Working at a Title I Denver public elementary school, Joan Meister has seen teachers swamped as they try to help children pass tests and make up for the deficiencies they start with. Creativity is a luxury few can afford, but as a visual arts teacher, Joan stresses its value. “Creativity has to be developed and brought out and celebrated and honored,” she says, adding, “and Dahn Yoga does a wonderful job of that.”

Inspired by her Dahn Yoga training, Joan began teaching Brain Education three years ago to 550 students with the support of the school principal. She knows the dedication and commitment it takes to make a difference in children’s lives, and asserts that “Unless you continue to practice, continue to grow, develop your energy, and change your thinking and habits, it’s hard to teach it to children. You have to live it.”  

She also shares, “Since my experience with Dahn Yoga and Brain Education, my personal mission has been to bring to teaching love and the hope of a peaceful and harmonious world.”

While attending the Brain Education Suhaeng program in South Korea last year, Joan decided to incorporate what she learned from Dahn Yoga training into New World Kids, a program used by teachers to adapt a curriculum to promote students’ creative activities.

Joan developed “Mind at Work, Brain at Play.” All of the students, from preschool to fifth grade, did an art project using each of nine elements of nonverbal expression, such as line, shape, form, and so on. They were given the freedom to show what they understood about the element. Then each student put together an exhibit and wrote about it.

There was not enough space to show all of the exhibits at once, so Joan came up with the idea to make an afterschool event and involve the students’ parents. Working with the school’s community liaison, she began by focusing on her fifth grade students. Members of 61 families—including grandparents, aunts, uncles, and young siblings—came and helped with the 36-inch square exhibit spaces. The energy between the children and their families was so amazing that the principal exclaimed, “Joan, this has changed the whole energy of the school.”

At the end, they had a celebration. The children loved looking at their artwork and being celebrated for who they are. One boy said, “Thank you, Miss Meister, for letting us do our thing and not just what you want us to do,” and a grandmother commented through tears that she saw her grandson in a completely different way and felt like she was part of the school community for the first time. 

Joan plans to continue the project next year, focusing on sound, movement, and light. She credits Dahn Yoga with her ability to reach out to children more deeply, saying, “It gave me the confidence to go beyond the visual arts curriculum and help them feel confident in their own creativity."

— Michela Mangiaracina