This class is suitable for the Active Kid Voucher Program. The cost with the AKV is $20 for the minimum attendance of 8 weeks. If you wish to continue after that time, the cost is $17 per class.
Blue Moon Yoga Studio, Springwood has commenced for the first time this year a one hour yoga class specifically for year 11 and 12 HSC students. The aim is to teach a set of simple but effective yoga skills that you, as a student, can take and use anytime, anywhere to mitigate your stress levels. These skills will not only be effective during your final high school times, but are useful life-time skills.
We have all experienced that studying for the HSC can be the most stressful time, relative to all other studies while at school. You may be aware that your feelings of stress can often spill-over to your household. Therefore any lowering of your stress, will be of benefit for all at home.
It has been demonstrated that different practices of Yoga can be highly effective in reducing stress, and thus increasing attention, concentration, memory retention. Better sleep, eating and just a feeling of lightness often occur after doing these practices regularly. These benefits are well beyond the usual physical health benefits that are more accepted and understood by the general public.
This class is specifically designed for students to:
- Give a guided relaxation period to help cut-through the underlying stress and enable the mind and body to reset so that you can go back to study fresher and hence be able to concentrate and retain more. (Relaxation itself is a skill that many people sadly can find difficult to develop without assistance, as they have never actually experienced the full sensation of trust of just “letting go” for a time).
- Teach some simple but extremely effective breathing practices. These can then be used throughout your day anywhere, anytime, to help break/ease that cycle of stress that is so easy to get caught in.
- Teach two moving meditative/mindfulness practices. Again the purpose of these are to break and reset the cycle of stress build-up. These two practices, for most, will be effective at home in a quiet place, with the equivalent floor space of the shape of a yoga mat (which is not necessary for the practices).
- Teach 6 yoga postures and and active sequence for when the body needs to be active, as there needs to be a balance between the inactivity of sitting while studying and mindfulness practices.
All these yoga skills require practice; like any other skills. However the doing and practicing in themselves facilitate the desired effect of decreasing their stress levels.
This is a structured program with a progression of active skill learning over the 8 weeks.
It would be expected that you will be well practiced and competent in these skills within 8 classes and can be usefully implemented immediately. However you may wish to stay longer just because of the guided relaxation where you can “let go” completely.
Places are limited to 10 students because of the size of the yoga studio. However while Covid is an issue in the community, a maximum of 8 students can be accommodated. Bookings are essential.
The HSC Stress-buster class is on Wednesday afternoon and goes for an hour from 4.30 to 5.30pm.
Updated: 05/01/23
