Why yoga in schools:

Ofsted asks every school to continue promoting and evaluating students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development. Yoga classes support SMSC education in the child by helping them to: develop agility and quick thinking in a non competitive environment, withdraw projections about the world and see things how they really are, meet challenges with skill and compassion, to work without fear of failure or craving for success, relate to others in a healthy way and manage emotions.

Integrating yoga into the school day helps children to 'let go'; to remain open to the wonder, wisdom and silliness of their own nature. It provides a 'release' which allows concentration and attention to improve and take the anxieties that are bolted on to the pressure to do well, away.

Yoga in schools has been a focus of mine since I started teaching yoga. In my first teaching year I have delivered yoga to teachers and pupils for whom yoga was the obvious choice for key events, i.e Annual Health Week at Dalbeattie High School, the Primary Seven's Transition Evening for moving up to Kirkcudbright High School, sessions at Dumfries High School and sessions were bought in by Dumfries and Galloway Council for their Disability Summer Activity Scheme in Newton Stewart. Kirkgunzeon Primary chose yoga for their end of year treat in their final week and Birchvale Nursery chose yoga for their pupils as part of Mental Health Awareness Week."

I have since taught in various primary schools and secondary schools in Dumfries and Galloway and nurseries such as First Steps.

School/ Early Years & Nurseries Packages(choose 1 or more)

• Weekly yoga classes for Early Years/Nurseries, P1-P7, S1-S6, cluster of schools/nurseries optional, 1-5 classes per day
• Information sessions/presentations on access for routes for secondary school teachers to teach yoga
• COMING SOON: In house (SQA approved)training for primary school teachers enabling use of short sequences, breathing techniques, mindfulness and relaxation for the classroom(note: these do not enable the teacher to perform physical adjustments on a pupil or facilitate classes out of school hours)
• Yoga/wellbeing days

Yoga with Becky can be taught as part of the PE curriculum, integrated in to Duke of Edinburgh/John Muir Awards, as a lunchtime or after school activity, as a means to reach children who have disengaged with physical exercises or to maximise potential of disadvantaged pupils. It can be combined with Religious Education (yoga is not a religion but can be linked to Hinduism and Buddhism), can provide adult yoga sessions for teachers wellbeing and assembly cover time.

Yoga sessions with Becky focus on sound work and singing, non competitive games, asanas (physical yoga postures) for flexibility, breathing exercises, meditation and mindfulness, and relaxation, all safely modified and progressed to the needs, abilities and the body of the pupil.

The benefits of the sessions are:

• Gathering of sense of wellbeing, calm and peace and the sense of emotional balance.
• More respiratory ability and capacity.
• Improved immune function.
• Reduction of stress and increased resilience.
• Developed ability to self-regulate across new environments/demands.
• Improved motor planning and control.

Yoga does this by stretching the muscle receptors, releasing serotonin, the happy chemical. This happy chemical increases coping feeling, combats stress and increases calm and focus. These happy, coping chemicals help the pupil deal with the demands and challenges of the classroom and also help anchor information in the brain's memory. Sleeping patterns normalise when serotonin is increased.

Contact Becky regarding the possibility of introducing yoga and mindfulness into your school or nursery on hi@beckyroseyoga.co.uk