School Testimonials

“During the 12 week program of Yoga 1,2,3 I have watched the kids as they become healthier, stronger, more peaceful and relaxed.  The Yoga 1,2,3 program creates a place to talk about things like sharing, loving, friendship, truth & competence. Sometimes these elements are not addressed in school or even in their own family.”

“I was overwhelmed with how positive the program was. The kids know that this is a quiet space where they can relax.”

“It’s so worthwhile to integrate social skills and character education into the curriculum. This program does that seamlessly. The mood cards are an excellent opportunity for students to express themselves ... I truly enjoy hearing my students use words like loving, confidence, and respect, which can be so abstract, yet which are contextualized through the weekly assignments of Yoga 1,2,3 ... The reality is that students in my community face many obstacles and have persevered through some particularly harsh experiences. It is extremely empowering for them to know that they possess the key to their own feelings and can change their mood and thereby change their course in life ... I was in a meeting the other day for a student who had severe behavior problems in the second grade. I described his progress to a team of teachers, counselors, and his mother. His mother was quick to point out the impact of the extracurricular program, Yoga 1,2,3, on her child's excitement and his increased motivation about school and learning.” - Elena Medina 3rd Grade School Teacher, December 2004

“Thank you so much for today. The kids had such a good time and they are looking forward to their new books. I am planning on having the kids write some thank you letters as well and have asked Angie Hesse to help me out with this. Hope we keep in touch, and know that I greatly appreciate this fun event that has really helped out the L.E.A.P. program." - Brenda Garcia, After School Program Coordinator, Jefferson Elementary School, May 2009

Dear Felix,

My name is Cassie Meltzer and I am a fifth grade teacher in Compton at Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School. My students have had the unbelievable
opportunity to have Danay as their PS I Love You Yoga teacher and to be involved in Yoga 123 (YogaBuddies) for the past few months. It has had an enormous impact on their lives.  As a little background, my students had little idea of what yoga was before we began. They also have few extra-curricular activities in which they are involved. Compton is a low income community with student who have big dreams and big goals for their futures. I try to expose them to as many aspects of the world outside of Compton as I can. One of these had been Yoga which had been a valuable outlet for them in terms of their feelings, character development, and health. The look forward to the hour of Yoga on Wednesday afternoons more than any other minute of the week. At a school with no PE or health teachers and little emphasis placed on these subjects, yoga has been a chance for them to get in tune with their bodies and souls.

I have one student named Anthony who has been a foster child almost his whole life. He currently lives in a very overcrowded house and has developed some anger management problems. Yoga has helped teach him that he controls his mood and feelings and he has the power to change these moods. He has told me that he uses the breathing techniques at home and practices the words of the week with his 16 siblings and parent-guardians.  He practices words that Danay teaches the students like love, confidence, attitude, etc. There has been a similar impact on many of my other 36 students.

A clear example of how much the student love yoga comes when a colleague of mine is absent on a Wednesday. Often when teachers are absent, there is no substitute and the students must be split up among the present teachers. On every occasion this occurs, students beg to be in my class because everyone on the grade level knows we go to Yoga and the students are very jealous. All of the students not normally in my class who come to Yoga, ask every week afterwards if they can come back. 

I could continue on about the benefits of Yoga for my students and am happy to expand on any part of this.  Let me know and thank you Danay for everything!

Cassie Meltzer, Teacher, Compton
January 2005