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What Does Kid Yoga Look Like?

Similar to adult yoga, kids yoga incorporates asanas (shapes/postures) and pranayama (breath). But unlike adult classes, kids yoga infuses these elements with art, music, games, and other creative activities to meet youth where they are at through play and exploration. Each class includes mindfulness and sensory activities to remind youth of their own inner powers and resources.  All classes focus on how our personal choice of movement can feel in our bodies.

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is being present at the moment and paying attention to your life here and now with kindness and curiosity. We achieve this with kids by doing art, music, games, and meditation. Mediation looks a little different too! When we do an art activity together, build obstacle courses, playing music, and games this allows your child to not worry about anything else. They are focused on what they are creating. This allows your youth to also add ways they can practice mindfulness on their own at home, school, and other places. Yoga is, of course, an embodiment of mindfulness and is used in a way to always build connection and mindfulness. 

Learning mindfulness skills at any age is beneficial for overall health, connection, and coping skills. However, we know learning at a young age allows for these skills to develop into lifelong habits and mindset. Through art, music, and STEAM-based learning activities, your youth will have the tools to practice mindfulness and meditation on their own and with others

What is Trauma-Informed Kid Yoga?

A youth mindfulness and yoga class with a trauma-informed approach encourages your child to be who they are and allows them to have control over what a class and session looks and feels like. Giving children permission to explore different shapes, and mindfulness activities encourage them to try new ways to self-regulate, problem-solve, work as a team, show self-confidence, self-efficacy, self-expression, and learn new coping skills and body awareness. 

This makes it so they are able to make their yoga practice truly unique and beneficial to them. This also allows for improved self-belief and connection with their internal and external world. By using invitation and choice language (i.e. if you like, if you’re comfortable when you’re ready) it allows your child to move at their own pace, and even within their own comfort level.

As a feeling of safety and awareness develops, your child will be encouraged to explore things beyond their immediate comfort level. We all process and develop at our own pace. Learning these imperative skills as a youth is critical to not only healing from trauma but becoming a self-aware, mindful adult.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Do you take Insurance?

Our services are not covered by insurance. We have had families submit invoices for series, sessions, and camps through the HSA, this may be an option for you to explore.

What does a series look like?

A series runs 4-8 weeks depending on age, and schedule. Each series covers age appropriate topics that kids in that age range are exploring. The series also will work on forming community, brain/body connections, social-emotional awareness, regulation and coping skills. The classes in the series typically run 45-60 minutes and will offer a connecting activity to self and others followed by art, music and movement.

My kids has never experienced developmental trauma, are the series right for them?

Developmental trauma is more common than many of us realize. According to the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, 78% of children reported more than one traumatic experience before the age of 5. While not every child experiences traumatic stress after a traumatic event many do. Globally we experienced a pandemic and this has affected many kids with fear, separation anxiety, stress, depression and more. Kids facing bullying, divorced parents, loss of a sibling or close person, sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, and more will benefit from our trauma informed sessions. 

Do I stay for a class?

Parents are always welcome to stay and wait in our waiting room. We do lock the front door after a class has started but you can always enter from the back door and sit in the waiting room if you arrive early. Some kids need the support of a parent in the studio or waiting room. We understand this completely! If your child needs this support, reach out to us. Our classes are all Trauma-Informed and part of that means we don’t have adults sit in the back of a class, and they must be introduced to the whole class; you are part of the class. Many of our kids are used to the routine of our classes, and many kids who have experienced varying traumas don’t feel comfortable with people watching them as they explore mindfulness and yoga.

I want my kid to have a yoga practice that looks like mine, do you do that?

We love when families want to do yoga together or have a similar practice. Our sessions are all individual focused and will focus on what your youth and child need. It might be better to teach your child what works for you and build a practice together.

What does a private session look like?

Private sessions are always catered to an individual child's needs and goals. We have numerous kids who are in private sessions focusing on their own needs, and also in groups to gain the support of a community. Youth see us for many reasons like depression, OCD, connecting to a body that doesn’t feel right, anxiety, loss of a parent, aggression, and various other developmental traumas. Not one private session looks like another since we are all unique and all need support that are created for and with us!

My kid wants to exercise more and become more flexible, is this for us?

We do have many classes where we are moving a lot, and then some where we don’t move at all! It’s all about checking in with our bodies and seeing what we need that day. If you are wanting exercise and flexibility for your child that is consistent and routine you may want to check online options or other area yoga studios.

How do you define a yoga practice and will you help my kid create one?

 A personal yoga practice is just that, personal. Our goal is for youth to connect with themselves and see what they can take from yoga and use in their daily life. If I have anxiety from a test I might remember those figure eights I can draw on my leg. When my energy is too big for the space I am in maybe I can practice leg bounces. A yoga practice is connecting a mindfulness, movement or yogic experience, shifting mindset

My kid loves Cosmic Kids. Are your series like those videos?

There are so many types of yoga, it can be hard to find what works best! Our goal is to build a relationship with each youth who we encounter. 

We also work really hard to support kids as they do a self-exploration of movement and mindfulness. We are able to do this because we can adjust a class to meet the individual needs of the youth who show up. We are able to move slower instead of fast for kids to begin to notice movement and sensations. While we do use stories and play in many of our classes we still continue to draw awareness to social-emotional learning and self-empowerment. We differ from Cosmic Kids in that we allow each series and private session to be co-created by the youth attending. This allows us to pause and build relationships with each youth.  

With that said, our Toddler Time classes may be a great fit for what you're looking for with young ones and their adult(s) attending and moving together.  It's a great time to build and nurture attachment.

What Your Youth Will Learn in Yoga

During our classes, we will be talking and learning new words and sayings, as well as songs and poses. Here are things your youth will learn practicing yoga with us: 

Yoga: Yoga literally translates to, “to join.” One thing I love about yoga is that the definition is really up to you. When I look at yoga I like to say it is a mindfulness practice that combines postures and breath. While some people connect spiritually to yoga, yoga is not a religion. When I do yoga with your kid our goal is to connect to ourselves and others, learn yoga postures, and mindfulness to help with self-regulation, anxiety, and a connection to the present moment. It is always our goal to have a lot of fun too!

Namaste: This is a traditional Indian greeting. This greeting simply means “I bow to you.”  When we use the greeting Namaste we use it to meet each other at a soul level. At this level, we are saying,

The spirit within me bows to the spirit within you.

I greet that place where you and I are one.

I honor the place in you which is of love, of truth, of light, and of peace.

I explain Namaste to your child(ren) as; the awesomeness in me sees the awesomeness in you! There will also be times when we don’t use the word Namaste and simply have hands at heart center, and bow to one another as a sign of respect and gratitude.

Mantra: A mantra is a phrase or sound that is repeated over and over during meditation. Some examples of mantras we will use are; My voice is important, I deserve to be here, I am safe, sat nam (I am Truth or truth is my name), I am loved, I am calm, I am at peace, I can solve my problems.  In Sanskrit, sounds are more important than the actual mantra itself. The sounds and chanting used in Sanskrit allow for different energetic feeling.

Yamas:  Yamas are in essence more guidelines. The Yamas are important for kids to learn, and are especially helpful at home with family, at school, and other settings.

The 5 Yamas are:

  • Ahimsa (non-violence) This means not being violent to myself or others. We will work on ways to be caring to ourselves and others with words and thoughts.
  • Satya (truthfulness) We will work on being truthful to ourselves and others. We work on actively listening to others and ourselves.
  • Asteya (non-stealing) This not only includes not taking something that does not belong to us, but being mindful of others time and experiences. This Yama is greatly associated with being in opposition to social injustice and oppression.
  • Brahmacharya (energy management), A goal for some in yoga is to create and maintain balance. Brahmaccharya is the balance of energy. What do you spend your time doing? It is essential to spend our time and energy wisely.
  • Aparigraha (non-possessiveness) Put simply we will practice being grateful for what we have and letting go of what we don’t need. This can be physical and emotional.

When we learn and practice the Yamas we learn how to have a positive relationship with ourselves and others. These moral guidelines help us live a healthier, mindful, and peaceful life. There are many games, books, and art activities we can do to practice the Yamas!

I encourage your child(ren) to share their yoga practice with their family and friends. As they share what they have learned you may hear them refer to yoga poses with different names than you are used to. In kids yoga we often times give poses fun names to flow with a story, or even allow kids to name their own pose. For example, we could use chair pose as a rocket ship as we blast to the moon!