Yoga and English

 

YOGLISH - YOGA IN ENGLISH!

I’m sure we can all agree that the best way to learn a foreign language is through immersion and practical application. One great way to do that is through a yoga class!  Now, more than ever, physical activity is important for health - so, why not combine a good workout with a language class?

Practicing yoga and learning foreign languages have more in common than you might imagine and they are both fantastic ways to exercise one’s mind.

Why is yoga important for children?

Children these days are busy. Practicing yoga helps kids to relax, relieve stress and anxiety, sleep better, improve emotional regulation and improve overall mood.

As adults, stress is something that we are all too familiar with, it is simply a regular part of our daily lives. However, for children, stress is something they are only just learning about. Yoga can provide them with effective and appropriate tools to help them manage their emotions.

As it is non-competitive, yoga is a fantastic option for children who shy away from sports for fear of failure or being picked last. However, it also helps athletic children excel in other physical activities and sports. Like language learning, yoga requires students to focus on their own learning and not compare themselves to anyone else.

Still not convinced? Here is a summary of some of the benefits of yoga:

1. Yoga helps children manage their anxiety. The breathing exercises and relaxation techniques learned from practicing yoga can help children with stress management. Teaching children how to reduce stress in a healthy way is an important life skill that will help them as children and as adults.
2. Yoga improves children’s emotional regulation. Another benefit of yoga for children is that it helps children learn to be in the present moment while relaxing and gaining a peaceful state of mind, which ultimately improves their emotional regulation.
3. Yoga boosts children’s self-esteem. Yoga for kids can do wonders for their self-esteem. Perfecting a pose or improving their balance and flexibility can give young children a sense of personal empowerment.
4. Yoga increases children’s body awareness and mindfulness. Going through a variety of yoga poses helps children learn about their bodies and the movements they’re capable of doing.
5. Yoga enhances children’s concentration and memory. One of the top benefits of kids’ yoga is that the different types of moves require children to focus and work on their memory skills - both of which can translate over into their academic performance.
6. Yoga develops children’s strength and flexibility. Yoga helps strengthen children’s growing bodies and helps them improve their flexibility, which can reduce their chance of injury.
7. Yoga teaches discipline and reduces impulsivity. Yoga can reduce challenging behaviours in the classroom by providing a physical outlet for children to express themselves. It also teaches children about discipline as they work on clearing their minds and perfecting their poses.
8. Doing all of this in English provides a wonderful opportunity for students to immerse themselves in the language and to apply it in a very practical way. The children learn by actually doing, which leads to a great sense of achievement.
9. The stories and songs used in class provide children with even more opportunity to practice their target language, in a way which engages and entertains. Most importantly; IT IS FUN!!!

So what is YOGLISH?

Yoglish is a series of engaging, entertaining workshops combining Yoga with English. Each workshop incorporates a story, a song, a breathing exercise and a short, guided meditation. This style of yoga is non-denominational, free from religious rhetoric and accessible to all.

What are “yoga stories”?

Each yoga pose carries a name such as; boat, tree, eagle, mountain, bridge, dog, flower etc, These words are seamlessly woven into the stories and participants are encouraged to recreate the relevant poses whenever they hear the target words. The same principle applies to songs and the children have a lot of fun learning and re-creating the poses in time to the music.

Charlie Whitehouse designed and leads the sessions. She is an experienced and qualified English teacher. She is officially certified to teach yoga and mindfulness to children, trained through K.A.Y. (Kidding Around Yoga https://kiddingaroundyoga.com/) affiliated with the Yoga Alliance.

For details of dates, times and booking for YOGLISH online with ECS please see https://www.countryschools.co.uk/english-programme/online-english-lessons