"It's so helpful at this age," Camp said. "They are finding their bodies, and their bodies are changing so much. This helps them appreciate the diversity around them. In one class you can have a very tall kid and a heavy-set kid and a kid with some physical limitations all doing the same poses. It's very unifying for them."
Camp's sixth-grade students file into the gymnasium in their P.E. uniforms for a brief yoga session before heading out to the yard to play sports.
"At first I thought yoga was going to be a religion, and I didn't want to do the class," said 12-year-old Tanya Bendana. "Then when I learned what it was, I liked it a lot. I got stronger. I didn't used to have these muscles," she said, pointing to her calves. "Now they are strong."
Ebrahaim Algubcani said yoga has helped him to manage conflicts with his family. "The breathing is very cool," he said. "If you're nervous or you have a fight with your mom or dad, it makes you feel not angry."
"Yoga has always been able to evolve to meet the needs of the society that practices it," Sanchez said. "This is just one more example."
More information about the ABC Yoga series is available at the Web site www.usyoga.org.
