A FORMER primary school teacher has swapped the classroom for yoga in a bid to promote the physical, social and emotional development of children.

Melissa Butterworth was a primary school teacher for six years, but is now the new owner of Tatty Bumpkin Wharfedale, where she will teach multi-sensory yoga-inspired classes.

It was while working as a teacher, which she found extremely rewarding, that Melissa joined her local yoga class in Saltaire, as a way to relax and unwind after work.

“I found the benefits of yoga were huge, both mentally and physically," said Melissa, who also took the opportunity to travel to Bali and South East Asia, where she practised yoga.

“I was lucky enough to try out all kinds of yoga, in beautiful locations with inspiring teachers," she added. "When I returned, I stumbled across some exciting yoga videos for children and decided to introduce these as part of physical education in the classroom.

"I immediately saw the positive impact the sessions had upon the children. They became more calm and ready to learn, concentration levels increased, behaviour improved and they found the sessions fun.

"When reading some online blogs about yoga for children, Tatty Bumpkin jumped out at me. I was very excited when I found out the franchise in this area was available. Having always wanted to run my own business, I jumped in head first! I can’t wait to introduce Tatty to the area.”

Sam Petter, the owner of Tatty Bumpkin, pitched the children’s brand on Dragons Den in 2010. Sam’s pitch intrigued the Dragons, with it's mission to make children everywhere 'bendy, giggly, clever and strong…'.

Now, children in Ilkley and the surrounding areas have the opportunity to find out for themselves if Tatty Bumpkin will get them bending and giggling.

Melissa will be running classes in Ilkley, Guiseley, Otley, Horsforth, Cookridge and surrounding areas. Sessions will be available in nurseries, schools, afterschool clubs and children's centre for children aged up to seven.

She promises the classes will engage and inspire children through magical storytelling adventures, which follow the character Tatty Bumpkin. They use movement, props and music.

The relaxation and breathing exercises enable children to develop strategies for managing their own behaviour and dealing with challenging situations. The classes are aligned with the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum and have been developed by educationalists, yoga teachers and paediatric physiotherapists.

Visit tattybumpkin.com/wharfedale for more details.