The European association EURYE was founded in Venice on 1 March 2000 by affiliate member associations of the French organisation RYE (Research on Yoga in Education), established in Paris in 1978 by Micheline Flak, at present an International Consultant in Educational Sciences.
EURYE's aim is to encourage dialogue among its various member associations so that their experiences and projects may be shared by all. It also sets out, as stated in its statute, “to promote pedagogical-didactic methods which are oriented towards improving the quality of teaching and learning, taking inspiration from yoga and other expressive and psychomotor disciplines”.

Yoga is brought into the classroom, not as a subject in itself, but as an interdisciplinary element which can be introduced in the course of normal lessons. Thus it offers the pupil a new tool which can aid the learning process, and at the same time provides the teacher with a fresh support strategy.

Seven Principles for the Introduction of Yoga in School

In order to ensure our practice is successful and appropriately recognised, we must insist upon certain ‘common sense’ rules that will need to be adhered to at all times, and will accordingly form the basis of yoga in the school environment. It is essential to avoid unauthorised methods and take care that our enthusiastic innovation keeps a sense of balance.

We have listed below several fundamental principles to keep in mind:

I.       Teachers will be properly trained before introducing yoga into school. They must have obtained a qualification from an appropriate authorising body in this domain. It would be ideal if Initial Teacher Training (ITT) institutions proposed a training of this kind for future teachers.

II.       Relaxation is the prerequisite to receptivity (high quality attention). Relaxation should not last more than 5-6 minutes and should essentially consist of a systematic awareness of the environment, the body and the breath. Usage of internal (emotive) images should be limited.