By Rachel Rookwood

Working on the original mindfulness project was incredibly special for me, being able to go into schools and share my love of yoga and mindfulness is such a great privilege. Combining it with the amazing Tangled Feet show “Butterflies” gave us a unique story to tell and a special way to communicate with the children. 

Unfortunately it is undeniable, we are facing a mental health crisis, with evidence it is becoming increasingly more prevalent in our young people with a reported 1 in 10 children suffering with a mental health disorder. Introducing them to yoga and mindfulness at a young age can give them the tools to work through this in a healthy and supported way. This is the crux of the mindfulness project. 

When the pandemic arrived and changed our way of life, we knew that the very children we are trying to reach through the mindfulness project would be the ones most affected by the lockdown. With schools being closed we decided to take the project online and provide this amazing resource for free through the Tangled Feet YouTube channel. The Mindfulness at Home Project was born.

The online episodes follow the same pattern as the original schools project with a new episode launching each week over a ten week period. Taking the key elements of the butterflies show we follow the journey of three friends. Together we travel on boats, scale mountains and explore caves carefully guiding the children’s imaginations to explore their emotions. Each episode introduces them to two new yoga postures, a new mindfulness tip as well as different ways to express what they are feeling.  

We hope this can start conversations with the people around them, as well as giving useful, memorable tools to help them deal with these explored emotions. We finish the episodes with mini meditations, inviting them to create their own little safe spaces of blankets, cushions and teddies. With all that is going on, everyone needs the opportunity to take some time out to rest their minds and restore.

To watch The Mindfulness Project at Home, head over to Tangled Feet's YouTube channel: