Stretch for Youth: Helping Students Find Calm, Focus, and Confidence

I’m raising $50,000+ through Stretch for Youth, an inclusive online yogathon supporting SKY Schools—a program that brings breathing, mindfulness, and emotional-regulation tools into schools serving young people under high stress.

This event honors a beloved teacher whose lifelong practice of breath and mindful movement transformed students’ lives. Participation is open to all—chair-based sun salutations, gentle movement, stillness, or reflection are all welcome.

WHY THIS MATTERS

Children today are carrying more stress, anxiety, and emotional overload than ever before—especially those in under-resourced and high-trauma school environments. Many schools want to help, but they lack practical tools that students can use in real time to calm their bodies, focus their minds, and feel safe.

SKY Schools fills this gap by teaching simple, evidence-informed practices—breathing, mindful movement, and social-emotional skills—that students and educators can use every day. As a licensed clinical social worker and meditation teacher, I’ve seen the impact of this work firsthand.

• One eight-year-old boy who struggled with focus and restlessness participated fully in a SKY Schools session. At the end, he sat quietly and said, “My mind is so clear and quiet. It would be easier to study now.”
  
• In another group, a young girl who rarely spoke due to anxiety surprised her entire class by sharing a story—confident, articulate, and joyful. Her classmates applauded. Her teacher later said, “This curriculum changed her life.”
  
• A parent once wrote to me asking, “What did you do to my son?” After the sessions, he came home calmer, helped around the house, stopped fighting with his sister, and slept through the night. She wanted to know how she could support this positive change.

These shifts don’t come from discipline or pressure. They come from giving young people tools to regulate their nervous systems and reconnect with themselves.

WHAT YOUR DONATION SUPPORTS

Your gift helps bring SKY Schools programs into classrooms and communities where they are needed most. These programs support students to:

• Calm their bodies and minds
• Improve focus and emotional awareness
• Build confidence and connection
• Learn skills they can use for life

SUGGESTED DONATION LEVELS

• $25 — Supports breathing and grounding tools for one student
• $50 — Helps provide social-emotional learning activities in a classroom
• $100 — Supports educator training in stress-reduction tools
• $250 — Helps sustain a small group of students with wellness practices
• $500+ — Contributes to school-wide access to mindfulness and resilience programming

Monthly donations are welcome and help sustain this work throughout the year.

All Bodies. All Abilities. All Welcome.

Due to physical limitations, I will be completing chair-based sun salutations. Participants and supporters are invited to join or contribute in whatever way feels safe and accessible—gentle movement, seated practice, stillness, or reflection.

What matters is care, intention, and inclusion.

MY INVITATION AND CALL FOR SUPPORT

My Invitation

Your donation helps bring calm, clarity, and confidence to students who need it most.

If this work resonates with you, I invite you to give and, if you feel moved, share this page with others who care about youth, education, and emotional well-being.

Thank you for being part of this community of support.

Cindy