The children of Merry-Go Round preschool, Sandwich have been enjoying the fabulous world of Yoga thanks to Your Leisure’s GOGA In Action, Dover project team and “Poggy the Yoga Doggy” (a fluffy toy dog) who have been putting on weekly classes to help all children be more active and develop a long-term enjoyment of exercise.

The GOGA In Action, Dover project's mission is to support and engage disabled and non-disabled people to enjoy being active together, as part of this cause, the project team, led by Charlotte O'Malley, works to engage the least active communities in fun, inclusive ways. Seeing the fine work that the team was doing across the Dover district, Merry-Go Round preschool in Sandwich contacted GOGA to inspire their younglings with free Yoga classes and the GOGA team with their metaphorical supercapes leapt at the opportunity.

From May 2024, Charlotte worked with Merry-Go Round to set up specially designed weekly classes for 26 children aged 2-4 years old. During a class, the children will participate in sun salutations, Yoga poses, story time and mini-meditations. But it’s more than Yoga, it’s also an adventure! Along with “Poggy the Yoga Doggy”, the children do their poses and sing songs. After the adventure, the children take time to relax and practice their breathing techniques. In addition, the GOGA team set up a craft session where the children created their own breathing buddies to use as visual aids, some children even created fire-breathing lions! They used their breathing buddies in the classes to breathe in and out of, which really helped to learn that breathing can provide them with a sense of calm that helps them manage feelings and emotions.

The classes ran over two terms and finished the week before the school summer holidays. During the last week, the children took part in an exciting awards ceremony where each child was given a certificate, a “Poggy” sticker and goody bag containing information on how they can use their new skills to practice Yoga at home.

Merry-Go Round preschool manager, Anna Gardener, said; “From feedback from the parents/guardians, these classes have positively impacted their physical, mental, and emotional health. We are delighted to work with GOGA and provide these classes for the children, we've seen how this has benefited the children as they have been talking about it at home and even showing their families different yoga poses they have learnt. It has supported quieter children with building their confidence. It encourages children to have fun physically and mentally and to use listening skills. It supports families that can't always access other clubs outside the setting. We really appreciate this opportunity.”

Charlotte O’Malley, Community Events and Funding Manager at Your Leisure, said; “GOGA was created by Activity Alliance so that organisations with charitable aims such as Your Leisure can engage with the community and this is why I love my job, getting out and helping people of all ages and from all walks of life to get active!

“Your Leisure would like to thank Merry-Go Round for being wonderful hosts and say a special thank you to all the children. We look forward to continuing the fun.”

You can learn more about the GOGA In Action, Dover project online here.