Young People and Yoga: Education for the Body, Mind and Soul

Secondary School Teacher Claire Tamplin breaks the mould and vows to teach the whole child.

Mother of two Claire Tamplin and has been a passionate Teacher of English for the last ten years. Along the way she has gathered an array of achievements: From being the youngest in the U.K to complete the National Professional Qualification in Senior Leadership at Institute of Education, University of London, to being graded as ‘Outstanding’ and described as a ‘highly skilled practitioner’ with ‘sheer vibrancy’ by Ofsted. Yet her proudest moment to date took place during a Yoga session between her and a young person she had been working with in Lockdown 2020…

In 2019, Claire graduated as a Teen Yoga and Mindfulness Specialist and her vision is to ‘cultivate a kind, compassionate, non-judgemental and secure culture, that allows Teen essence to flourish: authenticity, truth, empowerment and peace for all young people.’

Claire initially noticed a need for an ‘in-house solution’ to the stress and anxiety and decline in mental health that pupils were facing. So many barriers to learning were due to lack of self-esteem, self-belief and tools to calm the mind, ground the body and regulate the nervous system. She started up ‘Mindful Monday’s’; delivering nurturing breathing strategies and techniques each week in her school in Hampshire and these were met with positive feedback from both pupils and staff. Witnessing the impact, she knew she needed to do more. Therefore with the support of her school, she trained with Teen Yoga and since then has recently completed her 200hrs Yoga Teacher Training with Universal Yoga in May 2021.

She's come a long way since her initial innovate idea. Now Author of ‘Mindful Moments’ on the South Coast’s largest local radio station- Express FM, Claire delivers messages of education, inspiration and motivation across the airways to parents, educators and courageously opens up conversations surrounding mental health; making it accessible to all. She delivers lectures at Portsmouth University to the next generation of Trainee Teachers on how Yoga and Mindfulness can support staff and pupil well-being and was invited to speak at the annual Teen Yoga Summit.

With a firm grounding in the works of Dr. Daniel Siegel, Claire strongly believes if we are to make learning accessible for all, then we must seek to teach the whole child. She says: ‘Young people are thriving neurologically and physically during this time and therefore emotional literacy is key. Yoga and Mindfulness gently holds the space to allow pupils to learn and understand themselves and lean into their growth anatomy wise and at a deeper, spiritual level. At a time when their brains and bodies are developing at such a rapid rate, feeling your most authentic self and belonging in a community of kindness and connection is crucial.

Recently Claire was nominated for an ‘Inspirational Women of Portsmouth Award, 2021’ for her services in Exercise and Education. Her mission is to inspire and empower more schools to deliver Yoga and focus on Mental Health and Well-Being.

During the global pandemic, Claire gave birth to her second child; her rainbow baby: a healthy daughter! Believing that her Teen Yoga training was needed in Lockdown to support others more than ever - she continued to deliver Yoga sessions during her maternity leave to the Critical Key Worker’s School to pupils. She also delivered online Yoga and Mindfulness for Governors and Staff. ‘Truly divine’ and ‘community support like no other’ has been just some of the uplifting feedback.

Yet it was one piece of feedback during Lockdown that Claire says continues to drive her to listen, learn and long to support others… At the end of a one to one session with a pupil who was experiencing severe anxiety, the pupil looked up and simply said to Claire ‘for the first time in my life I feel peace and I feel free.’

And those words will stay with Claire forever as she continues her journey with Yoga in Education, because no matter what the curriculum content, the exams results or the achievements, as a Mother, a Teacher and a Human Being, ‘I truly believe that all young people deserve to find their peace.’