Some teachers take it a step further with the Yoga Science Box, a curriculum designed by Wong, which incorporates yoga into lessons on physics, geometry and anatomy.
For example, Wong said, students can use the triangle pose to study the Pythagorean theorem, or calculate the amount of power used in a finger stand.
"Whenever you can integrate the curriculum with movement or with doing other things, it just gives the kids a broader understanding," said Craig Strong, a third-grade teacher at the private Cathedral School for boys in San Francisco and a yoga teacher at Sanchez's studio.
"I can tell them, 'Make sure your leg is at a 90-degree angle or perpendicular to the floor,' and they are learning. Or we can talk about the muscles we are using and the respiratory system, and they are learning."
Program 'Helps to Center Kids'
Gloria Siech, who heads the physical education program for the San Francisco Unified School District, says yoga is a powerful fitness tool for young people because it is low-stress and noncompetitive.
"It's individual, and each kid can do it as far as they can go.There's no keeping score, and there's nobody telling them that's not good enough," Siech said. "It helps to center kids and helps them concentrate. They are able to calm down and breathe, and the teachers see the improvement immediately."
Other schools around the country, including the Accelerated School in South-Central Los Angeles, have introduced yoga to their students as well. The teachers can offer no data on whether yoga helps children learn, but they have no doubt it improves their students' concentration.
"To me it's amazing to see a child who has a high level of anger or anxiety just do this and let go," said teacher Klein in San Francisco.
"These kids experience very high stress, and they have anxiety among each other and anxiety from home. They didn't understand it at first. They would just do it because I told them to. But then I could see them start focusing. Now they ask for yoga."
Phyllis Camp, a physical education teacher at James Lick Middle School, was among the first group of teachers to be trained in Sanchez's pilot program in 1997. She has used yoga with her students ever since, even offering after-school yoga clubs that are open to parents and teachers as well.
