Clearlight Yoga
with Lucia Moat
Yoga & mindfulness
for children & young people
Yoga & mindfulness practice has many benefits for children & young people. I offer classes and workshops for children and young people of all ages from 2½ upwards. I am also happy to offer Yoga to children through schools, pre-schools, youth groups and home education groups.
Benefits of Yoga for children
See this blog post for information about the benefits of Yoga for children.
Children's Yoga 1-1/small family group sessions
I can provide Yoga sessions in your home for one or more children. Get in touch if you are interested in discussing this for your child or children.
Teaching Mindfulness to Children & Young People
More and more children and young people are suffering the effects of stress in their everyday lives. Pressure to perform well at school, anxiety from living through a pandemic let alone everyday peer pressure.
Anxiety is a natural state of being but when it becomes overwhelming and starts to adversely effect a child or young persons mental health and wellbeing it can become extremely damaging.
This is where Mindfulness practice can be very helpful to rebalance the state of mind.
What are the benefits of practicing mindfulness?
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Reduces stress, anxiety & depression
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Develops emotional intelligence
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Increases mental focus and resilience
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Enhances physical and mental wellbeing
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Promotes respect for oneself and others
Just to name a few!
What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is a way of paying attention to the present moment, using techniques like meditation and yoga. It helps us to become more aware of our thoughts and feelings. So instead of being overwhelmed by these strong emotions, we’re better able to manage them in an appropriate manner. We learn to respond rather than over react in difficult situations and circumstances. Mindfulness can be used as a tool to manage ones wellbeing and mental health (emotional health).
Through Mindfulness children and young people can develop -
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‘Concentration power’ - the ability to stay focused for consecutive moments and to notice when the mind has wondered off, and to develop the ability to bring it back to where you want it to be.
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‘Sensory clarity’ - the ability to recognise sensation in the body, including the felt sense of the breath and then, maybe able to register where they notice emotions in the body.
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‘Equanimity’ - the ability to take things in their stride. Developing a more neutral response to circumstances, enjoying the pleasant and acknowledging the unpleasant with awareness that both are temporary.
Through Mindfulness, children and yoga people learn to pay attention to their thoughts helping them to become more aware of how they are feeling. They then can learn to cultivate wisdom and discernment enabling them to feel more in control of their feelings and life in general.
Mindfulness is not:
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Religious
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Learning to empty your mind
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A way to fix things that are wrong
Yoga & mindfulness in schools, pre-schools and for home education groups
I can offer Yoga classes in a school, pre-school or home education group setting. These can be tailored to the needs of the children in your setting and to fit with the curriculum. Get in touch with me to discuss further.
For an example please see this testimonial from a pre-school where I have done regular sessions through the academic year.
After school clubs
I can offer Yoga and mindfulness as an after school club, either for groups of children or parents and children together. Get in touch if you are interested in organising after school Yoga and mindfulness at your school.
Children's Yoga workshops
I can offer yoga workshops as part of holiday play-schemes and clubs, youth clubs and groups. Get in touch if you would like to discuss putting on a Yoga workshop for your group.