, improve focus, manage emotions, and develop a calm, ready-to-learn mindset. Imagine students or kids at home who are calmer, more focused, and ready to face challenges. Yoga and mindful breathing can help make this a reality.

Quick and Simple Ways to Add Yoga to Your Day

You don’t need a dedicated yoga space or hours of extra time to incorporate mindfulness. Giselle shares ideas like:

Chair Yoga Poses: Use her yoga cards and do quick stretches that can be done right at the desk.
Breathing Exercises: Giselle’s favorite is the “figure eight breath,” where children trace an eight shape while breathing in and out.
Mindfulness Moments: Take two minutes for silence or play the rainbow game, noticing colors around the room to center attention.

Real-Life Transformations Through Mindfulness in Schools

Giselle shared an inspiring story of a school counselor named Amy who introduced mindfulness in her school. During an emotional situation, Amy used the figure eight breath with her students, calming a group of 50 children and teachers in a matter of moments. This simple act changed the energy from frantic to calm, showing the real power of collective mindfulness.

Creating a Mindful Environment with Kids Yoga Stories

Giselle created *Kids Yoga Stories* as a resource for educators and parents, offering everything from yoga books to card decks with breathing exercises. Her mission has become even more critical in today’s world, as educators and parents face rising stress levels and mental health challenges in children. Whether it’s through a simple breathing exercise or a few stretches, *Kids Yoga Stories* provides tools to support emotional balance and focus.

How to Start Incorporating Mindfulness with Kids

If you’re wondering where to begin, Giselle suggests starting with the breath. You don’t need to know complicated techniques—just focus on deep breathing with your students or kids. If you want more guidance, her breathing exercise cards are a fantastic resource, available on Amazon and her website.

Bring Calm to Your Classroom or Home Today

The journey to incorporating mindfulness and yoga doesn’t need to be overwhelming. Start small, and over time, you’ll see the impact it has on your classroom or home environment. For more tools and insights, tune into *Educate and Rejuvenate,* check out my book, and explore resources like *Kids Yoga Stories* to support your journey to a calm, focused, and thriving teaching or parenting experience.

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Read the transcript for Kids Yoga 101: Simple Breathing and Mindfulness for Every Teacher with Giselle Shardlow from Kids Yoga Stories [#156] below:

What if there was a way to bring a sense of calm and focus into your classroom or home with no extra time, cost, or space needed? Today’s conversation unlocks how kids yoga and mindful breathing can help make that happen. Welcome to educate and rejuvenate, the podcast, episode 156, kids yoga 101, simple breathing and mindfulness for every teacher with Giselle Shardlow. Let’s go. Welcome to educate and rejuvenate, the podcast to help you revitalize your teaching, renew your spirit, and reignite your passion for life. I’m your host, Kelsey Sorensen, a former teacher, current homeschool mom, published author, and certified life coach. Whether you are a teacher in a traditional classroom, homeschool from your kitchen table, or anywhere in between, I am on a mission to help you not only survive as an educator, but thrive. Get ready to up level your skills with incredible insights from guest experts and discover the missing piece, rejuvenating yourself. Are you ready to both educate and rejuvenate? Let’s go.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:01:14 – 00:02:01

I am so thrilled for today’s podcast episode, because today, we’re talking about kids yoga. And I love yoga. I’ve just started really diving into it this year, as you’ll learn more in this interview, but it’s about so much more than poses. If you’ve ever thought yoga was just about poses or a workout, it’s not. So think again. Today, we’re exploring how something as simple as a breathing exercise can help transform your classroom or your home, support emotional balance for both you and the kids, and even help kids to focus better. So you don’t wanna miss the easy to use strategies that Giselle and I will be talking about today. But before we dive in, I wanted to let you all know a few exciting updates that are going on.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:02:01 – 00:02:48

And of course, what I’ve been talking about a lot over these past few weeks is educate and rejuvenate the book, because it has been such a huge project the last couple of years and it’s some of my best work yet. I would honestly say it is my best work yet. If you’ve been enjoying this podcast, the book just takes it all to the next level. And I’m not just saying that because I think that it really was a deep personal development journey, writing the book, but really thinking about you as I did. But I’m also getting tons of feedback flowing in. I’ve actually gotten some private emails that are a little more personal than what has been shared on Amazon reviews about how this book has touched teachers’ and parents’ lives. And it really just warms my heart to see how it’s making a difference for you. And that’s why I wrote it.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:02:48 – 00:03:18

This book helped just one person. It makes it worth it. But I also know that because it’s so powerful, I want to help it to get in the hands of as many teachers and parents, homeschool parents, as possible. I want to share why though. Share a little bit more about a transformation yet another teacher has seen. So here is what mischief Travie on Amazon had to say. She called her review beyond helpful. It says, it has barely been the Q1 of the new school year, and I already feel at the end of year tired.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:03:18 – 00:03:43

This book came just in time as I question my career choice. I get to sit back and rethink my emotions and how I can improve, and this book has helped me to find that passion for teaching again. Oh, I’m still tired, but doing the exercises has allowed me to remind myself why I went into teaching. Great community group too. Can’t do it without the Facebook group and support we have for each other. This is a must read book. 5 out of 5, 5 stars. So thank you, Mischief Travie.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:03:43 – 00:04:20

Reviews like this make such a difference for authors. So if you have been reading the book, if you’ve been enjoying it, and you have a copy, but you haven’t left a review yet, make sure to go to Amazon and do that. Even if you didn’t purchase your book on Amazon, you can still leave a review there. If you purchased it somewhere else or you got it from a friend or something like that, you can definitely still leave a review on Amazon. It helps us to let other teachers know about it. Our publisher will push it more once we get more reviews on it. Also, more reviews just makes people more likely to trust the book and purchase a copy. So it would be very, very helpful if you would be willing to leave a review.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:04:20 – 00:04:52

And if you haven’t grabbed your copy yet, I would be honored if you do decide to read the book. I know you don’t have a ton of free time, but if you chose this as one of your books to read, I promise I don’t wanna let you down. That’s why I made sure this book, we even my editor helped me take off, like, 10,000 words and yet still keep all the concepts in there. It’s a quick read. The actual like on Amazon, it says over 200 pages, but it’s because that includes, like, the bibliography. There was a lot of research that went into it, acknowledgements, all those other pages. It’s actually under 200 pages, the content of the book. And there are some graphics and everything too.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:04:52 – 00:05:13

So it’s a pretty quick read. So if you haven’t grabbed your copy, there’s a Kindle version if you want. You can also grab a physical copy. If you’re watching on the app or somewhere, you’ll see I’m holding it up. It has a beautiful glossy cover. I love it. You can grab this physical copy on Amazon, Target, or Barnes and Noble. So you actually don’t have to get it from Amazon if you would prefer to get it somewhere else.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:05:13 – 00:05:48

It’s not in store, I don’t believe, but you could get it on Target or Barnes and Noble online. The other great thing is when you get your book, make sure that you go to the QR code in the book. Throughout the book, there’s a QR code in there. So if you have a copy and you haven’t done this yet, there’s a QR code throughout the book that you’re going to to scan and just fill out the quick form because what it does is it unlocks all the bonus content for you. You’re going to get the PDF workbook that has all the exercises that are going to help you apply what you learn in the book. So the book is kinda like your playbook, your guidebook, your reference book. And then the workbook is where you put it into action. And you’re gonna get a PDF workbook.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:05:48 – 00:06:35

You can print it out if you like. And you will also get, unlock access to a special section in the app where if you went to the Educate in Virginia app in the app store and just download it, you wouldn’t have access to it. But when you fill out that form that you only get access to if you purchase a copy of the book, you will unlock another whole course. And that includes all the replays for the book club calls that we’re doing, which you can join live anytime now through the end of December 2024. But you’ll also get all the replays if you’re listening to this after, or if you aren’t able to make a call live. You’ll get all the replays for the book club where I’m chatting with teachers. We’re talking about the concept, some answering questions, all of that. I also went through the workbook and took a screen sharing video of every exercise to kind of talk you through my tips for it, the intention of the exercise, how to do it.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:06:35 – 00:07:16

So really, when you purchase the book, it’s like purchasing a full course. So again, if you have not grabbed your copy yet, go to Amazon, Target, Barnes and Noble online, snag your copy. And then if you love it, make sure to leave a review on Amazon. We’re making it worth your while because, we are going to be giving away stuff to our entire email list resources when we hit each tier. So when we hit 50 reviews, when we hit 75 reviews, when we hit 100 reviews, and continued after that, we will send something to our email list, a free product, or if you’re in the educate and rejuvenate club, we’re doing a Starbucks card since you already have access to all our products so that we reward you for the collective effort of all of us together getting the reviews on Amazon. Okay. I’m almost done. I promise.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:07:16 – 00:08:01

We also speaking of the educate and rejuvenate app. Right? I was talking about how you unlock all that extra content if you purchase the book. But no matter what, I think you should go and download the Educate and Rejuvenate app for free, right? Because every week, we are putting a coaching clip of the week in there that everybody can enjoy, and there are a couple of free meditations and some other fun things happening in there, including our upcoming winter educate and rejuvenate 2024 conference. So this is so exciting, because in the past, our winter conference has been members only. But this time, we are mixing things up. It’s going to be closer to a summer event, but not quite as big. We’re gonna have more like 25 speakers, but we’re going to have an incredible keynote who’s already signed the contract, already locked in. Funny keynote.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:08:01 – 00:08:30

And then we’re I will be presenting, of course. We’ll have a live with some of the presenters. You have all the prerecorded sessions. We’re going to have a fun dance yoga blend class. It’s going to be such a great time. It’s a way to help you refresh at the end of winter break and into the beginning of the school year so you can set your new year goals and take on 2025 the way you would like to. So stay tuned. We are doing the reveal party where we’ll reveal the speaker lineup, the keynote, all the fun stuff.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:08:30 – 00:09:20

So make sure to mark your calendars for November 19th for the reveal party. Okay. Let’s get into today’s episode. Today’s interview is with Giselle from Kids Yoga Stories, which was founded in 2012 through her travels and teaching grades k through 5 in Guatemala, Australia, Canada, and the United States. Giselle witnessed the need to address childhood illiteracy, obesity, and stress. She blended her passions of yoga, mindfulness, and education to create books, card decks, courses, and educational resources to bring the benefits of yoga to children everywhere. The pandemic and the rise in mental health issues in children, as well as teacher burnout, has made the kids’ yoga stories mission even more critical and timely. They continue to grow and expand, providing weekly free resources and hundreds of yoga products available for purchase on their site.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:09:20 – 00:09:48

Okay. You’re going to love everything Giselle had to share today, so let’s dive in. Okay, friends. I am so thrilled to be here today with Giselle from Kids Yoga Stories. I’m so excited to have you here. We’ve been chatting about this for a few weeks. And the funny thing is we were chatting before we started recording, and then we actually did an episode for her show as well. So make sure you check that out.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:09:48 – 00:09:56

But we’ve been kind of around the same circles for a while. We’re just now connecting, and so we’re we’re thrilled that it’s finally happened. So welcome to educate, rejuvenate the podcast.

Giselle Shardlow 00:09:56 – 00:10:00

Thank you so much, Kelsey. It’s so great to be here. Can you

Kelsey Sorenson 00:10:00 – 00:10:03

tell our listeners a bit about you and

Giselle Shardlow 00:10:04 – 00:10:45

what you do and why you’re so passionate about yoga and teaching kids? Right. We have such similar backgrounds that you’ll hear in in the story. So first of all, I’ve always worked with children. Right? Probably similar to you that I grew up as a daycare leader and then was a figure skating coach, then I became a teacher, and so it was always a thread in my life. At the same time, I always had a thread of yoga. So I grew up in the middle of Canada. My mom used to practice yoga on the television on the farm we lived in. And then we used when I used to come home when I was teaching in Guatemala, I come home, and mom and I would do practice yoga together, and then I took my yoga teacher training in Australia when I was living there.

Giselle Shardlow 00:10:45 – 00:11:21

That was 14 years ago. So I always had this thread of working with kids, children, and yoga. And, really, kids yoga stories, I brought my passions together when my daughter was 9 months old. And I have my passions of education and yoga and traveling and being with her. So that’s where it kind of all came together. And I’m really after all these years, our mission is still very clear that we’re here to help children regulate. They help them manage their big emotions and help them be ready to learn. And it just so happens that, I’ve shared quite openly in my community that, you know, the parenting journey has been a struggle.

Giselle Shardlow 00:11:21 – 00:11:39

Even with my education background, my experience, it certainly was she showed up as a much different person than I could have ever imagined, but she’s definitely my muse. And, yeah, it’s been an incredible journey. So thanks thanks for asking, and I’m a look forward to get to know you and your community as well.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:11:39 – 00:12:05

I I love hearing that. And the the crazy thing is we both started our companies when our little ones were about the same age. As you were saying that, I’m like, that’s so crazy. I and I love it. And I love that yoga always had a thread through your life and that you had that as a child. Like, I told you this when we were emailing, but I just really discovered yoga, like, this year, and I wish I would have had it earlier. But now my daughter has it, and she loves it. And it’s so, so incredible.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:12:05 – 00:12:24

So amazing. I cannot wait for us to chat today about yoga and instruction. And I know there might be some people here listening who are like, I might have been, like, a year ago where it’s like, I mean, yeah, yoga that’s just like doing some poses. It’s like exercise that doesn’t burn up calories. It’s so much more than that. It’s so much

Giselle Shardlow 00:12:24 – 00:12:24

more than that.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:12:24 – 00:12:39

Right. First of all, I wanna talk about why yoga is beneficial to be added into our instruction. But, also, I I you don’t mind, I would like to even rewind a little bit and be like, why is yoga beneficial just, like, in general? Yeah. Like, what what is yoga if you were to define it? And, like, why is it beneficial?

Giselle Shardlow 00:12:40 – 00:13:16

Right. Well, I’ll also think about that question about the why. Right? And it it just came to as you’re talking there sort of why not actually. So for the way I think about it, I think about yoga as a lifestyle, and I think about Mhmm. If someone came to me as a teacher or parent and said, I have a magic tool for you that’s going to help you, your you and your child, by the way, build strength and flexibility. It’s gonna help you with focus and attention. It’s gonna help you manage your big emotions, help you be calm and relaxed, right, and be ready to learn. And it’s not gonna cost anything, and it’s not gonna take up time.

Giselle Shardlow 00:13:16 – 00:13:19

And, you know, if someone said it to you, what would you say?

Kelsey Sorenson 00:13:19 – 00:13:21

Yes. Yes, ma’am.

Giselle Shardlow 00:13:21 – 00:14:09

Sign up. Right? And so yoga encompasses, and this is the thing exactly what you’re speaking about. There’s a myth about yoga. Right? And so we see on the front covers of magazines, and we see on social media these beautiful postures, and that certainly has been the thread of how it first came to the western culture because it’s something that is accessible for all of us. But, really, yoga also encompasses breathing exercises, mindfulness, meditation, positive affirmations, karma yoga, which is the community service. So there’s a lot of pieces, and that’s the beautiful thing about the potpourri of these practices 5000 years ago. This is not something that was invented a few years ago. This is not has been around for 1000 of years, and it will still continue on.

Giselle Shardlow 00:14:09 – 00:14:35

It’s not a trend. It’s not a fad. It’s not something It’s not know? That you can dabble into if you want. You can do it regularly. You can say how this works, and it works through good times, through bad times, through pandemics, through big behaviors, through mental health, through exciting no. It works on everything. Right? And so for me, when you ask me that question, why at it, I’m kind of thinking, well, why not? Why couldn’t

Kelsey Sorenson 00:14:35 – 00:14:37

Why not? Why shouldn’t you?

Giselle Shardlow 00:14:37 – 00:14:38

You know? Yeah. And what

Kelsey Sorenson 00:14:38 – 00:14:55

I love is how you described about how yoga is not just poses, and it’s not even, like, what you think about with yoga. Like, oh, I’m going to a class and doing yoga. I mean, I love that, but it’s so much more than that. It’s like a lifestyle. It’s a mindset. It’s mindfulness. And so I didn’t even realize that, like, I was doing yoga. I just didn’t know it was yoga.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:14:55 – 00:15:19

Right? Because, like, I’ve Right. Been into mindfulness and meditation for years, but not, like, yoga specifically. And so I it was actually earlier this year I interviewed Brett Larkin for the podcast. Do you know her? No. She’s like she’s another person in the yoga world online, and I wasn’t really doing yoga. But then when I was interviewing her, I’m like, wait. This is a lot of what I say too, but it’s yoga. And that really got me curious.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:15:19 – 00:15:42

You know? So it’s kind of funny. All of you listening, you should go back and listen to that episode because that was before I, like, really dove into yoga this year. But, yeah, it’s just so fascinating how yoga can transform your life and especially when you understand, like, all the different pieces of it. And there’s so much more to understand. I’m not saying I understand all of it because it’s like

Giselle Shardlow 00:15:42 – 00:15:42

Yeah.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:15:42 – 00:15:44

It’s a journey. Right?

Giselle Shardlow 00:15:44 – 00:15:49

Well, I think of it I often think about it as I used to date a surfer way back when, you know, in my old

Kelsey Sorenson 00:15:49 – 00:15:52

days before I got married, and

Giselle Shardlow 00:15:52 – 00:16:26

one thing about I learned about hanging out with surfers is that they would go out on the waves. Right? Hun the 100th wave would be one that they would catch. Right? And then from that moment, that was it. That was, like that made their day, and it would keep them coming back to surfing. And the same with yoga. You may not have you may go to a yoga class, or you may have a mindful moment, or you may just be outside waiting for the bus and watch the leaves, whatever. Not every time we call them sort of yoga miracles. Right? Not every time are you gonna have those, like, transformational moments.

Giselle Shardlow 00:16:26 – 00:16:51

But when you do, gosh, you wanna keep coming back for more. I mean, how many people have you heard say the that if they’re gonna if they’re going to classes in the resting pose at the end, once they’re in that moment and they have a connection in tune with themselves that brings you tears or joy Yeah. Whatever it is for you, then you want everybody to experience that, including children.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:16:51 – 00:17:13

You do. And that’s why we do wanna add it into our instruction. Right? So we’ve started talking about how that’s so beneficial and that, you know, they can be practicing mindfulness, and it helps with behaviors, and it helps with flexibility, and it helps with, like, all those things you were naming. Well, let’s talk about that a little bit more. How is it beneficial to our instruction when we incorporate yoga in even if we don’t have a lot of time?

Giselle Shardlow 00:17:14 – 00:17:37

Yeah. Yeah. Well, we can do it in quick little ways. Right? So as a teacher’s substitute, last year, I practiced chair yoga poses. So we have these little chair cards, and I would superimpose them on the whiteboard. So you just on Take out a few little in our chair cards. Right? You take out a few of these, and they’re just to bend and stretch, and they help with transitions. Right? There’s a lot of sitting more so than when we were younger.

Giselle Shardlow 00:17:37 – 00:18:32

Right? And so that helps for that. Then we have, you know, breathing, so important. There’s I think there’s about 30 in here or so, different ways you can breathe in creative ways for young children and also for middle schoolers and for adults too, but for us to take a moment just to breathe and calm our nervous system before a test or before we start the day or before we, you know, come back from recess or whatever. Or even with mindfulness is practicing maybe coming in and just doing, like, a 2 minutes of silence or a mindfulness practice where you’re tuning into the sounds around you, or I play a lot of rainbow game, so noticing the red and then the orange and then the yellow. Just these little fun snippets, and it doesn’t have to be a lot. It just happens within transitions. Certainly, why not help them with their focus and attention and strengths and imagine big big emotions. Right?

Kelsey Sorenson 00:18:32 – 00:18:42

Why not? I love it. I love the cards like that. Like, I have a set of cards kind of like that. Are those your cards? Yes. Yes. You made those? Okay. I need to I those. Where do you get them?

Giselle Shardlow 00:18:42 – 00:18:46

On Amazon or on our shop. Kids Yoga Storey. Amazing.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:18:46 – 00:19:02

Yeah. Those those look so good. I think having something like that where it’s, like, easy to be like, okay. I have a transition. I’m gonna pull this out. I’m gonna draw it out. And the kids have so much fun. Like, when I get out some affirmation cards or mindfulness cards or whatever, and the kids will pull one out, and these are my kids at home.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:19:02 – 00:19:17

We could totally do it in your classroom too. They love, like, oh, I wanna be the one to do it, you know, and then they all get to do it together, and it uplifts the entire mood, the entire vibe of the classroom or your home. For me, it’s my home. But yeah.

Giselle Shardlow 00:19:17 – 00:19:37

Yeah. Exactly. And that’s the thing too. We’re making it playful because you think about an adult class different than a children’s yoga experience. Right? Right. Make it more active and playful. So one of the things it makes me think of is that I built this I created this 5 c’s framework back when my daughter Oh, I love it. So so just some context.

Giselle Shardlow 00:19:37 – 00:20:12

I was alluding to that my daughter was a special little spirit, and, it was tough. And I, like I said, I wasn’t I didn’t feel fit for the the experience as a young parent as of when she was young. And so there was a point where I thought, okay. I’ve read almost every book. I’ve been to every webinar, and I felt like I’ve stretched the planet on what I could do to help my child. Right? Mhmm. And then I thought, I need to step back. They need to step back and figure out, okay.

Giselle Shardlow 00:20:12 – 00:20:56

How am I gonna get through this experience so it’s helpful for me and her? And what more details she she was diagnosed with autism, ADHD, anxiety, depression. So it was a loud house, right, and she was very dysregulated. So the first one I thought is calm, c for calm. Right? And so it really is, and you and I share this similarity, is starting with us. Like, putting aside all the learnings, the webinars, the book strategies, everything, but, really, the most important thing is to start with us. And for me, I remember this, time years ago where I had an opportunity to go with some girlfriends to New Orleans for the weekend, and I thought, okay. This is when I come back, it’s a line in the sand. Either I’m gonna sign up for therapy or try meditation, and I did.

Giselle Shardlow 00:20:56 – 00:22:10

I started meditation as soon as I got back, and I did it every day for 3 years, and it really, Kelsey, was the turning point for me. Like, I’ve just to sit silently by myself in the morning, and my daughter would sometimes come and sit with me or not and even if it was for 3 seconds, you know, but the ripple effect was extraordinary. So, in any case, so with that meditation, I feel like that made the biggest difference to my health and wellness as a parent, and it really brought us closer together. So, that’s the first thing is our own calm. The second thing is about getting curious, and this is, you know, piece of being mindful is, okay, getting curious about using a beginner’s mind of how do we learn about this yoga and mindfulness practice, how do we find out what’s under the surface, how do we look after ourselves, how do we understand our child better? That’s where the curiosity comes through. The 3rd step is connect. You know, how do we find out what our needs are, our preferences, our child’s, and talking to them? You know, that that Ross Greene, I love his collaborative problem solving technique where you sit with a child and you just say, I can see you’re having a really hard time. What’s up? You know? So that that connection piece is so important.

Giselle Shardlow 00:22:10 – 00:23:20

And then fourthly is about being creative, is engaging the children, making it fun, and involving them in the practices. And number 5 is commit, so reflecting and learning and being consistent and committing to the practice. So I think before we even start to look at how do we incorporate this into our homeschooling or classroom is going through those steps of thinking, what am I interested in? What is the child interested in? So for one person, you know, you’re you’ve been practicing, Kelsey, you’ve been practicing you’ve been going to yoga classes and practicing ashta for the physical postures, so that might be really fun to introduce in your homeschool curriculum. However, another parent might think, well, you know what? I love walking through nature and sitting on a stump and doing some breathing work. I’m gonna involve my child in that practice. Or another mother or another parent might say, you know what? I prefer to organize community service projects, and that’s really what we wanna do. Right? And that can happen both for teachers and educators, but it has to come from your own passion and follow the needs and preferences of your children. So there isn’t a one size fits all.

Giselle Shardlow 00:23:20 – 00:23:21

Does that make sense?

Kelsey Sorenson 00:23:22 – 00:23:32

That totally makes sense. Like, you’re cultivating it to yourself and the kids so that it can be the most successful experience for you because everybody’s different, right, in what they need.

Giselle Shardlow 00:23:32 – 00:23:36

Right. Exactly right. Yeah. Yeah. I love it,

Kelsey Sorenson 00:23:36 – 00:23:42

and I love how you put those 5 c’s together. We’re both teachers. Right? So we love that alliteration of 5 c’s. Right?

Giselle Shardlow 00:23:42 – 00:23:42

Yes.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:23:42 – 00:24:00

Makes it easy to remember. So tell us a little bit about how you utilize those. Like so you say you start with all those. Right? And then that’s when you look at what is it you need, what is it the kids need. Can you give us some, like, examples of that, like, maybe from people you’ve worked with or yourself? Yeah.

Giselle Shardlow 00:24:00 – 00:24:21

Absolutely. So I think about okay. One of my favorite stories is a woman named Amy, and she’s a school counselor, and she went through the same process and was thinking, okay, for her, mindfulness mindfulness was the most important thing that she felt that she did well. She felt comfortable because the children can tell. Right? They can tell if you’re not really into something. You know?

Kelsey Sorenson 00:24:21 – 00:24:22

Right. Like, I

Giselle Shardlow 00:24:22 – 00:24:33

remember I used to take my daughter to karate because my husband wanted me to, and my daughter could tell I didn’t want to take her to karate. I couldn’t. It wasn’t something I was passionate about, so it’s the same thing. Like, children know if you’re not really into something.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:24:33 – 00:24:34

You know?

Giselle Shardlow 00:24:34 – 00:25:25

And so she started Monday morning announcements and adding mindfulness. Right? And so it was her what her little activities every Monday would patch out to the entire school. She would give this other teachers the mindful activity so they could practice it during the week. So come, you know, a few months into school, and there was a situation she describes and it’s one of these moments, right, where you’re hearing from somebody and they they catch you. I won’t be able to do it justice, but when she tells it, it’s extraordinary. She was saying one day, there was a little friend fell off the playground, and he was taken away in an ambulance, and so you can imagine what happens with the children. And so the principal said to Amy, Please go down. Down the hall, there’s 50 children and teachers, and everybody is frantic and upset and crying and the whole thing.

Giselle Shardlow 00:25:25 – 00:26:10

So, she went down there, and she just put up her finger and started to do the 8th breath. They had done this within their Monday morning announcements. Right? All 50 children and the teachers all stopped and started to trace the breath. So ailing hailing in, exhaling out through the the 8, and that was it. And in that moment, imagine the shift of energy from frantic and scared to a sense of calm. In that moment, she thought, I am meant to do this work. You know, in her 25 years of school counseling, that was, like, the pinnacle moment of this makes a difference, the simplicity of an 8. Right? So you imagine so

Kelsey Sorenson 00:26:10 – 00:26:12

powerful. Right?

Giselle Shardlow 00:26:13 – 00:26:30

Yeah. And that would change the trajectory of that moment. Right? Because imagine those children, there’s no way they would be ready to learn. Right? But by doing something as simple as taking a breath together, but the collective action of the breath together, that’s just extraordinary.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:26:31 – 00:27:05

It really is like magic almost. You have to experience that that collective energy of doing it together, like meditating together or breathing together. And especially when they were in such a stressful moment and these kids and these grown ups, the teachers were able to come together and do the 8 breathing. And what made that possible is that they knew what to do. Right? That they had almost prepared ahead of time for a little bit more stressful situation to know what to do in that moment. And that’s what I think teaching these breathing exercises, mindfulness practices, meditation. Meditation is so powerful. I’ll talk about that in my book too because I love it so much.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:27:06 – 00:27:20

But all these things, you never know when it’s going to come in handy. I mean, it always comes in handy, but especially that moment where all the kids are stressed and they could have spiraled, but instead, they were able to do that breathing exercise. Oh, that’s such a powerful example.

Giselle Shardlow 00:27:21 – 00:28:00

Yeah. And it’s the same, like, I was saying what you in your classes. Like, I’m no doubt your child is is also you were saying now she’s practicing yoga with you. Like, she’s gonna feel the benefits that you’re going through the more you’re sharing about it. You’re coming home and you’re excited or you’re refreshed or you’re energized or calm or whatever it is that you’re feeling. Right? And so if we’re sharing that journey and we’re you know, it’s either something that teachers, counselors, pediatric therapists start from day 1, and that’s it is what it is and that’s just what we do. And so there’s an expectation that this is how we this is how we roll here. This is what we’re doing.

Giselle Shardlow 00:28:00 – 00:28:52

Or if it’s something that’s new and fresh for you, then you’re just describing it and talking to them about it. Or like I’ll say, so once I so, of course, I have a daughter who wants nothing to do with yoga mindfulness. So that’s the person in my household. We are not the mom daughter on Instagram practicing postures and things together. That’s not what that happened. But at the same time, in her own way, I’ve heard people say that she’ll talk to others. So when she was head of school counselor in elementary, the this counselor used to say to me that she used to coach another little girl about how to take deep breaths, or when she was having a sleepover, I heard that she was one of her friends couldn’t sleep, and so she was telling the little girl about some breathing practices to get back to sleep, and so you don’t even know. I think that’s the key there is we don’t even know the seed that we’re planting.

Giselle Shardlow 00:28:52 – 00:28:52

Right?

Kelsey Sorenson 00:28:52 – 00:29:29

That’s so powerful that, like you said, maybe you and your daughter, you’re not on Instagram doing poses together, but she’s doing it in her own way. And that kinda ties back to what we were talking about with what does it look like for you? What does it look like for the kids? And sometimes it’s going to look different for each one of us, how we practice, how we come back to ourselves. But, like, by sharing how you do it, it still can, like they still benefit from it whether you see it immediately or not. So whether your students are like my oldest, he he would roll my eyes at, like, you know, oh, let’s do a meditation. Like, my younger 2 will do it, but my oldest, he’s like, no, mom. You know? It’s Yes. But I’m sure he’s still benefiting from it. Yeah.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:29:29 – 00:29:32

He still is learning, and he’ll figure out his way. You know?

Giselle Shardlow 00:29:33 – 00:30:17

I think that’s a thing that you bring up a good point about buy in. So definitely is something we hear in our kids yoga stories community a lot is how do you get buy in in a classroom or with your own kiddos, whatever. And I think that’s where the confidence to have your own journey first and carry on with that, and that will absolutely have a ripple effect. Like, I was explaining that I when I would sit silently in the morning, absolutely, it had ripple effect. The tantrums would start maybe a few hours later in the day, then not right away or you know? But those still were had big impact. Right? And so and it helped me be calm in the face of tantrums for longer. I’m not saying it’s magic that it takes everything away. It just it takes the edge off.

Giselle Shardlow 00:30:17 – 00:30:30

You know? Yeah. It just takes the edge off some of these, bigger problems or bigger issues or bigger emotions that we are dealing with, especially right now as adults. It’s a lot. It’s a lot for kids It is a lot. For grown ups.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:30:30 – 00:30:33

For everybody. Life is crazy right now. Yeah.

Giselle Shardlow 00:30:33 – 00:30:37

Crazy. Well, this isn’t a way to slow down. Right?

Kelsey Sorenson 00:30:38 – 00:30:54

Exactly. And I feel like it is a lot of yeah. We’re going to still get dysregulated. We’re going to notice, oh, yeah. It’s not a magic pill. But the fact that we even noticed is huge. Like, oh, I’m dysregulated. It’s not like, oh, I can’t believe I’m dysregulated.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:30:54 – 00:31:20

Why do I actually notice that I’m dysregulated? Because before, I would just be dysregulated, like, all the time, and I had no clue. How many teachers I’ve talked to who when they start learning this stuff, a lot of times it’s brand new when they come to our community. And it’s really like, oh, wait. I didn’t realize that I’m dysregulated, like, almost all the time. You know? So Right. So it’s really being like, okay. I’m dysregulated, and now I know what to do. And now I know I can do this breathing, and it’s going to help bring me down.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:31:20 – 00:31:26

And, yes, I’m still gonna feel some emotions, but it’s going to, like you said, take that edge off. I’m gonna be connected. I’m going

Giselle Shardlow 00:31:26 – 00:31:48

to know I’m safe. You know? Right. Well, that that’s reminds me too. Thinking about the story about Amy is that a year later, this was this was a few months ago. I was in a teacher subbing. We were I was with some 5th graders, and we were all in the gym. The principal was about to give us an assembly, and another teacher stumbled and fell and kinda passed out. And she didn’t kind of.

Giselle Shardlow 00:31:48 – 00:32:34

She did. She passed out. And so the shift of the energy with the 5th graders, everyone was kinda like, Wait, what? They just wasn’t sure. Is she okay or not? And so the principal immediately said, okay. We’re going back to their classroom, so we had to get up and go back to our classrooms. And I remember this story of Amy, and I just went to the front of the room because she had been in my classroom before that, and I put an 8 on the board, on the whiteboard, and I just started to follow it, and I just started to breathe myself. And I thought, I’ve gotta get myself calm before for 5th graders, that’s that’s a big deal too. Right? And so by doing that, I said, Anyone can join or whatever, and then when I calm myself down, then I was able to be of service to them, and I just was helping them recognize their feelings, validating where they were at.

Giselle Shardlow 00:32:34 – 00:33:08

Some children need to go and walk around. There was other staff members came in, want to know if the person was okay. All that, again, it starts with us. So if I was dysregulated and trying to overcompensate because the other thing too is you have to notice our triggers. You know, I just Right. Last year, and he passed out, so it triggered a memory there. And so you have to notice your own triggers, and that there could be triggers for the children as well or other staff members. Right? But if we’re modeling, it’s okay to take a pause, take a moment Yeah.

Giselle Shardlow 00:33:08 – 00:33:11

And then we can be of better service.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:33:11 – 00:33:36

Absolutely. And that modeling can be the most powerful thing because when they’re like, hey. You can tell the kids I was dysregulated. I needed to do this once you’ve regulated and you’re doing and they’ll see you do it before. So I love that you did that, that you took that moment that you needed. And I do feel like I hear from so many teachers. They’re like, oh, I’m teaching a class. I can’t just stop and do this, but it’s like, but can you? Maybe you can.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:33:36 – 00:33:41

Like, maybe question that. Because it’s that 30 seconds. You don’t have time not to. Right?

Giselle Shardlow 00:33:41 – 00:33:57

You don’t have not you don’t have time not to. I agree. Totally 100%. Yeah. Yeah. There was no way I could have rolled over and just tried to move on to the next lesson. There’s no way they needed to voice their thoughts and feelings and Yeah. Yeah.

Giselle Shardlow 00:33:57 – 00:33:58

Yeah.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:33:58 – 00:34:14

I’m sure there were many so much dysregulation and so many big emotions in that room. So there’s that collective energy too where it’s like Yeah. By you regulating, you’re helping them, like, coregulating, like, regulating together as well. Exactly.

Giselle Shardlow 00:34:14 – 00:34:18

Yeah. 100%. Yeah. Amazing. Yeah. Well,

Kelsey Sorenson 00:34:18 – 00:34:35

we’ve covered so much ground in I’m looking at the time, and we haven’t even been talking for 30 minutes yet. I’m like, really? I feel like we’ve covered so much. This has been incredible. Do you have anything else you wanna share before we get into, like, your recommendations for getting started with all of this? No. I think we might

Giselle Shardlow 00:34:35 – 00:34:46

as well think about so recommendations. Speaking to what you said before is there’s a lot of obstacles. I wanna recognize that. A lot of obstacles. Like, I don’t have the time. I don’t have the money. I don’t have the space. I don’t know how to do it.

Giselle Shardlow 00:34:46 – 00:35:13

I don’t have confidence. Right? There’s a lot of reasons not to do it. And I think that through the beers, we’ve been doing this work. And we have a school yoga program, so we have folks come in who are teachers, yoga teachers, pediatric therapists, classroom teachers, homeschoolers. We have a whole breadth of people coming in, and we work with people to create their own customized yoga programs for their situation because we talked about there isn’t a one size fits

Kelsey Sorenson 00:35:13 – 00:35:14

all. Mhmm.

Giselle Shardlow 00:35:14 – 00:36:31

And one of the things people talk about is, how do I start? Right? How do I what’s the first step that you can’t fail to get going? Because it can be so overwhelming. You think, okay, great. So that’s good for you, Kelsey, because you’re gonna go at 6 o’clock in the morning to your classes, and that’s good for me because I’ve been doing this for a long time, and whatever. What about my situation? And so I can imagine some of your listeners are thinking, okay, I’ve heard about the benefits, but like, how do I make that work for me? Tell me the one thing. You know? And so I think from all the stories from all the people going in our program and in our community is the breath. So we have these breathing exercise cards that I alluded to before, but it’s as simple as here’s that figure 8 breath, for example. Just showing a card, a figure 8 breath card that’s just a picture of a child doing the 8, and then there’s instructions on the back. So if there’s one thing to start is just practicing different breaths in a creative, fun way and getting the kids and the children involved, and you can’t help but get benefit from that, right, in so many different ways, but that would be the one thing is start to learn to breathe deeply.

Giselle Shardlow 00:36:31 – 00:37:27

And if you’re curious more about the science behind it, I love this book called Breath by James Nestor. He’s a journalist, and he talks about, yeah, he talks about the stories behind and the benefits of of breathing. So if you’re looking for a deeper look at why, why should we practice breathing, that’s that’s definitely there. But even just right now before our conversation, you know, we never met. You know? You can, like, come to something like this with a little bit of anxiety, a little bit of excitement, right, and just take a moment is, you know, hand on heart or both hands on heart and just take a deep breath because we find that in stressful situations, we’re high up. We breathe high, shallow, so our breath is usually up here, up in our chest, and it’s all about bringing that breath down. And there’s a lot of research, science behind the benefits of calming our nervous system through taking a deep breath.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:37:28 – 00:37:53

Oh, I love it, and I love those cards. So let me tell everybody right now, like, when we get off, I’m ordering them on Amazon for my kids, so you should all join me. Let’s all use those awesome breathing exercise cards. So thank you, Giselle, for your time being here on the show. I love all the strategies that you shared today, and I think that everybody’s going to benefit from the conversation that we’ve had.

Giselle Shardlow 00:37:53 – 00:37:56

Awesome. Thank you so much, Kelsey. So appreciate you.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:37:59 – 00:38:43

Thank you for joining me on educate and rejuvenate the podcast today. If you love what you heard in this episode, be sure to hit subscribe so you don’t miss the next one. And if you’re hungry for even more, be sure to check out the book that I wrote. It’s called educate and rejuvenate, a 3 step guide to revitalize your teaching, renew your spirit, and reignite your passion for life. It takes everything you learn here on the podcast and that I teach our members inside the educate and rejuvenate club into a guide book you can refer to again and again. One of our early readers said it was like clarity for her brain. Plus, it’s not only a book. With your purchase, you’ll get a full PDF guide with exercises and links to videos and more so that you can not only consume, but apply everything that you learn.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:38:43 – 00:38:59

0:00 – 38:59

If you’re ready to make educate and rejuvenate not just a podcast you passively listen to, but a lifestyle that you put into action, it’s time to grab your copy on Amazon today, or head to educate and rejuvenate.com/book to read the first chapter and the introduction today.

More about Educate & Rejuvenate: The Podcast

Being an educator is beyond a full-time job. Whether you’re a teacher or a homeschool parent, the everyday to-do list is endless. Between lesson planning, grading, meetings, and actually teaching, it probably feels impossible to show up for your students without dropping the ball in other areas of your life.Educate & Rejuvenate: The Podcast is the show that will bring you the teacher tips, practical strategies, and inspiration that you need to relieve the stress and overwhelm of your day-to-day. Your host, Kelsey Sorenson, is a former teacher and substitute turned homeschool mom. Tune in weekly to hear Kelsey and her guests cheer you on and help you thrive as a wife, teacher, and mommy. Because with a little support and community, you can do it all. To access every single Educate & Rejuvenate resource, join the club at educateandrejuvenate.com/club.

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