The Bodymind Learning Story
Welcome to Bodymind Learning. I'm glad you found us!
My name is Tara, and I'm the founder of Bodymind Learning. We're a young, educational service business that I'm proud to share with you.
I'm often asked how Bodymind Learning came into being. It's a story that I enjoy sharing as I am always impressed by the synchronicity in our world when we open our eyes to it. You see, I worked as a special education teacher in our New York City public schools for several years. Like many novice teachers, I changed schools often, from the South Bronx, to Bay Ridge, to the Lower East Side. The schools where I served were often referred to as "challenging” and the students "at risk." It was hard work, but I was passionate in my belief that all students deserved an education that met their unique needs, be they students with attention difficulty, struggles with learning, or social-emotional challenges. I taught in inclusion classrooms, where only 40% of the students had documented disabilities, but I discovered that it was not uncommon for the students counted in the other 60% to have significant challenges, as well.
I found that most of my students suffered from test anxiety, especially around high-stakes, formal assessments. I began to teach mental rehearsal and progressive relaxation techniques, borrowing from Shakti Gawain's "pink bubble" technique which I had used myself since my teen years. Some students told me it was the only thing that had ever helped them manage their feelings of anxiety. I was filled with thankfulness that I had provided some concrete help that the students could always access. I began to look for other mindful practices to incorporate into my teaching practice. I will never forget the first time I decided (on the fly) to introduce the practice of silence to a classroom of twenty-five sixth graders, verging on bedlam during a particularly difficult science lesson. Let's just say THAT didn't quite work! But thankfully I didn't give up and I went on to discover the work of numerous organizations that are helping to bring mindfulness practices to classrooms. Using what I learned from Mission Be, Mindful Schools, and the Association for Mindfulness in Education, I was able to approach the students from a more confident place due to my growing knowledge.
I recognized the need to incorporate more mindfulness practices into my own life, as well. Teaching, as a profession, is known for having a high level of daily stress...special education, in particular. In combination with being a single mom of two plus the daily grind of city life, I found myself buckling under the strain. I felt as though my brain was missing an "off" switch. It just seemed to spin and spin. I had difficulty falling and staying asleep, but when I was awake I really couldn't think straight. I increasingly found myself having difficulty with word retrieval and was terribly self-conscious about it. I couldn't help but see parallels between my personal struggles and those of my students. Intuitively, I knew the best way to tackle the problem was to approach it holistically.
I began to explore yoga, meditation, and Reiki in hopes of finding improved mental health, cognitive functioning, and overall wellness. I felt a need for a major life adjustment and I was surprised by how quickly I began to see positive changes. My ability to focus was significantly improved and my anxiety became easier to manage. I subsequently transitioned to a new teaching position outside the public school system. This new position was with a Quaker school for students with learning disabilities. Quakers are identified by their silent worship services and I was curious to see how this Quaker practice manifested in the life of the school. The school empowered me to further experiment with ways in which mindfulness could support my students' learning. I had found a home.
Next, in addition to my classroom, I began to incorporate instruction in mindfulness practices in my tutoring practice. Private tutoring is always value-added because working one-on-one with students allows you to get right to the heart of their area of difficulty. What I found was that when I began including mindfulness techniques in the beginning of our sessions, my students were able to directly apply the benefit to their learning. We seemed to make even greater strides. Plus, the students loved it and wanted more! Realizing how effective this tutoring model was proving, I wanted to bring it to a larger audience so that more students could benefit.
And that's when Bodymind Learning was born!
I now partner with other experienced professionals– learning specialists, speech and language pathologists, occupational therapists, and yoga teachers and therapists– to bring services to even more families. What unites us is our belief that mindfulness (in its many forms) is a highly effective, complimentary practice that supports students with learning difficulties or social-emotional struggles. In addition to Mindfulness-Based Tutoring, we now also offer Therapeutic Yoga, and Meditation for Youth classes. Additionally, I developed a unique method called Brain Boost Yoga℠, which is a before-school, yoga class that utilizes yoga asana, acupressure, and educational kinesiology to prepare students for learning.
Now, the next chapter in the Bodymind Learning story is you! We would love to learn more about how we can partner with your family. Please contact us for a complimentary consultation to discuss your child's unique learning needs and how we can be of support. We look forward to hearing from you.
