ZENworks Yoga: Bringing Calm, One Classroom at a Time

Elizabeth Kardamis & Sara Kelly | 2025 Yoga Service Grant Recipients — ZENworks Yoga

Expanding trauma-informed mindfulness into Cleveland's underserved schools

For a lot of students, the hardest moment of the day doesn't happen during a test or a conflict on the playground. It happens quietly, in the body, long before anyone notices.

That's the gap ZENworks Yoga was built to close. The Cleveland-based nonprofit brings trauma-informed yoga and mindfulness directly into classrooms across Greater Cleveland, and a 2025 Yoga Service Grant from Give Back Yoga Foundation helped the organization carry that work into a school that wanted it badly, but couldn't afford it.

A Program Built for the Classroom, Not the Studio

Elizabeth Kardamis, ZENworks Yoga's Director of Operations, came to this work after years as a licensed counselor and art therapist in inpatient psychiatric facilities. "ZENworks Yoga provided me the opportunity to reach students where they were at," she says, "and teach them skills and tools prior to having a crisis event."

That philosophy shapes everything about the program's design. Sessions run just 20 minutes, fit inside a regular classroom, and align directly with Ohio's Social Emotional Learning standards, so the practices feel like an extension of what students are already expected to learn, not an add-on.

Meeting Schools Where the Funding Runs Out

Cleveland Metropolitan School District serves around 33,000 students, 86% from minority backgrounds and economically disadvantaged homes, and is currently losing 10–20% of the funding it needs for programs like ZENworks. The inner-ring suburbs surrounding it, districts like Garfield Heights, often face the same poverty and need with even less state and federal support behind them.

That's precisely where this grant made the difference. The $6,000 award funded a full 20-week program at no cost to a Garfield Heights school that had reached out to ZENworks wanting the program, but had no budget left to cover it after a failed local levy.

Tools Students Carry With Them

The results showed up quickly. Within five weeks of the program launching, students were voluntarily opting in during their free period, just to keep practicing.

A glitter jar becomes an unexpected mindfulness tool, giving students something to focus on as their bodies settle.

"One student shared with us about how she practiced mindful finger taps before their state testing, and it helped her feel calmer and more prepared, whereas she had always been very nervous in the past with these tests. Others spoke up and said they practiced their 'belly breaths' and butterfly taps as well."

For Sara, moments like these are the whole point. "These examples are exactly why we believe this program is so important," she says, "to show that yoga is so much more than the practice 'on the mat,' or in this case 'in the classroom,' and has applications throughout life to navigate through challenges and stay present in the good times."

An instructor and students close out a session with connection and community.

It's a pattern ZENworks has seen echoed across its other Cleveland-area schools too. Teachers have reported students practicing finger tapping quietly under their desks before tests, and one Kindergartner even taught his own mother the technique when he noticed she was upset, then used it himself later that same day after a conflict with a classmate.

Building Trust When the Plan Changes

Launching in a brand-new school wasn't without its obstacles. The original partner school ZENworks intended to work with stopped responding, forcing the team to pivot and identify a new district partner, which pushed the program's start into the spring semester.

The new setting also required a first for the organization: relying on a parent volunteer as the second adult in the classroom, rather than a classroom teacher, due to scheduling limitations at the school. What began as a logistical workaround turned into an unexpected win, opening a door for family members to engage directly with the program.

Students pause with hands on their hearts, a simple grounding practice used throughout ZENworks sessions.

Advice for Other Yoga Service Leaders

Sara's advice to other teachers hoping to start or grow their own yoga outreach work is grounded in the same lesson ZENworks has learned again and again: start with listening.

"Listen to the needs of your particular community and shape your offering around that, as best as possible. Whether it's childcare, an accessible location, collaboration with a partner to offer healthy refreshments, or something completely different, staying attuned to what folks are looking for will help encourage participation."

And, she adds, the work doesn't need to start big to matter. "It doesn't have to be huge to be impactful! Starting with small groups or classes may help those who are new or intimidated by yoga to feel more welcome."

Through the steady, unglamorous work of showing up in classroom after classroom, Elizabeth, Sara, and the rest of the ZENworks Yoga team are proving something simple: a tool as small as a breath, taught consistently enough, can travel with a student well beyond the school day.

Connect with ZENworks Yoga here:

Website: zenworksyoga.org
IG/FB: @zenworksyoga