I felt set free. I usually feel very stressed and now I feel free of that. - Year 5 boy

Yoga in Schools

Please visit classyoga.com for my yoga for schools information, resources and training.

Yoga gives young people some rare time for themselves – and can improve not only their physical health, but also their emotional wellbeing. It is a fantastic form of cross-training for young athletes, as well as a form of exercise for those who usually dislike PE, as there is no competition and progress can be seen quickly by the individual. With ever increasing youth drug and alcohol abuse, teen pregnancies and obesity, in addition to the emotional difficulties that all young people face, yoga is a simple way to feel better, reduce stress and boost self-esteem.

Yoga in Schools is a very important focus for Helen who is now developing an additional online resource with Class Yoga.

What we Offer for Schools in Cornwall

  • Weekly yoga classes in your school with any year group, 1-5 classes in a day
  • Teacher training for primary school teachers to allow class teachers to confidently and effectively teach yoga in the classroom
  • Teacher training for secondary school teachers through the Teen Yoga teacher training program
  • Wellbeing Days/ Whole-School PSHE Days

The change in the pupils from the time they entered the class, with some silly giggling and a feeling of some tension in the room, to the complete calm during the final rest period, was a complete transformation Year 10 Tutor

Young People Need Yoga

Ofsted requires every school to actively promote and evaluate students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development. Yoga classes support SMSC education by encouraging students to explore and reflect on life purpose, cause and effect, resilience, obstacles, relationships, feelings and emotions.

Yoga is taught in many schools across the UK as

  • Part of the PE curriculum
  • Part of PHSE curriculum
  • An elective in an enrichment programme
  • A lunch time or after-school club activity
  • An intervention to maximise the achievement of disadvantaged students

Benefits of Yoga

  • Develops strength, flexibility and stamina
  • Reduces tension, stress and anxiety
  • Raises self-esteem and promotes self-efficacy – Improves motivation
  • Develops clarity, focus and concentration
  • Creates awareness of emotional responses
  • Encourages self-management of behaviour
  • Promotes social, mental and emotional health

Teenagers who stress about doing well in their GCSE exams are likely to get lower results than peers who remain calmer, research has found. Source BBC News.

During the yoga sessions the focus is on

  • Improving flexibility
  • Improving coordination and balance, which also helps concentration (and consequently behaviour)
  • Strengthening muscles and bones, which improves posture and breathing (and consequently learning)
  • Increasing self-awareness, confidence and self-esteem
  • Relaxation and calming.

Further Information

Helen suggests 30 minutes with Key Stage 1 pupils, 45 minutes with Key Stage 2 pupils and 45-60 minutes with Key Stages 3 and 4. The classes are taught in school, as part of PE and PSHE or extra-curricular, taught by a qualified school and yoga teacher and have further added benefits for the school including:

  • Meets criteria for SEAL, PE Outcomes, Healthy Schools & Every Child Matters.
  • Enriches PE and PSHE curriculum subjects.
  • Can be combined with other curriculum areas, such as Literacy and RE.
  • Suitable cover for PPA time.

Investment depends on location, please enquire.

Contact Helen via the Contact page to discuss introducing yoga to your students.

Space to Relax

Space to Relax

Give your pupils time to breath within a safe nurturing environment.

The change in the pupils from the time they entered the class, with some silly giggling and a feeling of some tension in the room, to the complete calm during the final rest period, was a complete transformation. – Year 10 Tutor

A Tool for Life

A Tool for Life

Yoga and the practice of mindfulness gives our young people a mechanism to help lead a full, happy and productive life.

I can use yoga to calm me down when someone teases me. – Year 6 boy

Because we’re Year 5 and 6 it’s work, work work usually! You can lie down for a few minutes and then you’re ready to work again. - Year 5 boy

The Yoga for teenager’s sessions, run by Helen Clare as part of the PSHE day at Pool Academy was an outstanding success. It engaged all pupils in each session – from the elite athletes asking if it would be good preparation for an event, both as an improvement to flexibility and as a aid to becoming calm, to a pupil who has expressed hate for “every PE lesson I have had to endure at school”, who expressed his enjoyment of the session and asked where he could take part in a class outside school. The change in the pupils from the time they entered the class, with some silly giggling and a feeling of some tension in the room, to the complete calm during the final rest period, was a complete transformation that I was amazed to see repeated at each of the four sessions. I asked my tutor group at the end of the day which was their favourite session of the day and all of them said the yoga was the best part of the day and at least 30 pupils have asked me if I know where they could practice Yoga. I also mentioned to our teacher trainee mentors that the way you handled class management in such a quiet relaxed way was truly exemplary and that the trainee teachers should try to attend one of your classes to see how successful expecting adult behaviour in such a calm manner can be. - Dene Williams, Year 10 teacher Pool Academy

It helps me forget my negative thoughts. - Year 10 pupil

We’re delighted with the yoga sessions, it’s exactly what we were hoping for and the responses from all pupils, teachers and parents involved have been 100% positive. Pupils have told me they’ve been trying out some of the postures at home, and I’ve already, after 3 weeks, seen an improvement in my pupil’s balance and control when practicing certain postures. The children all enjoy the calm and relaxed environment that you create in the school hall, and it’s a pleasure to see them getting so much from an alternative form of exercise than they’re used to. It’s fantastic CPD also for all staff involved. - Year 3/4 teacher, St Merryn School