Mindful Moments with our Elementary Classes

November 30, 2023

We are so grateful to Greenspring Parent, Nila Berger, for working with our Elementary students on mindfulness and movement this year. Nila is focused on several aspects of supporting the children in their growth and development. On the surface, she shares yoga techniques and philosophy to help them ground and center themselves, but the real work she is doing with the children is giving them the tools to help with self-regulation of their nervous system, as well as raising their level of self-empathy and societal empathy as well. Utilizing yoga philosophy, she gives the children activities from breathing prompts to journaling about their emotions especially when those emotions are ones that children (and adults) struggle to grapple with. The benefits of Nila coming into our room are so vast. She gives the children the ability to become more self-aware, regulate themselves, and build self-confidence. Learn more about Nila below!

Nila believes in creating a space where her students can make their practice their own and be their true authentic selves. Along with teaching yoga at various Baltimore area studios, she leads team-building activities for the varsity athletic teams at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) including stress management classes. She lectures on building resiliency through mindfulness at JHU and sits on the task force for overall student wellness at the University. She also built a post-trauma yoga program along with the University’s Counseling Center that launched in 2018.

About the Author

Kimberly Zerfas

Kimberly Zerfas is the Director of Marketing & Communications at Greenspring Montessori School. A graduate of the Publications Design M.A. program at the University of Baltimore, Kim loves combining words and images to tell our unique story. She loves creative problem-solving, designing and writing materials that convey in-depth information in new and interesting ways. Learn more about Kim.

Recent Posts

Exploring the Montessori Toddler Curriculum

Exploring the Montessori Toddler Curriculum

The toddler years (18 months to 3 years) are a time of rapid, foundational development. In a Montessori environment, this growth is supported by a carefully prepared space where learning happens through hands-on exploration, purposeful movement, and observation. In...

The Skills That Will Matter Most: How Montessori Classrooms Support Executive Functioning

The Skills That Will Matter Most: How Montessori Classrooms Support Executive Functioning

Think about the jobs that existed ten years ago that don’t exist today. Now think about the jobs your child might hold that don’t exist yet. The world is changing faster than most school curriculums can keep up with and that raises a real question for every parent:...