(possible *spoiler* alert) In last night’s episode of Glee, Mr. Shue was enlisted to teach the HS football team how to dance. What? Young QB and Glee member, Finn, read about NFL legend Walter Payton’s dance history, and concluded that that was exactly what the team needed to improve their moves on the field. And it worked! As evidenced above in the hilarious end zone rendition of Beyonce’s “Singles Ladies” featuring the football team and new fancy kicker Kurt. (Kanye was not present).
The boys can move! It was a funny episode and rather coincidental considering now that Yoga is not too wussy for high school or football.
Not too long ago we congratulated the footballers of Santa Monica High School for joining team Non-Wussy Yoga! Today we’re delighted to welcome the students of neighboring Santa Cruz High School, who now have yoga as an option for phys. ed. credits.
“It’s awesome that first thing in the morning you get to stretch out,” said senior Ben Damon, 17, who plays football, basketball and baseball. “Afterward, you’re like, Oh my God, bring on the day!'”
Yeah man, high five! Plenty of pro-athletes are practicing yoga so why not high schoolers? Besides the physical stretching and prehabilitation aspects, yoga provides a much needed space for teens to release, and frankly for some, a reason to be excited about dragging themselves out of bed in the early morn,
“It’s easier to wake up for school when you’re not thinking about calculus,” Damon said.
Totally. We obviously went to high school and college at completely the wrong time. It’s awesome a variety of students (angsty teens!), including jocks, are interested in yoga. We also have to give a major fist bump to the school administrators and teachers who are looking out for the kids and put yoga on the curriculum. A+ guys.
Earlier…In WA, Yoga is Not Too Wussy for High School OR Football
UofH Students Get College Credit for Wii Yoga Class, Kegstand Practice
This was very interesting to me because I played basketball and tennis in high school, and, many years later, I took up Yoga to become more flexible for tennis. I wrote about what happened next on my website:
“I am a serious tennis player. You might recall that all this Yoga stuff started for me when I took Hatha Yoga classes to improve my flexibility for tennis. Yoga was great for this. I did become much more flexible and it did improve my tennis.
What happened next was unexpected. I found that the philosophical practices of Yoga, especially focusing on the present moment, and detaching my ego from the results, had a far more beneficial impact on my tennis than the flexibility. The Yoga of the mind had a bigger effect on my tennis performance than the Yoga of the body.”
You can see why I frequently argue that all forms of Yoga are good, no matter how much focused on the exercise, because I personally experienced its value as exercise and the fact that it can open the door to all the other aspects of Yoga.
Eventually I wrote a poem called “Yoga Tennis” to explain the impact the ancient texts have had on my tennis playing!
http://yogademystified.com/yoga-tennis/
So I applaud Yoga in sports programs. Thanks for the blog.
Bob Weisenberg
http://YogaDemystified.com
I’m in a yoga teacher training program right now, and this is actually something I’ve considered pursuing once I’m certified. I think this is a GREAT thing for high schoolers and hope to somehow be involved in that.
very cool. pretty much every private preschool program in nyc has tot yoga classes– in 10 years these kids will expect to have it in high school anyway. imagine having practiced yoga since age 3! am loving that show glee too…
Wow, that is cool. I wish they had that when I was in high school. Of course thinking back, I am not sure I would have taken advantage of it at the time. But I never had the opportunity to find out one way or the other.
I live in Santa Cruz. We are yogafanatics out here and boast a robust yoga community! We have 50,000 people out here but at least 5 studios and tons of teachers. Glad to hear SCHS added yoga, but am surprised it wasn’t there already 🙂
This is very cool. When choosing a school, parents pay much attention to the school program. I love yoga and sports in General, so it is very important for me to pass on the love of sports life to my children! It is not so easy to find a suitable school, but now there are enough online support services that can help you with this. For example, you can find high schools near me here. You immediately get basic information about the nearest schools, which is very convenient. After selecting the most suitable ones, you can get acquainted with the school curriculum and teachers in more detail.
This is great, when choosing a school, you should pay attention to the specialization. Schools can be math-oriented, language-oriented, aesthetic-oriented, or sports-oriented. Especially popular today are educational institutions that teach various disciplines related to the study of languages. A great choice is the bilingual school in Brussels https://www.bischool.com/. Also of great importance is the comfort of learning conditions and the atmosphere of the school. And to make sure of this-just get to know their site better or visit in person.