Five schools. One week.
500+ children who tasted what calm feels like.
In the first week of June 2026, one yoga teacher visited five primary schools across Amstelveen.
They discovered that negative self-talk is just a voice in your head — and tried the tools to turn it into calm.
Five schools, five characters
Each with its own identity. All with the same question.
Montessori
where children learn at their own pace
Protestant-Christian
two schools where quiet reflection is part of the culture
Public child centre
named after a man who had a dream
Catholic
one school, spread over two locations
How do we help children handle hard feelings?
The challenge schools told us about
Dutch children are under more pressure than ever. The Doorstroomtoets looms over groep 8. Screens fill every quiet moment. Many children learn to hide what they feel instead of handling it.
Teachers see it daily: full heads, short fuses, children who don't have words for what's happening inside.
What we brought
Not a lecture. A 45-minute experience where the body teaches what the mind remembers.
A true Dutch story
Children moved through yoga poses while hearing how Boyan Slat — a 16-year-old from Delft — watched his ocean cleanup machines break three times before they worked. They held difficult poses while Boyan struggled, breathed when he breathed, and stood tall like trees when he didn't give up.
Three voices in their head
General Grumpy (the voice that says "I can't"), Captain Calm (who arrives when you breathe), and Hip Hip Hooray (the quiet pride after trying anyway). Children met all three — and learned that all three are welcome.
Box breathing, on your own hand
The same technique astronauts and top athletes use, traced finger-over-palm: in for 4, hold for 4, out for 4, hold for 4. Invisible. Sixteen seconds. Always with you.
A bookmark to take home
Every child left with their own five-step plan for hard moments — plus the names of three people they love written on the back. A tool, not a souvenir.
The bookmark every child took home — front and back.
A moment we won't forget
After the sessions, teachers told us something they hadn't expected:
“Many children with ADHD became completely calm too.”
Children who normally struggle to sit still were lying on the floor, breathing, relaxed. It surprised the teachers — and honestly, us a little too.
What the teachers said
After every session, teachers filled in a feedback form — a report-card grade, a recommendation, and open comments. This comes straight from those forms.
most-given report-card grade
would recommend the session to a colleague
Most valued: the three voices — named valuable by 8 of 9 teachers.
They are genuinely interested.
— PE teacher groep 7/8, about the pupils during the session
Terugkoppeling“Positive, well prepared, good repetition. Lovely to see that most children join in.”
Terugkoppeling“Beautiful, with the demonstrating — nice that everything comes back.”
Terugkoppeling“Impressive how you created calm in the classroom.”
Terugkoppeling“You keep the pupils fully engaged — they are genuinely interested. Well structured: first movement, then some theory, then movement again.”
Terugkoppeling“The calm is beautiful. A fun way of doing yoga. Love for yourself — “I love myself”.”
Terugkoppeling“The calm you radiate.”
Why it worked
The perfect blend of movement and relaxation.
Effort and rest take turns — exactly what a child's brain needs to learn.
Breathing techniques that make kids feel empowered.
The same techniques top athletes and astronauts use. It doesn't feel like an exercise — it feels like a superpower.
Yogi Says — learning through play.
Kids listen better when it's playful. The game trains exactly what we want to teach: stop, listen, then act.
Story Yoga — moving through a true story.
Children follow the yoga poses while listening to the story of a Dutch boy who made a world-sized impact by falling and getting up again.
Bring this to your school
One session. 45 minutes. Your gym hall or classroom. The children get the tools. The teachers get the calm.