An increasing number of organisations including the Association for Physical Education and the Youth Sport Trust recognise that yoga practise offers meaningful benefits to both child and adult overall well being.

Understanding the link between mind and body, practising yoga at all ages enhances physical and mental wellbeing. Yoga is the science of physical exercise which prepares the mind for calm, rest and relaxation, the ideal state of mind for learning!  

WOCY offers tools to support and supplement School PSHE programmes to help children and young people navigate both recognised and unrecognised challenges facing them, including anxiety, stress, information overload and in addition, in the more recent context of Coronovirus, the effects of a lack of socialisation and fear of the future.

With the tools offered by yoga, we can help children prepare for a future and workplace where they need to be able to:

• cope with fast pace change

• persevere to find solutions to unknown challenges

• be confident and believe in themselves

• communicate with emotional intelligence

• collaborate and work effectively with others

Children's yoga is not a simplified version of yoga for adults, it's a unique practise, enabling children to build self awareness as they experience yoga as a stimulating mind-body experience.

In addressing these challenges, WOCY has developed '5 principles to Wellbeing':

1. Connection to the world and self

   • through engaging/relevant stories/themes

   • an exploration and understanding of their bodies, in an age appropriate way

2. Physical Movement

   • Stretches for flexibility, releasing tension, frustration and feelings through the body

   • Strengthening to build and maintain physical mobility and resilience

   • Yoga sequences for activity, to energise, for co-ordination and motivation

3. Balances to enhance concentration and focus

4. Breathing exercises to calm, energise or encourage whole brain thinking, as appropriate

5. Mindful moments to aid relaxation, to quieten the mind, to build mental & emotional resilience

WOCY further enhances classroom learning of National Curriculum, PSHE curriculum topics as well as British Values. Here are some examples of my regular and one off classes, workshops and training and I'm happy to work with you to develop others.

Primary:

• Romans, Egypt, the Environment, Festivals, including Chinese New Year, Vesak, Diwali,

• Tolerance, Diversity, Healthy bodies

• Exam preparation workshops for focus, calm and confidence

• Year 6 to 7 transition workshop on change

Secondary

• Resilience Yoga, Yoga for Calm, Yoga for Strength, Personal Power, Stress and Anxiety Management, Yoga for Winter (and other seasons), Yoga for Sleep, Yoga for Flexibility

More detailed list of weekly topics, upon request.

WOCY Classroom Breaks

WOCY has developed a programme of Classroom Breaks which can be used by teachers in both Primary and Secondary Schools. This allows students to access chair based yoga in a bite sized way during class and during class transitions. Students and teachers or students alone experience a range of  yoga activities from stretching, balancing, breathing, massage, mini visualisations and relaxations, to release energy and body tension throughout the day. Students can 'reset', boost their focus, concentration, confidence, with a renewed motivation to learn.

School Professionals

WOCY has designed an in school yoga provision for busy school professionals, who, during the school day are always 'on', focusing on the needs of their students.

Additional benefits of yoga for school professionals include:

• An outlet to releases daily stresses and tension

• Additional strategies for how to remain calm in challenging scenarios

• Enhanced self awareness to connect with students and colleagues in a different way

WOCY can offer:

• Inset day workshops

• Weekly before or after school classes

Wider School Community

I'm sure you've heard the saying 'It takes a village to raise a child'. The wellbeing of everyone in a child's 'village', their community is vitally important to support and raise happy, healthy children who make a positive contribution to society. As well as WOCY for School Professionals classes, I also offer the following opportunities for families, parents and carers to share yoga with children in a lifelong journey of body and mind development.

These opportunities include:

• School hosted wellbeing talks, focused on how to incorporate yogic practices into everyday life

• Family yoga classes