To end the school year with some extra serenity, Alesii and classroom parents took the students on a morning field trip May 26 to Hakone Gardens in Saratoga. For the past three years, Alesii has been taking yoga classes in her spare time under the tutelage of instructor Marilynne Chophel at the gardens. Alesii thought her students would enjoy doing the same since they, too, have been studying yoga since September.

"They like the balancing and trying to stretch their bodies," Alesii said. "It helps teach them left and right, and it helps them get ready for the day."

Alesii has a classroom set of 20 sticky mats--10 of them new--that were donated by supportive parents.

"Only in California do you see first-graders doing yoga," said parent Lynn Slattery, whose son Nathan is in Alesii's class.

The students started out the session, which was mixed with Chophel's regular class attendees, in a house used for yoga in the gardens. They sat on their heals with their palms pressed together in front of their chests. Chophel asked the students if any of them knew the meaning of the word "namaste."

First-grader Andrew Suess raised his hand, then said, "'Namaste' means that you are quiet."

The students practiced bowing to each other and paid attention to their breathing, under Chophel's direction. They inhaled, reaching their arms overhead until they touched, and then exhaled, releasing the sound of "omm" in unison.

"'Omm' is said to be the sound of the universe," Chophel told them.

Parent Ani Komshian said the students practiced laying out their sticky mats at school so they could do it perfectly at the gardens. Komshian said it's beneficial for the students, including her daughter Karin, to learn techniques of coping with stress and being aware of their bodies. Parents also said yoga practices are reflected in Alesii's teaching, down-to-earth manner and interaction with her students.

"From the first day, Karin picked up on it she came home and showed me all the poses," said Komshian. "She likes all the names and positions. She's an active kid, so it calms her down."

The students were extremely well behaved and quiet during the yoga session, and Alesii mentioned her idea is catching on with other teachers at the school who want to incorporate yoga into the classroom next year. Positions like the cobra or snake were described to students in child-friendly language they could understand. When they modeled Chophel in a pose called the cat, the students all let out a "meow."

"The benefit of yoga for children is yoga has to do with a harmonious union of body, mind and spirit through direct experience," Chophel said. "So for children at the age of 6 or 7, for them to experience this direct experience of integrated wholeness is really valuable at this time at such a formative period for their development and for all their future education."

Beginning every day with yoga practice, Chophel said, helps the students learn to enter into each day with peace, harmony and well-being, skills they can carry with them the rest of their lives.

"It also helps children at this young age to have an alternative to the very fast pace and high stimulation of our culture," Chophel said.

Chophel described Hakone Gardens as "a little paradise, an oasis of peace and beauty and serenity in the heart of the Silicon Valley." She added that the natural haven is an ideal setting for contemplative practices in relaxation and personal reflection.

Chophel's summer classes begin June 16. For more information, call 408.395.9994 or visit www.hakone.com or www.ecstaticlove.net.