BE WELL - Yoga & Wellness School Program

The BE WELL program evolved when thinking about my dance students. I have always integrated yoga and mindfulness practice into their dance technique classes. However, when our classes were virtual during Covid, I found that talking with them and prioritizing their mental and emotional health was essential. I found ways to weave in journal writing, guided meditations, breath-work and conversations as a way to promote self-esteem and positivity as well as encourage frequent “check-in” sessions. I also gave them creative ways to use movement and art to express how they were feeling during this unprecedented time.

Upon further reflection, it became clear that this was a great and necessary opportunity to develop a mental health and wellness initiative to all students in all settings. With my background in yoga and dance, curriculum building and holding a PK-12 Dance Education Masters, I feel inspired to promote physical activity and nurture all aspects of one’s well-being. This passionate objective is about offering students a holistic insight. It’s about offering tools to spark an awareness of how to manage their own mental and emotional health.

BE WELL is tailor-made to meet student needs and create an individualized experience for all. Curriculum is broken down into grade and/or age level, background and physical setting (dance studio, public school, pre-school, etc.) Providing ideas (physical, mental, spiritual and emotional) that are obtainable and approachable, BE WELL offers classes that are age appropriate, relevant, tangible and relatable.

This program provides yoga and wellness foundations students can practice on their own or with peers and encourages them to remain vocal about their head and heart space. My goal is to provide them with a safe, laid back environment to try new things, energetically focus inwardly and outwardly, be introspective, reflect, ask questions, be candid, laugh and also take some “quiet time” for themselves. Team building exercises and peer work are also woven through class themes to promote a loving, kind, inclusive and supportive camaraderie.

BE WELL gets students moving, yes. But, this workshop is less about yoga poses and more about tapping into who they are as human beings. It’s about reminding them their mental and emotional well-being are paramount. It’s about helping them find self managing strategies to support their mental health, while discovering how much fun we can have moving, taking a breath, trusting ourselves and others and learning new things. Also – and most importantly, reinforcing the notion that it’s OK to feel what you feel and it’s cool to be exactly who you are in the space you are in at any given moment in time.

Please contact me for detailed program and curriculum information as well as scheduling classes/workshops for your students. I would love to share this journey and it is my honor to guide them through it.

Be well.

XO, jess

“When Jess came to our school this year, I was not sure how the students would react to it. We work with students who are emotionally fragile, cognitively delayed and socioeconomically disadvantaged. Many of them had never had the opportunity to work with a program like the one Jess brings to the school, so I was interested to see if they would take interest in her process. Well, I am happy to say that the students absolutely loved the program! Jess allowed the students a time to be creative, mindful and relax during a long school day. Her techniques included journaling, drawing, movement and listening to soft sounds. They truly enjoyed the program and some even asked for her to return next year! In addition, the staff members who participated in the program also stated how they felt “relaxed…at ease…more ready to seize the day.” Thank you Jess for bringing your program to our school! It was a great day and we hope to work with you again in the future!

-Alana Witkowich, Teacher, Edenwald School, Mount Pleasant Cottage UFSD

“This is our school’s s third year offering the Be Well program to our preschoolers. Jessica has an innate ability to meet each age level where they are at. Her program is interactive and approachable. She encourages the children to talk about feelings, breathe, and move in ways that help them build a foundation for emotional awareness and growth, a skill that is so essential for children. The children LOVE ‘Miss Jess’ and feel deeply seen by her. Their self-esteem and positivity is enhanced through this excellent program.”

-Jeannine DiBart and Gail Porter

Directors, Katonah Playcare Early Learning Center

“In our plugged in world, full of comparison, it was such a joy to watch our students engage in mindfulness with focus on themselves and one another during the BE WELL yoga workshop. Jess led a wonderful meditation and prompted such thoughtfulness and reflection for our teens. The younger students learned some new ways of moving as well as thinking, with mantras. We thought the time was well spent and the investment well worth it.”

-Mary Ingersoll

Director, Inspirations Dance Center