{"id":{"repo_id":"toronto-retro","oai_identifier":"oai:utoronto.scholaris.ca:1807/149953"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/toronto-retro/oai:utoronto.scholaris.ca:1807/149953","repository":{"repo_id":"toronto-retro","name":"University of Toronto","base_url":"https://utoronto.scholaris.ca/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"The Embodied Classroom: Exploring the Effects of Yoga on Teachers' Well-being and Pedagogy","abstract":"This dissertation explores the effects of yoga on teachers’ well-being and pedagogy, guided by the central research question: What are the effects of yoga on a teacher’s well-being and pedagogy? In response to widespread discourses of teacher burnout, this research foregrounds inner awareness as both process and outcome, examining how yoga, understood as a holistic and embodied practice, can support teachers in living, teaching, and relating with greater presence. Framed through the koshas- five layers of being encompassing the physical, energetic, mental-emotional, intuitive, and spiritual, this study draws on phenomenological interviews, kosha-guided journaling, and body mapping with four international school educators. Data were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis, embodied inquiry, and thematic coding. Findings reveal that awareness served as a mediating force across all dimensions of well-being, fostering interoceptive sensitivity, emotional regulation, and the ability to reframe stressors. These shifts deepened self-efficacy, boundaries, and compassionate classroom engagement. Breath awareness and intuition anchored pedagogical presence, while self-compassion supported relational teaching rooted in empathy and care. This study reimagines well-being as a dynamic, embodied process intimately tied to the inner lives of teachers. By making visible the often-invisible dimensions of teachers’ emotional, spiritual, and somatic realities, it calls for teacher education that centers care, presence, and the fullness of human experience.","abstract_html":"This dissertation explores the effects of yoga on teachers’ well-being and pedagogy, guided by the central research question: What are the effects of yoga on a teacher’s well-being and pedagogy? In response to widespread discourses of teacher burnout, this research foregrounds inner awareness as both process and outcome, examining how yoga, understood as a holistic and embodied practice, can support teachers in living, teaching, and relating with greater presence. Framed through the koshas- five layers of being encompassing the physical, energetic, mental-emotional, intuitive, and spiritual, this study draws on phenomenological interviews, kosha-guided journaling, and body mapping with four international school educators. Data were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis, embodied inquiry, and thematic coding. Findings reveal that awareness served as a mediating force across all dimensions of well-being, fostering interoceptive sensitivity, emotional regulation, and the ability to reframe stressors. These shifts deepened self-efficacy, boundaries, and compassionate classroom engagement. Breath awareness and intuition anchored pedagogical presence, while self-compassion supported relational teaching rooted in empathy and care. This study reimagines well-being as a dynamic, embodied process intimately tied to the inner lives of teachers. By making visible the often-invisible dimensions of teachers’ emotional, spiritual, and somatic realities, it calls for teacher education that centers care, presence, and the fullness of human experience.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Alderfer, Daya"],"institution":null,"degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":"Curriculum, Teaching and Learning","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Miller, Jack"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-10","date_published":"2025-10","updated_at":"2026-07-27T21:27:58Z","subjects":["embodied pedagogy","koshas","phenomenology","teacher education","teacher well-being","yoga"],"languages":[],"rights":["Attribution 4.0 International"],"rights_urls":["http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/1807/149953","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Miller, Jack"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Curriculum, Teaching and Learning"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Alderfer, Daya"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2025-10"]},{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2025-11-28T16:25:17Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2025-10"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["embodied pedagogy","koshas","phenomenology","teacher education","teacher well-being","yoga"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Attribution 4.0 International"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/1807/149953"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This dissertation explores the effects of yoga on teachers’ well-being and pedagogy, guided by the central research question: What are the effects of yoga on a teacher’s well-being and pedagogy? In response to widespread discourses of teacher burnout, this research foregrounds inner awareness as both process and outcome, examining how yoga, understood as a holistic and embodied practice, can support teachers in living, teaching, and relating with greater presence. Framed through the koshas- five layers of being encompassing the physical, energetic, mental-emotional, intuitive, and spiritual, this study draws on phenomenological interviews, kosha-guided journaling, and body mapping with four international school educators. Data were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis, embodied inquiry, and thematic coding. Findings reveal that awareness served as a mediating force across all dimensions of well-being, fostering interoceptive sensitivity, emotional regulation, and the ability to reframe stressors. These shifts deepened self-efficacy, boundaries, and compassionate classroom engagement. Breath awareness and intuition anchored pedagogical presence, while self-compassion supported relational teaching rooted in empathy and care. This study reimagines well-being as a dynamic, embodied process intimately tied to the inner lives of teachers. By making visible the often-invisible dimensions of teachers’ emotional, spiritual, and somatic realities, it calls for teacher education that centers care, presence, and the fullness of human experience."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Ed.D."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Embodied Classroom: Exploring the Effects of Yoga on Teachers' Well-being and Pedagogy"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Miller, Jack"],"dc:contributor.department":["Curriculum, Teaching and Learning"],"dc:creator":["Alderfer, Daya"],"dc:date":["2025-10"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2025-11-28T16:25:17Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2025-10"],"dc:description.abstract":["This dissertation explores the effects of yoga on teachers’ well-being and pedagogy, guided by the central research question: What are the effects of yoga on a teacher’s well-being and pedagogy? In response to widespread discourses of teacher burnout, this research foregrounds inner awareness as both process and outcome, examining how yoga, understood as a holistic and embodied practice, can support teachers in living, teaching, and relating with greater presence. Framed through the koshas- five layers of being encompassing the physical, energetic, mental-emotional, intuitive, and spiritual, this study draws on phenomenological interviews, kosha-guided journaling, and body mapping with four international school educators. Data were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis, embodied inquiry, and thematic coding. Findings reveal that awareness served as a mediating force across all dimensions of well-being, fostering interoceptive sensitivity, emotional regulation, and the ability to reframe stressors. These shifts deepened self-efficacy, boundaries, and compassionate classroom engagement. Breath awareness and intuition anchored pedagogical presence, while self-compassion supported relational teaching rooted in empathy and care. This study reimagines well-being as a dynamic, embodied process intimately tied to the inner lives of teachers. By making visible the often-invisible dimensions of teachers’ emotional, spiritual, and somatic realities, it calls for teacher education that centers care, presence, and the fullness of human experience."],"dc:description.degree":["Ed.D."],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/1807/149953"],"dc:rights":["Attribution 4.0 International"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"],"dc:subject":["embodied pedagogy","koshas","phenomenology","teacher education","teacher well-being","yoga"],"dc:title":["The Embodied Classroom: Exploring the Effects of Yoga on Teachers' Well-being and Pedagogy"],"dc:type":["Thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T21:27:58Z"}