Curriculum

Kindfulteens offers teens, schools, and community centers the Kripalu Yoga in the Schools Social-Emotional Learning Curriculum for Adolescents. Kripalu Yoga in the Schools (KYIS) is an evidence-based and CASEL-approved yoga- and mindfulness-based curriculum that helps adolescents to build important social and emotional skills including stress management, emotional regulation, self-appreciation and confidence, and strong peer relationships. KYIS has been researched by Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, and has been shown to reliably improve resilience and prevent increases in negative emotional states in adolescents. 

The KYIS curriculum is secular in nature and divided into 35-minute lessons that include breathing techniques for emotional regulation, didactic content, yoga postures, and relaxation time. However, a full 35-minute session is not required to gain benefits. In as little as 20 minutes, students can learn and practice mindfulness and breathing techniques to improve focus, manage fatigue and anxiety, and become more aware of (and compassionate towards) their present-moment experience.

The KYIS curriculum is unique in that in addition to teaching yoga postures and relaxation and breathing techniques, it explains to students why and how these practices actually help the adolescent brain and body. The curriculum incorporates content on the developing teenage brain, neuroscience, anatomy, and the autonomic nervous system, when appropriate and helpful. 

Structure and Themes of the Curriculum 

The curriculum consists of three modules, each comprising eight 35-40-minute lessons. The lessons can be adapted for shorter or longer time periods. 

The following are the three module themes and a sampling of the topics covered in Module 1.

Module 1: Developing Awareness of the Self

Topic areas in this module include, but are not limited to:

• Awareness of the body, breath, thoughts, and emotions 

• Physiology of the brain and nervous system: autonomic nervous system, brain malleability during adolescence, creating neural pathways for managing stress 

• Tools to help students relax and manage stress

• Foundational yoga poses and fundamental breathing techniques

  • "Finding your edge," nonjudgmental awareness, and mindfulness during yoga practice 

Module 2: Self-Management: Riding the Waves of Life’s Experiences and Refilling the Well

Module 3: Cultivating Connectivity: Developing Compassion for Self and Others