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Students at Desert Vista High School have a chance to learn and teach a several-thousand-year-old discipline focused on health wellness, and it鈥檚 catching their attention.

Amanda Goe, a Desert Vista teacher since 2005, has been the school鈥檚 one-and-only yoga instructor for the past seven years. Now, her new Yoga Teacher Training (YTT) course is offering high school students the opportunity to put their yoga knowledge to use out in the world.

鈥淢y largest passion is wellness,鈥� Goe said. 鈥淪o, mental, physical, emotional, taking care of the earth, sustainability.鈥�

Goe said Eastern medicine has a role to play in Western culture, where too often prescription drugs and other resources treat symptoms but not causes.

鈥淭he goal is to find the underlying cause and then handle that underlying cause so that you have complete wellness,鈥� she said.

A world-traveler, Goe said the more she learns about the world and the people in it, the better she feels. She first found her lifelong passion for yoga at the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA), where she learned about the ancient discipline鈥檚 background and history.

Goe started at Desert Vista teaching health classes, but the end of the school鈥檚 driver education program made room on the roster for a new one-semester class 鈥� Goe suggested introductory yoga, and it 鈥渏ust clicked.鈥�

鈥淚t just seemed like the next logical step in growth 鈥� personal growth, growth for the school, the students,鈥� Goe said. 鈥淭he program became so popular that we added advanced yoga. And then, in advanced yoga, we started having teaching units. So the Thunder Tikes, our preschool kids, would come. And the Thunder Buddies, our peers who are in self-contained special education classes would come, and my students would teach them. And seeing what amazing teachers my students were becoming, it seemed like a good and appropriate step.鈥�

Through Goe鈥檚 efforts, a YTT track was born at Desert Vista. Goe is certified by the national Yoga Alliance to teach YTT, and students leave the class with certification of their own. The 2018 fall class has 23 students.

鈥淵oga has honestly transformed my life in that, just by practicing 鈥� even if you don鈥檛 put that much work into it 鈥� you manage your stress better,鈥� Goe said. 鈥淵ou start to see things, handle things differently, manage your energy, your mindfulness in general. Yoga, I would say, is ingrained in every piece of my life.鈥�

The students feel much the same way. Some already have plans to practice and teach yoga in college and beyond, both as a means of income and a relaxing hobby.

鈥淚t definitely helps with stress,鈥� said Jessica McDaniel, a junior at Desert Vista and one of Goe鈥檚 YTT students.

McDaniel said she used to practice yoga with her great grandmother, who is a yoga instructor, and now she loves starting her day in yoga class, where the YTT students are 鈥渓ike a family.鈥� She said she plans to teach yoga as a side job during college.

Once students complete the 200-hour YTT certification and register with the Yoga Alliance, they will be able to teach at gyms, nursing homes, schools and more.

鈥淚 hope to keep the mindfulness that we learn about in class and to just always remember to take some time for myself, and to center myself before I give out to the world and lend my knowledge,鈥� McDaniel said.

Ava Jones, a senior in the YTT class, said she had tried yoga with her sister as a child, but it didn鈥檛 last long after she realized she couldn鈥檛 reach her toes.

鈥淚t鈥檚 one of my favorite classes here at DV,鈥� Jones said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 one of my favorite things to do even as a pastime, especially with Ms. Goe. I think she really made this class very lovable, and it鈥檚 a very unique class.鈥�

Jones said pranayamas, or breathing techniques, and shavasanas, a form of meditation, help her deal with outside conflicts.

鈥淔or me personally, it鈥檚 been something that can easily apply in other classes,鈥� Jones said. 鈥淚f I鈥檓 stressed or I don鈥檛 know what to do, I have my pranayamas. I have meditation to think on what I should do to help improve myself.鈥�

Mikenzie Hammel, also a senior, said her first experience with yoga was when she took Goe鈥檚 introductory yoga course as a freshman. This year, the YTT class was a necessity.

鈥淚 made room in my schedule for it my senior year because I loved the way I felt, I loved the mindset I was in when I was doing it, I just felt better over all,鈥� Hammel said. 鈥淚 love that I鈥檓 able to take a leadership role and teach little kids and special needs students, and I think we鈥檙e even going to be able to teach the staff here at Desert Vista, and even my fellow classmates. So I love that aspect of it.鈥�

Hammel said yoga helps her focus better in her other classes and extracurricular activities.

鈥淚 am in cross country, so the extra stretching and relaxation kind of brings me back to my center,鈥� Hammel said. 鈥淎nd I鈥檓 also in choir so the pranayamas, the breathing, helps with lung capacity, so I鈥檓 able to sing better as well.鈥�

Hammel said she wants to use the YTT certification to get a job in college so she can spread her yoga knowledge.

鈥淵ou know, peace and positivity,鈥� Hammel said. 鈥淪o I feel like, not only will it help me, but I can help others with it as well.鈥�