Why do our Teens need support throughout their transformative years?

FACT: Did you know that 20% of adolescents live with a mental health condition?

If like us this figure shocked you, then please read more.

When we first came across this statistic it confirmed to us that the growing difficulties teens face, were not just localised to Liverpool or to certain economic bands. This figure covers teens living across the UK. As a business that focuses on physical and mental wellbeing for children, we knew we had to do something to try to help the 20% already affected but also to help prevent this figure increasing! Estelle the founder of YogaBears teamed up with fitness professionals across the UK to design a programme that has the ability to meet this figure head on! Transform Teen Yoga & Fitness was created using a 20/20/20 formula of 20mins Fitness20mins Yoga20mins Mindfulness – based around 7 Inner Forces The Transform formula causes the body to release chemicals called endorphins. These endorphins interact with the receptors in our  brains to reduce our perception types of pain, such as anxiety, which can be the trigger to mental health issues.

FACT: Did you know that 50% of all mental illnesses begin by the age of 14?

We believe that this figure can be drastically reduced if children are given the opportunity to take part in a class such as Transform. The unfortunate reality is that not many opportunities exist for our teen population. The country now has an abundance of adult yoga studios, gyms and fitness centres that serve an affluent segment of our population. What we want for our teens, is for them to be given a toolkit that helps them develop physically and emotionally stronger, a practice that they can turn too regularly and incorporate into their everyday lives.

The average delay between the onset of Mental Health symptoms and intervention is between 8 and 10 years. We propose that Transform could be the intervention needed to overcome the challenges many teens are facing, we believe Transform can prevent the problems before they start. 

Transform promotes consistency of self-care with our 20/20/20 formula, 20 minutes fitness, 20 minutes yoga and 20 minutes mindful study thus creating a holistic approach. Transform promotes a positive body image whilst ensuring students create happiness, creativity, strength, love, truth, intuition and freedom from the inside out. We call these the 7 essential Transformative Inner Forces.

A study of 1,118 British teenagers, conducted by YouGov reports that 31% of 13- to 19-year-olds feel ashamed of their body shape. The Transform ethos is for children to ‘FLY,’ which means, First Love Yourself. Transform promotes a positive body image by highlighting to students that we are all beautifully unique, and strength in body and mind is key with a love and appreciation for others not judgment and comparisons. Research has shown that teens dissatisfaction with their appearance often stems from comparing themselves unfavourably with others. Transform provides the opportunity and platform for teens to talk about their feelings and help them understand that comparison to others will become a self-destructing activity. Instead Transform teaches Teens about the importance of compassion for themselves.

According to Mental Health.Org, two in five teens reported that pictures they had seen on social media had made them worry about their body. We want to encourage all teens to be confident about their bodies. The Transform fitness flows facilitate the creation of this confidence. The Yoga flows allow the teens to absorb their inner confidence learning to move with the breath and connecting on the inside. This inner connection is a concept that many adults struggle with and a huge majority of adult yoga classes will be filled with adults trying to regain or discover this concept. We have all heard that famous saying, “listen to your body” but how do we do this if we have never been shown?? Well Transform can show us how! The Mindfulness creates awareness of their confidence so they can pinpoint where they lack confidence and what they can do to address it, thus empowering all our teens.

Social media is highlighted as a key contributor to  Teenage mental health issues. Transform seeks to be a happy healthy activity away from social media which will not only combat the anxiety caused by social media but is also an opportunity of distraction from mobile or gaming devices.

Transform directly correlates with the new government initiative, Relationships and Health Education in Schools Programme. The new curriculum will become mandatory from September 2020 and we hope to see schools embrace the programme and programmes such as Transform are the perfect way to do this.

However, the reality for us here at YogaBears is the lack of Teen Yoga Teachers across the country. We have worked and continue to work with Teens and whilst we acknowledge the challenges preadolescents can present for us our work with this age group is one of the most rewarding parts of our job. We need more people to share our passion for making a difference to such a huge part of the population. At YogaBears as a business we offer a 50% reduction of our training costs to teachers in primary or secondary education whom want to incorporate yoga and mindfulness into the school environment.

We would firstly like to thank you for taking the time to read this blog, but may we ask one final thing, could you please share this with anyone whom you may think would consider becoming a Transform Yoga & Fitness Teacher. Once again YogaBears is not a franchise and the fee for this course is as follows;

4 Day Foundation Course – suitable for those with no previous Yoga qualifications £892 2 Day Course – suitable for those with pre-existing yoga qualifications

Dates

4 Day Course – Feb 21st-24th 2 Day Course – Feb 23rd 24th

If you would like to discuss this course in more detail please get in touch! Email Vicky at teacher.training@yogabears.uk