Background: Addressing student stress and mental health concerns is emerging as a focus area, including in Sierra Leone. While PHE (Physical Health Education) courses have concentrated on fitness and sports, this investigation aimed to introduce yoga as a tool for emotional stress relief and to support mental health. 

Methodology: This investigation utilized a convergent mixed-methods design in 12 secondary schools. It included a quantitative assessment of stress using the PSS-10 pre and post intervention: 180 students were surveyed pre and post intervention. Subsequently, there were qualitative interviews and focus group discussions with teachers, principals, and curriculum developers. The intervention comprised a 12-week yoga program that included asanas, breathing techniques, and mindfulness. This yoga curriculum was taught during PHE classes by certified yoga instructors and trained PHE teachers. 

Results: The intervention produced a positive change in the quantitative data, demonstrating a significant reduction in stress scores. Students’ perceived stress post intervention (M=22.8 to M=17.6, p<.001). Although no significant differences emerged between genders, students from urban and eastern schools exhibited much greater reductions in stress compared to their rural counterparts. Qualitative data noted improvement in self-regulation as well as emotional self-regulation in students. 

Conclusion: The findings from the current study suggest that the incorporation of yoga into PHE classes provided a clear and effective strategy to reduce student stress in Sierra Leone. The authors suggest expanding the curriculum writing by integrating yoga with the goal of producing certified instructor trainees with the resulting educator training, thus, enabling trained educators to acquire specialized competencies tailoring the instruction to developed pilots aimed at the innovation and self-sustainability of the programs.