June 21st is recognized as the International Day of Yoga and this year the theme is “Yoga for Self and Society”. 

In celebrating this day, we’d like to highlight Elevate, our weekly yoga and mindfulness sessions in partnership with Be Inspired. The Elevate sessions take on a holistic approach to support young people.  

How do Elevate sessions use yoga and meditation to help young people? 

The session starts by asking the young people to check in with themselves 

The sessions often start with a question, meant for young people to check-in with themselves and each other to see how they’re feeling today, what emotions they’re bringing into the session, and what’s at the forefront of their minds. They also serve as a great way for staff to see what could be most beneficial for the group on that day.  

The session may then include yoga poses and sequences for physical relaxation 

If young people complain of physical tiredness, which they often do following a whole day of school, a sequence of yoga poses known as sun salutations helps wake up their bodies, stretch tense muscles, and feel re-energized.  

The young people might also choose to use the session for relaxing their minds through meditation 

If they’re stressed from the loud world with many distractions and demands, some guided meditation might be useful to find some inner peace. They’ll sit or lie in a comfortable position on the mat, put on an eye mask if they’d like, and focus on their breathing as they find calm in the present.  

Sometimes the young people like to use yoga as a way of connecting to each other  

If what they want is simply to connect with one another, they’ll work together to do partner poses ranging in difficulty, encourage one another to do more challenging stretches and play group games that test their teamwork and flexibility.  

What do the members have to say about these sessions?  

“I knew I had to go to Elevate before my exam week started because I’ve been feeling really stressed about it.” 

“I like how you have the option to slow down. It reminds me that you don’t have to think so far ahead in your life but can just focus on what’s happening now, and what you’re doing to help yourself now.”  

“I’ve seen that yoga can redirect energy positively, help calm minds and bodies especially during anxiety periods…it can help increase their social situations…it can help make the quality-of-life calmer for someone going through an illness or hard time.”  

Drawing it back to this year’s theme, the sessions reflect how individual health and personal development are intertwined with collective health and social progress.

If you or any young person you know could benefit from Elevate, join us every Thursday during term time in the Garden Room from 5:15-6:15.

Mary’s X Urban Yogis X DLA Architecture

Thanks to DLA Architecture’s funding to Urban Yogis, we were able to trial Yoga at the centre before being granted additional funding from Young Grant Makers to continue the session at Mary’s for the next two years.