We are about to start a new research project with Westminster University, and we need your help!
One of our main objectives at the Teen Yoga Foundation is to get yoga into schools and other places where young people are. We feel it should be part of the curriculum and the NHS. This would radically increase the reach of yoga and the demand for it among young people, which would be valuable for everyone, especially as Sportivate funding disappears.
Following on from our meetings in the House of Lords, MPs, civil servants and other policy makers are asking us to “prove” with research what we all know from experience, that yoga is transformative for young people. But there is a lack of really strong evidence (there are lots of small studies but no large projects in the UK so far)
However, when we go to large funding bodies to ask for funds to do this kind of work, they won’t provide them until they see stronger indications that yoga research is worth funding. So, we need to collect that initial evidence. And for this we need your help.
The research project
Our research will focus on a simple “before/after” questionnaire over a six-week period with as many young people who are doing yoga as possible. The questionnaire will be accessible by mobile phone and take about 10 minutes. They would do it at the start of the first class and again after six classes. The questionnaire will be centred on their wellbeing (and we would expect their sense of wellbeing to improve!).
In order to achieve this, we need to involve as many teen yoga teachers as possible throughout the UK. If you have a group starting in January or any time in the first half of 2018, we would love you to participate in this research. (If you have more than one group, even better!)
How you can help
The process is straightforward and simple: you get in touch, read the instructions, ask any questions you may have, and then get the young people to do the questionnaire (and do one meanwhile yourself) at the beginning of the course and after six classes.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HELP TO BUILD THE PROOF THAT YOGA WORKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE, PLEASE WRITE A QUICK MESSAGE TO [email protected]
In the message, please give
- your name,
- when you start the classes, and
- an estimate of how many young people you can reach
Thankyou!
