For around 11 months now the Epsom centre in Surrey has been welcoming children to the centre every Thursday at 4pm to enjoy the kids’ Power Brain’ class, which is part of the BEL program (Brain Education for Enhanced learning). This program is taught in other parts of the world such as Korea and the US and promotes Physical, Emotional and Cognitive Intelligence for children and teachers alike. Last year Sam went to the Mago Garden Retreat Centre in Sedona to take the BEL course so that she could start teaching this program here in the UK. Let’s hear about how she came to be in this position and what motivates her to teach Brain Education!
BB: How did starting a kids class come about?
Sam: I had been doing Dahn yoga for my own benefit for about 2 years and I loved it so much that I wanted my children to be a part of it so I took the BEL course in America in Sedona so that I could
teach the kids class here in England.
BB: You said you did the BEL training. Can you share what that training was like and what you experienced in Sedona?
Sam: Brain Education is all over America. It’s very popular and is in the schools over there and they have lots of different centres teaching Brain Education. There are quite a lot of teachers in America teaching Brain Education. There were 2 people from England on my course and the actual course itself was quite hard going. It taught us how to start with ourselves and our own well-being, and taught us how to put forward the course contents towards the children. It was hard training, harder than I’d done here in the UK, but it was very enjoyable. It was such a good group energy and we came out of it feeling like we were part of a family and part of a big team which I still feel. It keeps me going knowing that I’m one of only 3 people in the UK that currently teaches Brain Education. I learnt quite a lot about the benefits of Brain Education for children, from toddlers right up to school age, and to leaving school, becoming adults, and taking it in to their everyday life. It involves focusing on themselves and on what they are achieving in that moment and helps them study and helps them do better in their exams.
BB: One of your own children, Lily-Rose is attending the classes. How would you say she has changed through the classes?
Sam: Lily-Rose is much better at controlling her temper since we started these classes. She’s more able to change her mood when asked to change and she realises that she doesn’t have to feel what she is feeling. She can change all the bad feelings that she’s feeling. She’s a lot less aggressive and shouty, and she’s a lot kinder to everybody. She’s normally quite kind to her sister but she’s a lot kinder in her thoughts about herself, and life generally. She used to be very harsh about herself and about life and about other people, but she’s managed to tone that down a lot since starting these classes and she enjoys all the stretches and sometimes we do stretches at home. She is more active in doing things at home with me. She’s also better at getting off to sleep and sleeping well. She can relax more.
BB: What’s your vision for the next year?
Sam: My vision for the next year is to get 2 classes going at the centre. We would like to have a class for older children and a class for the younger children. I would also like to take it in to schools. I plan to see if my own childrens school is interested in having an after school class or maybe I could go in to some of the lessons and do some Power Brain exercises then. I came back from America with lots of ideas! Once I’ve got a year of experience I will approach the school and see what they think. I would love for it to be taught in the schools in this country and I would love for there to be another teacher in this country who can also teach Brain Education. I’ve already met up with the other 2 teachers here and we’ll work together.
BB: Originally why did you join the centre and what has been the most prominent and precious change within you?
Sam: I joined the Dahn Yoga centre in Epsom because I was looking for yoga and I didn’t just want a stretching yoga, I wanted a yoga that went deeper within me. A lot of the classes in Epsom are just for stretching. I was looking for a different take on my health and my exercise routine. When I started it took me a long time to get in to the exercises because it wasn’t what I was used to. I was used to doing Iyengar yoga but after doing Dahn yoga for a while, I realised there were loads of
other benefits to Dahn yoga! It was making my head clearer, sorting out my head and making me a
calmer person. I used to have a tendency to shout at my children quite a lot. Being a mum of 2 children, now I don’t shout half as much, I don’t get upset about not having all the proper housework done and getting all the menial things around the house done. I’m more able to concentrate on what is important for me, now, in my life and what is going on, rather than what is going on in my house and with my family. I’m much more in tune with concentrating on me and what is important for me to achieve in that day or in that week or in that moment. I don’t tend get so stressed that I can’t get everything done at the same time. I’m not wanting to get everything done at the same time! I’m quite able to leave tasks for when I can do them and not get stressed about them. So that has changed quite a lot in my life. It has calmed the whole family down. One thing I didn’t want to do was for my children to grow up with a stressed mummy. Before I found Dahn yoga I was looking for some way to calm down my temper and to calm myself. Dahn
Yoga was the perfect thing for me because it has done exactly that. The last thing I wanted was stressed children. Not knowing what to do about stress and being a stressed person just rubs off. I realised whatever I do and whatever I say, my children just copy me. I didn’t want my children to copy me and be the type of person that I was. I wanted to change ‘me’ before I could change anybody else, and Dahn yoga has taught me how to do that.
BB: Gamsahamnida, you are a very inspiring person, thank you for your time! I’m sure many other mums are looking to feel calmer and less stressed. Good luck with your kids class and I’m sure you will achieve your vision! Thank you.
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