The Helpful Hippy is expanding its yoga and meditation program for children in Weyburn.

Led by Sunny Miller, 36, the program guides participants in breathing and movement exercises with a focus on respect, choice and engagement.

“I want the community link … where everybody can feel comfortable and confident coming and discussing what they need to discuss and learning what they need to learn and just be open, free and bring the community together,” said Miller.

“I want everybody to be able to come in and feel welcome and have a place they can just exist … just find your chill … it can be like a grandma’s house for the community.”

Located at The Studio, Miller started The Helpful Hippy, a bi-weekly program which teaches children aged 3-13 how to regulate their emotions and energy through yoga and meditation. It provides the children with an opportunity to better understand themselves and the world around them.

“I have a building station where the kids can utilize their gross motor muscles … I also have an art station … and then I have the drum circle which is a collection of instruments that I’ve gathered from my adventures,” said Miller.

“Then we go from there, and we usually do a coordination and balance set of activities … after [that] we go onto mats and we prepare our bodies and mind for the meditation.”

Children attending The Helpful Hippy will be taught various ways of meditation, including silent, walking, creative and candlelit meditations.

Children will also have the opportunity to explore natural materials through art projects.

“Safety is always taken into account,” said Miller.

Since starting The Helpful Hippy, Miller has noticed improvement within the children through her practices.

Through guided meditation and individualized attention, Miller has noticed significant growth in their ability to regulate their emotions and communicate with others.

“I see their guard come down and they start opening up more. They start expressing themselves more and then they start coming up with some wicked ideas,” said Miller.

“I had a huge conversation with a six-year-old about Ying and Yang and the universe and the balance. It was awesome.”

Classes are held every Sunday from 10-11am and every Wednesday evening from 7-8pm. Arrangements should be made ahead of time as classes are capped at 12 participants.

Arrangements for enrollment can be made by contacting Sunny Miller via The Helpful Hippy Facebook page, or by contacting Sunny directly at (306)-891-9904.

The Studio will provide all necessary materials for participation.

“To be able to share that moment of positivity with everybody and the discussion and the discovery of that positivity is exactly why I left the structured job, the benefits, the retirement plan … so that I could do my own thing,”

“It’s literally everything I ever wanted to do at daycare, but on my own terms,” said Miller.