After school, she revels in the gymnasium’s noise. The pounding basketballs, screeching sneakers, and whooping Trailblazer fans offer a comforting familiarity to the former Butler basketball player who now helps coach University High School’s girls.
But during first period, Lade Akande prefers the quiet.
She sits near the center of the dimly lit gym, positioned at the back of her yoga mat. She is surrounded by 28 students on a perfect circle of mats, and the students mimic her every move.
“Find your edge,” she urges softly, as they all settle into the position she’s demonstrating.
That “edge” — the point of challenge, of productive discomfort — is different for each person, and Akande tells them to honor what’s right for their bodies and their minds.
She then holds up her two thumbs. She demonstrates with a gentle kneading rhythm how to roll out muscle knots. The hips are the focus of the day, so she directs students to use that motion to break up the knots that have taken up residence there.
“They say you carry your emotional baggage in your hips,” Akande jokes.
“That sounds about right,” one student quips, following her teacher’s lead.
“I realized there was really something to this.”
Lade Akande grew up around yoga — her grandmother was a yoga pioneer, and her mother taught yoga aerobics classes — but it wasn’t until after college that she discovered the practice for herself.
“I didn’t start practicing yoga regularly until I was finished playing basketball at Butler,” she explained. “I was having a lot of physical pain, so a friend of mine introduced me to The Yoga Studio. Within four to six weeks, all of my back pain and physical issues were alleviated. That’s when I realized there was really something to this.”
She began practicing yoga regularly. After about 18 months, she decided to pursue the 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training. And around that same time, she was hired to be a Director of College Counseling at University High School.
“They can be active in their self care.”
The yoga outreach Year of Service group in 2015-16 was Akande’s first introduction of yoga at University High School.
Akande’s first year at University High School (the 2015-16 school year) was the second year for the Year of Service program. When faculty members were asked which organizations and causes they were passionate about — with the goal of engaging students in service with those groups and topics — Akande brought up yoga.
Students in the yoga outreach Year of Service group that year worked with Indy Yoga Movement to learn the scientific benefits of yoga, the basics of the practice, and ways to incorporate yoga in schools. They also wrote the grant that led to University High School purchasing a set of yoga mats in the spring of 2016.
The Yoga: Mind-Body Connection course offered during January Term 2017 eventually led to Akande offering yoga as a semester-long elective.
Interest in yoga quickly blossomed. The following year, Akande and fellow Director of College Counseling Maddy MacAllister offered a January Term course titled Yoga: A Mind-Body Connection that incorporated yoga and meditation as daily practices. The success of this J-Term course in 2017 inspired Assistant Head of School David Vesper to ask Akande if she’d like to teach a class during the school year. Advanced Physical Education: Yoga & Mindfulness was born.
“I think the biggest draw of this course for students is the stress reduction piece,” said Akande. “They’re seeing it as a time in their day when, rather than taking a study hall, they can be active in their self care.”
This semester, there are 28 students enrolled in the class, making it one of University High School’s largest courses.
“There’s a lot of diversity in the class, which I really like,” said Akande. “We have a wide variety of grade levels, and we have everyone from athletes to students who more like to keep to themselves.”
“And a nice chunk of students have taken the class more than once,” she added.
“They have everything they need within them.”
The physical practice of yoga plays a big role in the class, and Akande measures students’ physical progress through the course of the semester. Baseline tests on flexibility, balance, and strength are given in the first few weeks of class, and students repeat those tests at the end of the semester. Last semester’s results blew her away.
“Across the board, last semester everybody improved in balance, strength, and flexibility,” said Akande. “That was really cool to see.”
The 28 students in this semester’s Yoga & Mindfulness course practice a series of hip opening positions during class.
But Akande also recognizes that, for students, the draw isn’t necessarily a physically demanding workout. That’s why she focuses on incorporating the yin style of yoga.
“The yin style of yoga seems to resonate most with the students,” she explained. “I think that’s because it’s all in the parasympathetic nervous system. Our students are so on the go all the time, and most of them would be able to handle a pretty challenging practice. But that’s not really what they need. They need time to actually wind down completely. And that’s what the yin style allows them to do.”
Also allowing them to wind down are the mindfulness activities and reflective prompts that Akande incorporates into the class. Each day, students check in with one another, sharing how they are feeling and doing in that moment. Often, she’ll ask students to do a writing assignment with prompts such as “What is paradise to you?” or “Write a forgiveness letter to yourself.” What she’s found is that these practices of looking inward and reflecting make a difference in students’ day-to-day lives.
“It’s a long enough time to spend together for them to really notice differences in their relationships or just how they go about their day,” said Akande. “I think we’re so conditioned to look outside for our happiness or for stability, and what I love about yoga and this class is that it shows students they already have everything they need within them.”
“Right after we’re done practicing, the students will say they feel calmer, more ready for the rest of their day,” she added. “They describe it as feeling relaxed but sharp.”
“In school, this class has the ability to enhance a student’s personal awareness of themself,” said one student. “I definitely feel this impact in my day-to-day. Yoga and Mindfulness can give students methods to address their stress and help them better be aware of their mind’s health.”
“I’m living my purpose.”
For Akande, these experiences a University High School have only deepened her passion for yoga. In addition to teaching the class at school, she also teaches at The Yoga Studio on weekends. And, in part as a way to honor her grandmother, who passed away a few years ago, she teaches a chair yoga class to residents at Hooverwood on Wednesday nights.
“I was in Yoga Teacher Training when my grandmother was still living,” she explained. “I remember going to see her in assisted living, and we would do chair yoga together with the other residents. Doing that actually inspired me to offer the chair yoga class here in town.”
Akande also traveled to Costa Rica this summer to complete her 300-Hour Yoga Teacher Training. This experience allowed her to return to University and refine what she’s teaching in class.
This year, she has added in a research component, gathering data from students through surveys. Her eventual goal is to complete some sort of academic research on the impact of yoga in schools.
“I really feel like I wake up every day and I’m living my purpose,” she said. “I love college counseling. That’s where I started working with students. And it’s awesome that in one school day, I can weave in all the things I’m passionate about. And to have full support from the school and enthusiasm from the students, it just lights me up.”
Gifts to the U Fund support Lade’s work
Through opportunities like Year of Service and January Term, and through elective course offerings, faculty and staff at University High School are encouraged to share their passions and their interests with students, creating rich and meaningful learning opportunities for both.
Empowering teachers to share what they love with students is just one example of what the U Fund, University High School’s annual fund, supports each year. Gifts to the U Fund benefit not only the work Lade is doing with students, but also the work countless teachers are doing in and out of the classroom each day. This year, through the 2018-19 U Fund campaign season, we will share some of their stories with you. If they inspire you, as we hope they will, please consider giving a gift to the U Fund before June 30, 2019.
