Youth empowerment mentor Kirsty Miles is helping bring the practice of mindfulness to the children of Wanaka.

After running a number of ‘iNSPiRE’ youth empowerment programmes in Queenstown, Kirsty is now transitioning to Wanaka to deliver school holiday programmes, meditation classes, yoga classes, workshops and one-on-one mentoring to young people.

Her programmes are about promoting and developing personal skills and positive well-being habits.

Kirsty said she is passionate about sharing “mindful skills and habits and empowering young people to believe in themselves, to celebrate [their] differences and, most importantly, be kind humans.”

In the ‘iNSPiRE’ sessions children learn to practice mindfulness through gratitude, journaling, games, movement and fun activities which in turn helps them to develop better personal skills, Kirsty said.

Anxiety disorders are very common: According to Health Navigator NZ, approximately one in four New Zealanders will be affected by an anxiety disorder at some stage in their lives.

Working with children has made Kirsty aware of a significant amount of anxiety among children.

“Kids worry about really, really small things, which to them are really big, so it’s important to me that these kids have a safe space to share and work on these feelings and manage their confidence,” she said.

Zoe Huggett is a parent of two girls (aged 11 and 9) who have both attended Kirsty’s classes in Queenstown.

“My girls absolutely love Kirsty and her iNSPiRE courses. They come out feeling calm, happy and relaxed. They are gaining more and more confidence over time,” she said.

Kirsty’s new Wanaka and Hāwea classes and programmes will take place during the upcoming school holidays.

PHOTO: Supplied