I can’t tell you how many times over the years I’ve been in the thick of a student’s difficult behavior in the classroom and thought to myself through gritted teeth, “They’re not GIVING ME a hard time, they’re HAVING a hard time.” And possibly even more concerning are the kids who are compliant and respectful on the outside, but hold their emotions in. While intellectually I grasped that the student was frustrated or bored, I didn’t always know exactly how to help. 

For students regularly experiencing this type of serious stress response, I’d like to suggest we can do better to not only help them through their distress, but to also help them stay regulated before getting to a breaking point! 

The Somatic Approach

How do we help kids move beyond this daily reality of stress in order to allow the best learning to take place? This is where somatics come in.

What are somatics? The somatic approach uses movement to engage the relationship between mind, body, brain, and behavior. Looking at the word “emotion,” we see it even has the word “motion” in it. To truly process an emotion, we need to FEEL it and then MOVE it. 

One way to do this is YOGA! Breathwork, body awareness, and yoga therapy techniques have a way of calming the body and therefore the mind. They allow us space to accept our emotions in order to ultimately set them free.

Somatics in Action

It never gets old seeing a student thrive when movement is not only tolerated but encouraged. I work with a particularly attentive 7 year old who naturally manages his emotions well. But if we focus too long without a movement break, he has learned to ask, “Can we go to the mat?” The first time he did this I think I saw him jump when I replied, “OF COURSE!!!” with a little too much enthusiasm.

I have since learned to temper my response and he has since learned something important about himself. He intuitively knows what kind of a break he needs! Sometimes he feels like rolling, sometimes he feels like stretching, and sometimes he needs some breath work. I am able to offer certain poses to down regulate when he is feeling hyper and others that act as energizers when his mood or attention is a little low. We incorporate movement while reviewing reading concepts and skills. And here’s the most amazing part- I have yet to have difficulty getting a student back to work after a movement break. 

Here’s to calm bodies creating calm minds that are ready to learn!