SHAKTI Warriors

Helping guide parents and educators in bringing children back to the real world.

SHAKTI Warriors is a learning platform for wellbeing tackling some of the most urgent challenges facing children today: rising anxiety, emotional dysregulation and disconnection from the real world. As childhood shifts from play-based to screen-based, our immersive curriculum provides critical opportunities for kids to build resilience, nurture relationships and develop a true sense of self.

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Overview

Information on this page is provided by the innovator and has not been evaluated by HundrED.

Updated April 2026

Web presence

2016

Established

6K 2016

15K 2017

22K 2018

2

Countries

Students basic

Target group

We envision a bold shift in education- from passive learning to deeply engaging, purpose-driven experiences that prepare children for real-world challenges. While the world has become interactive and fast-evolving, many classrooms remain static, prioritizing memorization over meaning. This disconnect leaves children disengaged and questioning the relevance of what they learn. At the same time, increased immersion in digital environments and reduced real-world interaction are contributing to rising anxiety, isolation and declining wellbeing. SHAKTI Warriors reimagines learning for children ages 8–12 through immersive storytelling, game-based experiences, and real-world connection. We invite children into meaningful action - emotionally, socially, and purposefully. The change we seek is simple yet powerful: children who are lit up. Children who see themselves not as passive recipients of information, but as active creators, contributors, and changemakers. At its core, SHAKTI Warriors is about reconnection - helping children reconnect with themselves, with others, and with the world around them. We are guided by a core belief: purpose transforms the person. When children feel needed, they move from self-doubt to contribution. When they come together around shared goals, they experience belonging, connection, and collective purpose. We like to say: Nothing Lifts Depression like a Purpose!

About the innovation

Why did you create this innovation?

(Notes from the SHAKTI USA founder, Lane JaBaay) As founder, I created SHAKTI Warriors (U.S.A.) after stepping away from the corporate world over a decade ago - because I was searching for work that felt more meaningful and focused on making a difference. At the time, the conversation in education was just beginning to shift toward physical wellbeing and the idea of the “whole child,” but even then, we could already see children struggling: feeling frustrated, disengaged, and increasingly disconnected from school. Traditional education wasn’t reaching them, and many kids were quietly slipping through the cracks. What we didn’t fully realise then was how much more urgent this problem would become.

With the rise of smartphones, social media, and now immersive digital worlds, those early signs of struggle have accelerated into a global emotional wellbeing crisis. Looking back, it became clear that the SHAKTI Warriors framework (focused on building strength in mind, body, heart, and community) was not just relevant, but absolutely essential.

SHAKTI Warriors exists to meet this moment in time: to provide children the tools, habits, and sense of purpose they need to navigate an increasingly complex world. Reconnecting schools, families, and communities to what truly matters; that’s the shift we’re driving.

We began our journey into the Indian subcontinent in 2021 (a pilot with 50 kids ), as we felt our curriculum perfectly aligned to the New Education Policy of India (2020).

What does your innovation look like in practice?

In India, many schools are in the early stages of waking up and realising the critical role they play in addressing the wellbeing challenges facing their students. These schools are actively adjusting their daily routines to incorporate dedicated educators & curricula focused on student wellbeing. However, they also understand that it is critical to include parents into these conversations. We agree.

That is why SHAKTI Warriors has been designed as a unified platform for both schools and families, offering the same core curriculum and tools - intentionally adapted for each environment to ensure ease of use and relevance.

Schools can implement SHAKTI during in-school hours, after-school programs, or weekends, while parents can engage their children during evenings and weekends - creating a powerful parallel learning experience. When children encounter the same concepts at school and at home, this repetition is intentional and beneficial: it reinforces learning and even empowers children to share and teach what they learn in each of these spaces.

Our recommendation is consistent across all environments: every student should receive wellbeing coaching at least once a week through a fully engaging 45-minute session, led by committed instructors AND parents.

How has it been spreading?

At this pre-launch stage in India, we have been intentional and measured in how we bring SHAKTI Warriors to market, focusing on pilot implementations rather than large-scale promotion. We have deliberately kept the platform under wraps while refining the experience to ensure it is culturally grounded and operationally effective.

Our early efforts have centred on a small but highly engaged network of schools and families in Bangalore and Goa. Through these communities, SHAKTI Warriors has spread organically via word of mouth, driven by educators and parents who have experienced its value firsthand. This approach prioritizes credibility through lived experience over early visibility.

Working closely with school partners, we are integrating SHAKTI Warriors into daily routines, lesson plans, and home-school interactions. These pilots provide key insights into engagement across classrooms and homes, allowing us to refine both content and delivery. Parents have also played a critical role, with many contributing feedback and provide creative ideas that strengthens connection between school and home.

From this network, a small advisory group has emerged, helping guide our development with grounded, culturally relevant input. As we prepare for the global platform launch in India for the 2026/2027 school year, this community-driven foundation helps us ensure a well-designed and sustainable rollout.

How have you modified or added to your innovation?

Over the past three years, we have intentionally shifted our focus from the U.S. education market to the Indian educator and parent ecosystem.

This decision was driven by strong alignment and opportunity. India’s National Education Policy (NEP 2020) emphasizes whole-child development as being key in the school system, closely mirroring our mission. At the same time, Indian parents show a deep, proactive commitment to their children’s wellbeing, making them highly engaged partners in this work. India’s strong culture of community-driven relationships further reflects the core of SHAKTI Warriors, where growth is rooted in connection, shared responsibility, and collective care.

Equally important, India’s education landscape offers greater openness to social and emotional learning, with fewer regulatory barriers compared to the U.S., where implementation often requires navigating complex systems. This has created a powerful window to build, test, and scale with agility.

As a result, we have spent the past three years in a focused, heads-down development and pilot phase, building a platform designed for global relevance, with India as our entry point. This includes deep contextualization for the Indian market across both content and delivery.

If I want to try it, what should I do?

There are a couple of ways you can experience the SHAKTI Warriors platform firsthand.
Within the next 30–60 days, we will be launching a “try before you buy” section on our website. This will allow users to explore the platform through sample lessons, interactive games and activities, and guided walkthroughs of the overall experience, including short explainer videos.

In addition, we would be happy to send you a SHAKTI Warriors Kit. This hands-on set includes our board game, trading cards, comic books, power cards, and character backstories, along with the tools we provide children - such as a student workbook, journal, and certificate.
While children enjoy all components of the kit, the board game is where the true magic comes alive. It creates a space for meaningful conversations - not just among children, but also between children and the adults in their lives - bringing the platform’s core values into real, lived experience.

If you would like to explore the platform prior to making a decision, and prior to our site being live - please don’t hesitate to reach out. We would be delighted to personally walk you through the online environment we are building for educators, parents, and children.

Media

SHAKTI Warriors bridges the gap between parents, children, and schools, bringing everyone into one shared conversation around well-being. This helps the adults co-create a stronger vision for the future and guide children in real, meaningful ways.

The SHAKTI Warriors step into their superhero poses: powerful stances that anchor confidence, courage, and the strength they carry into the world.

At its core, a “Let’s Get Real” conversation teaches children (and adults) that honesty and empathy lead to stronger relationships. It builds trust, emotional safety, and the confidence to handle tough conversations in a healthy way. Here are students of Grade 6 having a heavy conversation about bullying, but in a safe light hearted environment with their SHAKTI Warriors facilitator.

A SHAKTI Warriors recruit having created her own superhero avatar named Afinsible- a representation of herself as she currently is. Her Superhuman Powers are strong leadership, trustworthy and integrity. Her Minions are quick temper, stress and frustration. She also has her very own Hero's Backstory inspired by the wins and challenges of her real life!

Even heroes need a place to let it all out! This journal gives them a safe space to vent, reflect, and reset.

We introduce children to their brain: the Brain Stem/ Not Spot (red), Amygdala/ Hot Spot (green), and Prefrontal Cortex/ Power Spot (blue). Through hands-on play with clay, they build each part, understand how it works, and begin to recognise what’s happening inside them. With this awareness, they learn to regulate their emotions and make more thoughtful choices.

A daughter helping her father choose his Superhuman Powers (natural strengths) and Minions (areas to grow). This simple exercise levels the playing field, reminding both adults and children that everyone is human, everyone is learning, and growth is something we do together.

A father and daughter in an honest, grounded conversation—exploring her Superhuman Powers (strengths) and Minions (areas to grow), guided by her reflections in the SHAKTI Warriors workbook.

A question from the "School" category of the board game- "Your friend asks you to do something you are uncomfortable with. You do it anyway because you don't want you friend to be upset. How does this make you feel?" Children express honest opinions and have discussions: no right or wrong answers. Other categories include City, Playground, Home, Nature, Body, Mind, Heart, Community and Chaos!

The SHAKTI Warriors board game connects the Hero’s Body, Mind, Heart, and Community. Through real-world ‘What if?’ scenarios, children explore perspectives, share openly, and learn deeper, more thoughtful ways to communicate and respond.

Step into the world of SHAKTI Warriors with hands on materials that support the curriculum. Through story (comic books, backstories), play (board game, trading cards) and deeper connection (real conversation, emotional regulation cards, workbooks), children find practical and meaningful ways to regulate themselves and show up more powerfully.

Badges earned through real effort: children trade their cards to unlock symbols of the qualities they’ve practised and made real in their own lives!

Implementation steps

Commit to Child Wellbeing as a Core Priority

Before any platform, lesson, or activity can work, the adults (school leaders, teachers, staff, families, etc.) must inherently believe that wellbeing is not secondary to education - it is the foundation of building a confident, purposeful and compassionate individuals.

Understand the SHAKTI Warriors Framework

Once there is commitment, the next step is understanding how the platform works. Schools or parents are introduced to the SHAKTI Warriors approach: children build wellbeing through simple daily actions across areas like Body, Mind, Heart, and Community, and begin to see how these actions connect to their own lives and the wider world. This step is about the adults learning the philosophy, the structure, and the tools for their own wellbeing so they can guide children with confidence.

Set Up the Environment for Use

Next comes practical setup and creating the structure for a consistent, year long engagement. For schools: train facilitators, schedule weekly sessions, and introduce SHAKTI through games, lessons, and activities. For parents: access materials, set simple routines, and create a supportive space for participation. The goal is simple: make the experience easy to start, easy to practise, and easy to sustain.

Engage Children through the SHAKTI Warriors Story

Before children are asked to participate, they need to feel inspired. This step is about helping them connect emotionally to the SHAKTI Warriors world - its characters, story, challenges, and mission.
Children need to understand that this is not just another assignment. It is an invitation to discover their strengths, build healthy habits, and realize they have a role to play in making life better for themselves and others.
This is where engagement begins.

Begin Daily or Weekly Wellbeing Practice(s)

Once children are on board, they begin taking part in regular SHAKTI activities. These may include lessons, challenges, reflections, game-based experiences, or simple real-world actions that build wellbeing habits.
This is the execution phase: children practice small, repeatable behaviors that strengthen focus, emotional health, empathy, responsibility, and connection.
The key is consistency. SHAKTI works not as a one-time intervention, but as an ongoing rhythm that helps children build habits

Track Growth, Celebrate Progress, and Reinforce Motivation

As children engage, their progress is acknowledged and reinforced through Hero Points, reflections, conversations, milestones, rewards, or community recognition.
For schools, this can be built into classroom culture and school celebrations.
For parents, it can become part of regular family conversation around encouragement.
This step matters because children stay engaged when they can see that their actions matter. Recognition helps turn participation into identity: “I can make a difference!"

Deepen Purpose and Real-World Impact

The final step- SHAKTI becomes transformational. Children begin moving beyond participation for rewards or routine and start understanding that their actions have meaning beyond themselves.
They begin to see:
that wellbeing is connected to purpose
that they are part of something bigger
that the world needs their energy, care, & contribution
This is the long-term outcome: children who feel more connected, hopeful, and empowered to make a difference in their homes, schools, and communities.