Karima Gauri Hastings

What is your current role or position? (i.e. yoga teacher, classroom teacher, counselor, etc.)

I am a second-grade teacher and have been teaching in different capacities for over twenty years. 

What do yoga and mindfulness mean to you?

What do yoga and mindfulness mean to me? Yoga and mindfulness have given me the tools to share with my students to help them manage anxiety while coping with the dailiness of being back on campus during the global pandemic. Yoga and mindfulness helped us recognize when our bodies felt dysregulated and gave us ways to soothe and heal.

What sparked your interest in Yoga Ed..?

My interest in Yoga Ed peaked during the first Covid lockdown when we were scrambling to learn online material to help our students cope with the pandemic. I was researching tools for my students, but found it incredibly helpful to me as an online teacher, managing my own zoom-burnout and new technology overload!  

Which Yoga Ed. course(s) did you complete, and when did you complete it?

I signed up for the Trauma Informed Yoga class in 2020, and gained insights into what trauma looks like in the classroom, and how to support our students. I’m currently taking Teaching Children’s Yoga and Teaching Teen’s Yoga classes and working on my RCYT Certificate.

What is your biggest takeaway from the course or program? What knowledge, insights, or skills did you gain?

The biggest take away from the Trauma Informed Yoga course was learning about dysregulation and how to use yoga tools to become regulated. Since the curriculum is specifically designed for the classroom setting, and is evidence based and rooted in science, the information is matter of fact, and helpful to understand.

How have you implemented the program in your life? Have you received any feedback about the course from your students?

I have used yoga breathing and movement both in second grade and in kindergarten classrooms. The children especially gravitate to the breathing exercises, and they LOVE the visualizations!

Would you recommend this course or program to others?

I would highly recommend any Yoga Ed classes and resources that you can get your hands on to support your students in the classroom and beyond.