Ten girls, ages eight to ten, sit quietly, knee-to-knee, in
a circle under tall windows in Beverly J. Martin Elementary (BJM) School’s
music room just before dusk on a winter day. Marie Vitucci, BJM enrichment coordinator
and children’s yoga teacher, sits in the circle and leads the group in an
exercise in which they breathe in, then out, exhaling the word “peace.” She then
asks the students to visualize a “yoga star,” instructing them to put it in their
pocket to access anytime they need to be calm and present.
After a closing “Namaste,” the girls rise and grab large
sketchpads, placing them by their socked feet, as teaching artist Stiller
Zusman guides them through various positions and movements that they will soon
draw. “Our mission here is to draw
ourselves from the inside out,” Zusman tells the students who float gently
around the classroom to soothing music, then “freeze” every so often to sketch
with crayons their poses by recalling the energy of their previous movements.
Such activities are part of a four-week program called “Art
then Yoga,” designed by Vitucci, Zusman, and Melissa Enns, a social worker at
BJM, to help develop self-assurance and positive self-image among young girls. Participants
are enrolled in A+ Extended Day, an afterschool program at BJM, and attend two
art and yoga sessions per week. It is funded by an Ithaca Public Education Initiative
(IPEI) Red and Gold Grant and supports the the Ithaca City School District (ICSD)’s
health curriculum by encouraging physical activity and wellness within the
school day and beyond. Red and Gold Grants are one-time awards of up to $500
for projects that strengthen and enrich learning in the ICSD.
"We applied for the grant because we know that yoga and
figure drawing can help girls focus on their inner selves and increase their
self-esteem and confidence.” The idea, Zusman noted in their grant application,
is to introduce a drawing technique “where each child’s awareness of their
physical self is the reference for their images.” Further, she said: “The
children's attention is directed to their balance, tension, relationship to
gravity, and posture; and this becomes the basis for their drawings. This is a
well-known trick in art for accurate, lively figures. It is also a great
practice for improving self-awareness.”
This art aspect, Vitucci added, is a “natural partner with
yoga, which is also a practice of internal reference.” Vitucci’s yoga teachings
during the grant program focus on increasing self-awareness, positive energy, and
core strength essential for body alignment.
After just a couple weeks into the
program, Vitucci said she noticed a high level of enthusiasm. “The girls ask
all week for art and yoga class,” she said. “The group seems to be
starting to become an entity. The girls are learning with each other. There
seems to be acceptance and letting down of guards. They also seem to want to
follow Stiller's lead and just move gracefully feeling how their bodies work. I
am really enjoying this so far! It’s so unique.”
The grant project also includes a communications component
in which Enns discusses topics around self-esteem and healthy lifestyles with
the participating girls throughout the school day in an effort to help them connect
what they learn in the grant program to their regular day. Enns said the girls
have responded positively.
“They
all report loving it, and learning a lot about yoga and drawing,” she said. “They
really enjoy moving their bodies around and then getting in poses that they
draw, as well as drawing their bodies inside out. One student said she is
learning how to focus on her body and that can teach her how to focus more in
school. Another student said that she learns how to get calm, which can help
her when she feels angry at school. Another stated that she is going to share
things she does to relax with the group next week, and she is excited to do
that.”
The grant recipients hope to expand this pilot program to
serve more students in the future. “We think that combining the mindful
practices of yoga and figure drawing with the opportunities to communicate
issues that come at school will help the participants become more successful in
school and life.”
IPEI is a community-based not-for-profit 501(c)(3)
organization that develops supportive community and private sector
relationships with the Ithaca City School District. Founded in 1996, IPEI is
committed to connecting school and community through collaboration, engagement,
gifts and grants. For more information,
visit www.ipei.org or contact 256-IPEI (4734).
By Heather Zimar,
IPEI Public Relations Committee member and ICSD parent
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