The Heart of Yoga Yoga Education in Schools Y.E.S. with Andrew Raba
Rosalind and Andrew meet again to lay out the vision for the Heart of Yoga ‘YES’ programme: Yoga Education in Schools.
Andrew shares the vision behind it: for every young person to leave school with a basic yoga education including the ability to practice connection with body and breath at home by themselves.
We discuss how the project was born from Andrew's experience teaching yoga at a high school in New Zealand, where he saw firsthand how it benefited both students and teachers. And we discuss the 8-week teen yoga course that is at the heart of the YES program.
Key Topics:
- The mental health crisis among teens and the need for new solutions
- How the YES project started at Andrew's high school in New Zealand
- The vision for bringing yoga education to every student globally
- The 8-week teen yoga course and how it's structured
- Teaching yoga breathing and asana to younger kids
- Stories of how teens benefit from yoga classes at school
- Training people to deliver the YES teen program in schools internationally
- Creating positive experiences for young people through yoga
Insights:
- Young people intuitively understand and feel the benefits of yoga for themselves. When they experience it, they don't need convincing to keep practicing.
- Yoga can create contexts for authentic human connection between teens and teachers. It's not about assessment or filling them with knowledge.
- Teens appreciate having a space to rest, be quiet, and tap into inner peace amidst the stresses of school. The yoga "cleans the pot" so they can focus again.
- Teens provide profound and sensitive feedback on how yoga helps their mental health, grounding, sleep, and ability to engage life.
- Yoga is a positive cultural intervention, offering kids tools to transform their relationship with themselves, others and nature.
Quotes:
"Yoga is prior to intellectual subjects and learning about life. It's to be connected to your actual life."
"After doing this, I feel like nothing can knock me off my balance." — teenage practitioner
"The breath made me feel all tingly and calm. Afterwards I feel like I can sleep for an eternity because I'm so connected to the earth." — 13 year old student
Resources:
Heart of Yoga: heartofyoga.org/YES
YES New Zealand Project Website: yogainschools.org.nz
Train to be a facilitator: October–November 2024, online
Timestamps:
2:00 - Introducing the YES project and its vision
4:00 - How the project started organically at Andrew's New Zealand high school
6:00 - Taking yoga into schools globally, training facilitators
10:00 - The mental health crisis and need for yoga in schools
15:00 - Creating the 8-week teen yoga program
20:00 - On the profound wisdom and experiences of teens
25:00 - Powerful stories of teens benefiting from yoga
30:00 - Using yoga for relational intelligence and autonomy
35:00 - Training people internationally to share the program
45:00 - Teaching yoga breathing to younger kids
50:00 - Allowing teens to experience all facets of life in yoga
55:00 - Yoga as a positive intervention in society and culture