Blue mats covered the floor, shoes lined the wall and 21 bodies in stocking feet followed instructor Kim Rich through poses with names like mountain, warrior and cobra.

It could have been a scene from any neighborhood gym, but these yoga students were in the third grade. The studio was a classroom at Davie Elementary School.

Yoga isn't just for stressed-out grown-ups anymore. Schools in South Florida and across the country are incorporating elements of the ancient exercise into the school day to help students focus, relax and get fit.

Companies offering a yoga curriculum and teacher training have cropped up nationwide, with some adding academics into stretches.

Rich, Davie Elementary's health and wellness teacher, picked this time of year -- Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test season -- because kids are under a lot of pressure.

''I think that this gives them confidence,'' she said. ``It teaches them how to relax.''

Third-grader Cindy Jimenez said it works.

''This class helps us relax a lot,'' said Cindy, 10. ``The FCAT is coming soon, and I'm really nervous.''

Rich incorporated science and math into poses by talking about a butterfly's antennae, asking kids how many sides a triangle has or describing how a leg should be bent at a 90-degree angle.

It's a different kind of FCAT prep, she said: ``We have to develop the whole kid, the mind and body.''

Classes focus on breathing and stretching exercises with kid-friendly names like downward dog, lion and butterfly.

Carol Rowe, grandmother of an 8-year-old at the school and president of the parent-teacher organization, peeked in on one of Rich's classes recently and said she was tempted to kick off her shoes and join in.

''It's good for the kids,'' Rowe said. ``They need the stress relief.''

Parents have long complained about pressure students face because of the FCAT, which determines whether a school is rated excellent or failing, and which can prevent third-graders from being promoted if they don't pass.

The next round of FCAT testing starts Monday.

FCAT PRESSURE

In class recently, Rich asked students to raise their hands if they had stress in their life. Every single student raised a hand.

''They just feel anxious,'' said Davie Assistant Principal April Schentrup. ``They have a lot of work. They absolutely need downtime.''

Fifth-grade teacher Cheryl Carter has already told her students she will take the class with them. And her 10-year-old son Brady, a fifth-grader at Davie, is such a fan that he's led his 6-year-old twin siblings in poses.

''My son is crazy about it,'' she said. ``He's making me buy him the video.''

Teachers at Coral Gables Elementary School started doing yoga exercises with kids in prekindergarten through first grade this school year.

TIME TO BREATHE

About 200 kids are participating; their teachers were trained last summer through a program called YogaKids. Students do poses and breathing exercises between different subjects or after coming back from the playground.

''It helps them stop and think about their breathing and self-discipline,'' said Principal Cheli Cerra. ``The kids love it. They think it's fun, but at the same time it helps them calm down.''

Middle and high school physical education teachers in Miami-Dade County have been taught how to incorporate yoga and pilates movements into warm-up exercises in gym class.

''It does stretch the body. It relieves the muscle tension. It is relaxing because it incorporates the breathing techniques,'' said Jayne Greenberg, the Miami-Dade school district's director for physical education and health literacy.