Bloomfield had also started to use mindfulness on an everyday basis and said it was an essential ‘skill for life’.

The former Director General of Health, Ashley Bloomfield, has joined the programme as an ambassador, and will travel the country speaking to school children about the benefits for all ages of breathing techniques and mindfulness. He speaks with Kathryn, along with programme founder Grant Rix.

“Children are coming back from playtime more ‘present’,” Yvette says. “They’ve learned that it’s normal to have worries, but now they know how to identify their concerns and have strategies they can use to deal with them.”

For nearly 10 years, Natasha Rix, 46, and her husband Grant, 44, have been the leaders behind Pause Breathe Smile. They first met in 2001, on a 10-day mindfulness retreat that shaped their whole lives. “We spent our twenties intensively practising, studying and travelling to learn from some of the best mindfulness teachers in the world including training as teachers …

Rāwiri is a kaiako and ngā toi facilitator and began working with the two small rural schools in term 1. A dramaturgy process with teachers saw them drawing and sharing pictures to shift the story from literal to abstract and metaphoric, thus opening different ways to tell the story.

Grant Rix talks to the The Breeze about Pause Breathe Smile.

The good news is that in an initiative delivered by the Pause Breathe Smile (PBS) Trust, supported and fully funded by Southern Cross Group, teachers are being trained to teach mindfulness practices in Aotearoa New Zealand schools and kura, with results already looking overwhelmingly positive and pointing towards continuing positive outcomes in future.

Dominic Bowden speaks to experts from around the world, local legends and our own Grant Rix, to help people feel good and ultimately lead healthier and happier lives. See full show 22/10/22 one hour into the show.

A home-grown programme teaching mindfulness to tens of thousands of school children around the country is bringing more calm and less anxiety to the classroom, according to an independent evaluation.