Portsmouth, UK – Hundreds of schoolchildren across the city have been encouraged to practice movement and mindfulness for better health and wellbeing as part of a new community outreach programme.

Last year, Mindful Stretch sessions were delivered to more than 250 pupils across three infant year groups at Stamshaw Infant School to inspire more children to participate in regular physical activity.

Incorporating yoga and Pilates based movement, the weekly sessions were delivered in classrooms by a BH Live Active’s health and fitness instructor to assist children’s personal development and teach participants key skills for life.

Yoga has been consistently proven to alleviate mental health symptoms; strengthen self-control; manage behavioural changes; improve relaxation; build confidence; and enhance overall wellbeing in children and adolescents*.

The sessions were a great success, with Jo Cooper, Headteacher at Stamshaw Infant School, sharing;

“We feel very privileged to have had the opportunity to participate in BH Live’s wonderful ‘Mindful Stretch’ program. We have seen firsthand the benefits that these ‘mindfulness stretch’ sessions have brought to our Infant School. The sessions were not only practical and easy to integrate into our daily routine, but they were also wonderfully creative and engaging for the children.

“The mindfulness techniques, like focusing on their breath or noticing how their body feels, have been useful tools for the children to use to calm down after busy parts of the day, or when they are feeling dysregulated. We’ve even noticed some children trying these techniques in the classroom, which aids their ability to focus, listen, and cooperate.

“These sessions were a highlight of the children’s week. Mindfulness stretch sessions would be a practical, effective, and valuable addition to any school.”

Following the success and popularity of the Mindful Stretch sessions, BH Live is hoping to extend the programme to further schools across the city. For more information or to register interest, visitors are encouraged to get in touch at enquiries@bhlive.org.uk.

BH Live is a registered charity and social enterprise. In partnership with Portsmouth City Council, BH Live operates BH Live Active leisure centres across the city – the Mountbatten Leisure Centre; Pyramids (and Exploria – Portsmouth’s largest soft play and bounce centre based at Pyramids); Portsmouth Tennis & Gymnastics Centre; Charter Community Sports Centre and Wimbledon Park Sports Centre.

Carla Earle is the Community Sports Manager for BH Live, overseeing the development of BH Live Active’s sport initiatives across the city to encourage more Portsmouth communities to be active. On behalf of BH Live, Carla said;

“We are delighted to have worked with Stamshaw Infant School to deliver our Mindful Stretch sessions. There are so many benefits to practicing yoga-style movement. By encouraging schoolchildren to get active from an early age, we hope we can inspire more young people to develop key personal skills, and create healthy habits for life.”

Cllr Lee Hunt, Cabinet Member for Community Safety, Leisure & Sport said:

"It's fantastic to see BH Live are encouraging the children in our communities to get active at such a young age. As a council, we work hard to support and encourage healthy lifestyles for our residents, including the little ones. We are very grateful to BH Live for delivering such worthwhile sessions and are thrilled to hear they'll be visiting other schools as well."

More information about BH Live Active can be found online at bhliveactive.org.uk.