Easing exam stress
Teen and Parent
Yoga Therapy
Workshop:

1st March 2026
2pm - 5pm

The Niland Conference Centre

93 Elstree Rd, Bushey Heath,

Bushey WD23 4EE

£45 per adult

£30 per teen

This immersive therapeutic workshop is designed to support both teens and parents by providing practical tools to ease everyday stress, tension, and reactivity, whether related to exams, study pressures, or the challenges of daily life.
Throughout the workshop, your teen will learn strategies for self-regulation, calming techniques to reduce stress, and skills to strengthen focus, confidence, and resilience. Parents will also gain valuable practices to support their own stresses and wellbeing.
Together, you’ll discover ways to navigate exam and life pressures with greater balance and ease, building a foundation of compassion, connection, and emotional strength for the whole family.

Book Here

A teenager's brain is still developing, with the prefrontal cortex, responsible for rational decision-making and emotional regulation, not fully maturing until the mid-20s. This means their brains are more reliant on the more reactive amygdala, leading to more intense and impulsive emotional responses compared to adults.

How this workshop supports teens:

Teens will be offered the space to gain self regulation skills that support them during their exam years and long term wellbeing. Their session will include a mixture of movement, breath work and mindfulness to support what they are personally experiencing. They will explore:

Interoception: Raising awareness of how they are breathing, how their bodies feel and the effect of these upon their mind, helping them to manage emotions, including stress.
Movement: To release tension in the body built up from the pressure around exams.
Restore energy: To avoid burn out, losing interest and feeling lethargic.
Empowerment: To build confidence in themselves by learning techniques that help and work specifically for them.
Focus: To enable them to feel grounded & ready for exams

No experience needed

How this workshop

supports parents:

This workshop places a strong focus on supporting your own wellbeing, with an emphasis on good sleep, rest and soothing the mental load. Habits that, when modelled by parents, can benefit the whole household. Most importantly, you will be given precious time during this three hour session to care for yourself from the inside out, physically, emotionally and mentally.

Throughout the session, you will be guided through practices designed to:

Release physical tension and stress by way of somatic movement & slow stretch.
Down-regulate cortisol, to slow and calm the nervous system & heart rate through breath work.
Learn practices to ease the mental load of daily responsibilities & overwhelm.
Atune to the emotional load you maybe carrying.
Restore energy and balance through gentle, restorative practice, meditation and breath work.

By the end of the 3 hour escape, you’ll have practical tools to help you feel calm, clear,

less reactive and better able to support both yourself and your teen during exam season.

Structure of the workshop

During group workshops, teens and guardians will begin in a quiet, separate, safe rooms away from each other. Giving each of you the space to focus fully on your needs.

(please be reassured the rooms are opposite each other and you have full access to each other if needed).

We will encourage for mobile phones to be switched off / left in the car during the workshop.

Workshop first half: The teens in their room will be guided through tools to manage exam stress, while guardians in their separate space, will focus on nurturing their own well being.

Tea break: Everyone comes together to reconnect and share a short break.

Workshop second half: Guardians and teens participate in a joint session, practicing strategies together and reinforcing connection.

Closing: The workshop concludes with time for reflections, questions, and consolidating the tools you’ve learned with a takeaway handout.

Research shows exam season, is stressful not just for young people, but for parents too. 79%¹ of parents report feeling stressed or anxious while their teen is sitting exams. While many parents express pride and confidence in their child’s ability to handle exams, two-thirds 66%¹ are concerned about the toll stress may be taking on their teen’s wellbeing.

How exam stress shows
up in teens:

Exam stress or simply just being a teen, can affect teens in many ways, both emotionally and physically. Some common signs include:

Difficulty concentrating: struggling to focus or retain information, particularly during an exam or generally
Not able to break the habit of scrolling on their phone.
Anxiety and worry: overwhelm or constantly concerned about being ‘good enough’.
Withdrawal or lack of motivation: seeming “not bothered” as a response to mental overwhelm.
Irritability/mood swings: becoming angry, tearful, outbursts, especially with the added pressure of exams and hormonal changes.
Negative self-talk, self-criticism.
Changes in study habits: over-studying or avoiding studying
Headaches: a common physical response to stress.
Physical stress reactions: increased heart rate, sweating, or restlessness.

Recognising these signs early can help parents and teens take supportive steps to reduce pressure. The support not only for their teens but for themselves, helping everyone manage 'life's' stress in healthier, calm and more focused ways of being.

How stress shows up
in parents:

When teens are preparing for exams, guardians naturally step into a supportive role. Yet many parents find themselves facing issues such as their child’s resistant attitudes and heightened emotions while

carrying their teen’s stress on top of their 'life' issues.

For many adults, this comes alongside the weight of juggling multiple responsibilities. Managing more than one child, demanding jobs, after-school activities, and the invisible burden of keeping the household running.

Common signs include:

Constant mental load: from planning meals and shopping, keeping track of family calendars, appointments, and commitments, all while providing emotional and relational support for friends, family, or ageing parents.
Strain with the relationship between parent & teen.
Disproportionate burden: while not exclusive to mothers, the mental load often falls disproportionately on one parent, leaving them vulnerable to burnout and resentment.
Loss of self: with little time to recharge, guardians may feel they have no space for their own lives.
For some, this overlaps with navigating perimenopause symptoms, being at the height of a career or the sense their own identity is overshadowed by endless responsibilities and everyone’s else’s needs.

This is why this

workshop matters

To allow yourselves space and time to make some simple and impactful changes

to busy stressful households.

It's a perfect chance to step away for an afternoon from the daily carousel of life, knowing your teen is safe and learning life skills to help regulate any stress they feel and overwhelming emotions. To help them build focus and calm their nervous system.

While you the guardian are given much needed time to breath. While learning practical skills to help with a better night’s sleep, tools to lighten the mental load, reduce stress, forge a stronger connection with your teen in this transitional phase and restore balance to you and your families life.

[1] The research was conducted by Censuswide with 1,000 Parents and children (500 parents of children sitting exams this summer or that have sat exams aged 14-18 and 500 children sitting exams this summer or that have sat exams aged 14-18) between 09.05.2025-16.05.2025.