Both Yoga and Mindfulness are personal disciplines that help the practitioner seek knowledge about oneself as well as being a path of personal growth. The Yoga and Mindfulness mind is an inquisitive mind, never judging but rather curious and enquiring about the various mental processes and physical sensations that are at play during practice. In time, this therapeutic framework (as in a safe practice where exploration is encouraged and feed-back is received) allows for changes to happen so that learning can be transferred to other areas of life, so called ‘off-the-mat'.

Both sets of practices allow for exploration of the self, and encourage observation of the body (resilience, patience and perseverance when practicing postures), and the mind (growth mindset when practising meditation, non judgmental). When studying our relationship to the self and the body we also learn about relationship to others. Classic compassion, or heart-fulness are practices that help send warmth and kindness to oneself, our family and friends, the wider world and even a challenging person.

So in a nutshell, here are the essential principles of Mindfulness and Yoga that meet the PSHE curriculum

  • Knowing oneself,
  • Wellbeing of muscles, bones, joints and breathing system
  • Knowledge of the physical body through benefits for postures
  • Understanding someone else's view point: great for conflict resolution
  • Resilience and perseverance
  • Non judmental ie inclusivity
  • Relationship to others when practising in groups: kindness, support, social skills, taking turn, patience