Enchanted Wonders

Something I keep noticing: the people who are drawn to this work already have something in them that knows.

They’re looking for something that actually meets a child where they are.

Last week at Peckham, we gathered for Empowering Children Through Yoga & Creativity, exploring how to use practices drawn from yoga, mindfulness and creativity in ways that are trauma sensitive.
Ways that give children choice, and space, and the quiet message that they are safe.

Dr Lisa Kaley-Isley shared her expertise in the field of yoga and childhood anxiety. Dr Lana Jackson shared and vast experience in relation to children with ADHD. .org.uk Debs Kent shared from her years of compassionate work with children with ASD and additional needs.

Some of the most important moments happened in between. When someone said something they hadn’t admitted before. When a practitioner gave themselves the same kindness they’d give a struggling child.

That’s what this training is really for.

Thank you to everyone who filled this space with such care: .paige Sophie and Valeria.
You made this training to be as magical and special just as you are 💫🌟

Next dates coming are coming soon.

With warmth and wonder,
Ayala/ Enchanted Wonders 🌿

You arrive at the end of your children’s yoga class.
You invite everyone to take the rest position.
And some children begin to roll, whisper, giggle, sit up, wander.
It can be tempting to think they do not want to rest.

Often, it is not that they do not want rest. It is that rest does not yet feel available.
For a child to soften, there needs to be a sense of safety in the space.
A felt connection with you.
Trust.
A relationship with the floor underneath their body.
Without that, stillness can feel too exposed.

Rest does not always begin with being still.
It might begin with guided movement while lying down, a moving body scan. It might include progressive muscle relaxation play, gently tensing and releasing. It might be Yoga Nidra where the child places an object on different parts of their body, staying active within the rest.

In Enchanted Rest, and speak about meeting the child where they are, creating pathways into rest rather than demanding it.

What if the question is not how to make children rest, but how to help rest feel possible?

Would love to hear your thoughts
✨🧡

Creativity is not something children need to learn.
It is something they arrive with.

Yet many children today are growing up under constant pressure, busy schedules, and unspoken expectations. When stress rises, imagination often retreats. Not because it is lost, but because the nervous system is protecting itself.

In my work with children and families, I see again and again how movement, breath, and imagination help children return to a place where creativity and self expression feel accessible. Yoga, when shared with sensitivity, creates conditions where children feel safe enough to explore who they are, in their bodies, in their feelings, and in their ideas.

I wrote a longer reflection on creativity, regulation, and yoga for children, especially in the context of the world they are growing up in today.

You can read the full reflection here:
https://www.ayalayoga.com/post/creativity-regulation-and-yoga-for-children-today

I would love to hear, what helps the children in your life stay connected to their creativity?

A rest isn’t just about sleep. It’s also about creating moments of calm, safety, and connection.

Would you like to learn how to support your child in getting good quality rest, or help them drift into sleep at night? Maybe this can help.

Enchanted Rest is a pre-recorded course, created by and , brings together guidance, scripts, and creative practices to help you confidently share yoga nidra with children at your own pace.

🌟 Special Launch Offer 🌟
Get the course for £80 (normally £150) until 24th of September only!
Follow the link below and use code 'REST' at checkout to enjoy the promotion:
https://momence.com/Melanie-Cooper/course/Enchanted-Rest%3A-Yoga-Nidra-for-Children/13590

Enchanted Rest is an on-demand, beautiful course you can gift yourself and the children in your life. 💛

🌟 Special Launch Offer 🌟
Get the course for £80 (normally £150) until 24th of September only!
Follow the link below and use code 'REST' at checkout to enjoy the promotion:
https://momence.com/Melanie-Cooper/course/Enchanted-Rest%3A-Yoga-Nidra-for-Children/13590

Created by cooper and homossany this course will provide you with:
✨Trauma-sensitive, creative, and playful ways to share Yoga Nidra with children
✨Comprehensive manual full of scripts and practices
✨Video + audio modules you can access anytime, at your own pace
✨Tools for co-creating Nidra so children feel empowered and safe
✨A private Facebook group for support and inspiration.
✨Lifetime access.
To learn more about the course please visit:
https://www.ayalayoga.com/enchanted-rest

If you have any question please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Enjoy the magic of Enchanted Rest together.

✨ I was going to keep this just for my newsletter community…
…but it’s too good not to share here too 💫

You’re warmly invited to a free Zoom session happening tomorrow morning:
Breathe, Move, Support – Therapeutic Breathing Practices for Children and Teens
🗓 Wednesday, 18th June 2025
⏰ 10:00–10:45am BST

This 45-minute session is for teachers, parents, and anyone supporting children and teens. You’ll learn why breath is such a powerful tool for regulation and experience how simple somatic practices can make a real difference.

✨ A taste of my upcoming full-day CPD in July, and a beautiful moment to pause, reconnect, and get inspired.

👉 Register here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/i07IlSCGRpmZ2ockoqejnQ #/registration

Would love to see you breathe together 🌬💚

👣Small Steps to Gratitude: Lessons from our kids’ yoga session.

Here is a situation that happened in one of our kids’ yoga and mindfulness sessions.

As we explored the power of gratitude, what it means, and how we can incorporate the practice throughout our days, we went around the circle to share one thing that we are grateful for.

One of the children said (let’s call him Sam), “There is nothing I am grateful for.” Just like a chorus, two more kids said, “There is nothing I am grateful for.”

We let the words hang in the air for a few moments.

Just before we wanted to reply, another child, let’s call him Matthew, asked Sam, “Did you enjoy the game we just played together?” Sam smiled and said, “Yes, that was so much fun.” Matthew replied, “So if you enjoyed it, maybe that can be something you can be grateful for—I mean, the time and fun we had together.”

You might notice in your kids’ yoga classes that not all children present with the same mental health conditions. They might struggle with the gratitude practice, and finding moments to be grateful for can be unachievable at first.

The secret is baby steps: start small. Offer moments they experienced in the present moment. Perhaps a pose they enjoyed doing, a conversation they had with the kid next to them during the session, or simply being in the yoga class.
Offer them the space to explore what gratitude means to them.

Gratitude is a language, and you are teaching them this language.

✨And now it is your turn: since you woke up this morning was there anything that you can be grateful for?
Maybe the roof above your head? Your resilience and ability to face a challenge? Access to clean water for drinking, showering, and brushing your teeth?

To be able to see magic, one should first believe in magic.

We do!

Do you?

✨