David, yoga and acro-yoga trainer at Education In Progress SPAIN played an important role to introduce some yoga and acro-yoga activities into the ENTOS methodology giving the physical education teachers this new possibility and experience. David was very excited to participate in ENTOS and that’s why we have decided to collect his testimony by an interview.
How do yoga and acro-yoga support the development of entrepreneurial skills of young people?
Listening to how our body talks with us help to find a mental, physical and emotional balance. That is possible because of yoga practices based on conscious breathing and body stretching. That trains students in focusing their attention on their physical body and mental state. By doing that day-by-day, they will increase their Self-Awareness. Why do we need that? Well, because only if we are aware of who and what we are, we can decide to overcome our limits and increase our Self-Confidence.
Acroyoga is a practice of contact, help, cooperation, and trust in others. I think it can also help at the work level to have a more collaborative and trusting work environment.
What was your first reaction when you were told that you were going to participate in the ENTOS project as a trainer of Yoga and Acroyoga activities?
My first reaction was incredible! To think that yoga and acro-yoga could be brought into schools would mean very advanced progress in sport as it brings so many benefits to the body, especially the capability to listen to yourself. To feel my body 100% as a unique masterpiece, it’s my passion and I enjoy it. The most beautiful thing for me is to share this Knowledge and Skill, and above all, it gives me a lot of joy and good emotions.
According to you, what's the benefit these disciplines can be used within physical education lessons at school?
It's common in school that during physical education classic sports are taught, i.e. volleyball, basketball, tennis, football. So, introducing yoga and acro-yoga in schools is an innovation itself because they bring new dimensions to our body to take care of, the mental and emotional ones. At the same time, more connected to ENTOS purposes, they provide good support in teaching Entrepreneurial Skills like memory, creativity, problem-solving, learning from mistakes, active listening, and more and more. It’s easy to discover which ones and how, just start the ENTOS training pathway with us!
In your opinion, how can ENTOS be understood as a useful methodology?
ENTOS aims to overcome certain barriers that we have imposed on ourselves in our beliefs. That is possible thanks to physical education teachers who are going to be trained with ENTOS methodology becoming new and real Entrepreneurship Ambassadors through Sport. Our ENTOS teachers will become able to increase the fundamental skills for entrepreneurship by doing sport and physical activities as proposed in the e-learning platform. For example, Surya Namaskara (Sun Salutation), well-known as an energizer, within the ENTOS training pathway also takes on the capability to develop Memory. The same is for Back-bends activity, which uses daily-use objects to exercise the problem-solving attitude.
Is there any activity of the project that you particularly liked, and why?
I have done several activities and among them, I prefer the acroyoga ones because it is a mixture of yoga, acrobatics, and Thai massage. Indeed, I’m currently engaged 100% in these activities because they bring with them a lot of health benefits, but also and especially social ones, such as teamwork and coordination. These activities have to be done in groups (min. in pairs), which means good communication and coordination skills are needed. That’s why these competencies, together with teamwork are highly empowered and this approach reduces the chances of unnecessary conflicts, but even highlights the motivation to support your teammates.
Is there any other activity that you would add to the ENTOS methodology that you think would make the final result more satisfactory?
I would add another activity to the training: Laughter Yoga Therapy based on 4 different techniques (dance, theatre, body expression, and play). Using dance, body expression, and play can be an effective method to generate “engagement and motivation” where ENTOS is directed to.
What do you think is the strength of the ENTOS project?
For me, the strong point of ENTOS is that it wants to teach teachers and young people to reach excellence by learning through mistakes. Mistakes are seen as good friends instead of enemies because by failing and having the possibility to recognize it, we can try again to make it better and better until we succeed. That absolutely trains towards “Motivation”!
And it is an honor and a dream for me to be part of a team that seeks to train future generations to become resilient and successful adults.