Inspiring the next generation of UK’s youngest yoga teachers'

Through her weekly teen yoga clubs, Robin inspired the next generation of young yoga teachers. Florence Cross (Flo), one of her students, completed her 200-hour teacher training at just 15 years old. She now runs her own business, 'Floga,' and there were several other students from Robin's classes who later went on to train or even open their own yoga studios.

Image of Flo and Robin talking about yoga and young people at the ‘Instill conference’ in London. A conference to promote and share scientific research about yoga in education and the impact on young people.

Flo and Robin have known each other since primary school, where Robin was Flo's playground monitor in Year 6. When Robin started her teen yoga classes in Stroud, Flo spotted a poster in a café, remembered Robin, and decided to join. Since then, they’ve worked on various yoga projects together and spoken at conferences, advocating for yoga and young people.

Image of students on the peer to peer course teaching each other a guided relaxation on the course Flo and I delivered.

Robin and Flo also collaborated on an idea to train young yoga instructors through short courses, enabling them to teach their peers. They initially sought funding from the NHS CCG, who requested evidence of the program's efficacy. To prove this, they approached Active Gloucestershire, who funded a pilot at Bournside School. They trained a small group of 12 students from years 9-11, using a combination of in-person visits and 1-1 mentoring. The students enjoyed the course, and a few went on to complete their 200-hour training. However, the COVID-19 pandemic created challenges in implementing the program further.