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Yoga means connection
Translated from its original Sanskrit, the ancient language of India,
Yoga or 'Yuj' can be understood to mean 'Union' or 'to yoke'.
At Seedling Yoga, we understand this to mean "connection"
Connection between brain, body and breath
The neurons that fire in our brain influence our ability to move and connect with each muscle in our body.
Intentionally paying attention to our bodies as we move and breathe grows our awareness of ourselves and our unique needs.
Self-connection at the level of breath and body meaningfully equips us to care for our amazing minds and bodies throughout our lives.
Connection to our emotions
Yoga teaches us to listen to and understand the messages our body gives us. Finding the words to explain how we feel is an essential life skill. Building our emotional vocabularies helps us know how to manage big and painful feelings and gives us the language we need to be able to ask for help.
Connection to others
The more we understand ourselves the more we can understand others. Practising Yoga increases our ability to be kind to ourselves and others and encourages us to consider another person's perspective when building friendships and navigating conflict.
Connection to the earth
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When we move our bodies into the stretches, their names remind us of the animals we share our planet with. When we focus on our breath, we feel connected to the trees that share the cycle of oxygen and carbon dioxide with us. As we meditate on our values, we take action on what matters. As we grow our connection to ourselves through our Yoga practice, we see how we are part of a greater ecosystem that we have a responsibility to care for.
Practicing yoga
Develops our confidence to navigate our own well-being with tools to identify and manage anxious thoughts, care for our bodies and communicate emotions, feelings and needs.
Minimises risk and develops protective factors to become more resilient through accessing support and using strategies to support others.
Exposes us to activities that encourage and enable thinking creatively to develop constructive solutions to support and enhance our personal and collective well-being.
Seedling Yoga and the New Zealand Curriculum
The Seedling Yoga curriculum has been designed to align with the New Zealand Health and Physical Education Curriculum. This gives Senior Leadership and classroom teachers peace of mind that working with us is providing meaningful learning opportunities for their school community.
Seedling Yoga and the Key Competancies
Thinking
Through Yoga we practice noticing our thoughts in all kinds of situations. As we cultivate this skill, we begin to see how our thoughts influence how we feel about and respond to situations in our lives.
Relating to others
Yoga cultivates our awareness of ourselves.
This awareness builds our capacity to recognise and communicate our wants and needs to others.
The more we know ourselves and can ask for what we need, the better we can show up for, and relate to, others.
Language, Texts and Symbols
Yoga not only facilitates growing our emotional literacy, it also increases our ability to recognise how body language, facial expressions, art, dance and music can all be forms of self-expression that connect us to one another.
Managing Self
Managing self means being able to make choices and take actions that are right for us and our community. Yoga gives us an opportunity to practice making those choices whilst building our confidence and curiosity.
Participating and Contributing
The opportunities to practice understanding and managing ourselves builds our confidence to try new things, participate in new experiences and step outside of our comfort zone.Â
As we practice Yoga together and take time to reflect on our thoughts, feelings and experiences we contribute to our classroom communities by sharing our unique perspectives and listening to others share theirs.
Work with us
Are you an educator feeling the pull to a different way of being in the classroom for yourself and your learners?
Are you a school leader with a genuine commitment to growing and supporting well-being in your learning community?
Do you want to seed a new future in education?
Seedling Yoga Educator Program
Are you an educator who wants to see our current system transformed? Grow alongside others with a similar vision.
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Meet the seedling curriculum with other curious and committed educators
Cultivate your self-connection
Authentically embody the social and emotional skills you want for your tamariki
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Karine Bell
"How do I become conscious enough.. how do I become present enough to be the one who does something different?