IA Curriculum:
Play Built Resilience

Introductory Section: Core Foundations

Our programs are grounded in research-backed techniques that empower individuals to reach their full potential through:

  • Sport & Play

  • Storytelling

  • Mindfulness

  • Meditation & Breathwork

  • Nature Immersion

At IA, mental performance skills are key tools for resilience, focus, and lifelong mental well-being. By blending structured play with evidence-based techniques, we turn mental health into a performance edge, transforming stress into fuel for growth, both in play and in life.

Curriculum Structure and Key Components

  1. Warm-Up: Activating Body and Mind
    Each session begins with rhythmic movements and engaging games, preparing participants physically and mentally for focused training and active engagement.

  2. Skills Training: Story-Based Learning
    Through storytelling, IA introduces resilience-building skills like breathwork, self-talk, and visualization. These skills become second nature, woven seamlessly into the experience of play and daily challenges.

  3. Game Time: Real-Time Pressure Practice
    Our “Escalate to De-escalate” model harnesses structured and imaginative play to energize, then calm, the mind. By combining excitement with focused breathing and mental resets, participants develop resilience through practice, until these calming techniques become instinctive.

  4. Captains’ Practice: Participant-Led Gameplay
    IA instructors guide without control, empowering participants to lead their play. This autonomy builds confidence, agency, and self-regulation, encouraging imaginative engagement and personal growth.

  5. Cool Down: Reflection and Recharge
    Sessions end with meditation or breathwork, solidifying mental gains through calm reflection and grounding the body and mind for future challenges.

Evidence-Based Techniques in Action

IA’s curriculum leverages validated methods from a successful Randomized Control Trial with San Diego Unified School District working with Elementary school students. Report attched.     IA is currently running an additional randomized trial working with middle school students in partnership with Alvord School District  (Riverside California) . By grounding our techniques in child psychology and mental resilience research, IA’s approach emphasizes: 

  1. Body-Mind Connection
    Physical activity paired with mental skill-building enhances stress management and engagement, making the body-mind connection an essential part of IA’s curriculum.

  2. Simulated Stress for Real Growth
    IA’s approach to controlled, moderate stress builds resilience, reinforcing adaptability and calm through real-time practice.

  3. Lifelong Mental Fitness
    Our curriculum equips individuals with mental tools for enduring well-being, focusing on meditation, self-talk, and mindful breathing to lay a foundation for lifelong resilience.