'We had never done any yoga before and didn't know what to expect. We knew it was about stretching and relaxing but thought we'd be sat on our bottoms humming and trying to get our feet behind our ears!

We sat down on individual mats and to warm up we did some stretching and swaying of our arms. We felt silly at the start and everyone was giggling but after a few minutes we settled into it and began to realise how hard it was. We thought the balancing was really difficult until you got the hang of it and the exercises to tone the belly really hurt. This showed our muscles weren't used to these moves!

We did different types of exercises like...

• Sun Salutation
• Mermaid pose
• Tree pose
• Star pose
• Down Dog

and then we did 10 minutes of relaxation in order to wind down and let our muscles relax.

We said to Miss Davies that we enjoyed it very much, and would like to carry it on.'

Sian & Courtney, 8W

This year has seen the successful integration of yoga, Tai Chi and Pilates to the PSHCE curriculum at Danley Middle School.

The FFS instructor joined with class teachers to lead sessions on mental and physical wellbeing through teaching breathing techniques, visualisations, focusing, calming strategies and balance.

Initially he worked with Year 6 and Year 8 classes in preparation for their examinations. Following this success he has since returned to Danley to take small group sessions with Key Stage 2 children promoting stress relief techniques.

His unique style of delivery has enabled children of all abilities to appreciate the benefits of yoga, Tai Chi and Pilates.

Through Pupil Voice children have commented on improved levels of concentration, a calmer outlook and better physical wellbeing as a result of taking part in these classes. Many have been keen to follow up with further sessions that I look forward to building into PSHCE next academic year.

Ms. Allies, Head of Year 6 at Danley Middle School, Kent