“Do you teach mindfulness too?” As a kids yoga teacher, I get this question a lot. And the answer? A resounding YES because yoga is mindfulness in motion. Mindfulness is a state of heightened awareness that can be achieved by focusing intently on the present moment. Asking a little one in child’s pose to take […]
Team Spirit for the Family
The sports I played growing up – track and gymnastics –are largely viewed as solo sports. Still, somehow, maybe from summer camp or my large extended family, I grew to love being part of something bigger than myself. I grew to love being part of a team. When I married, I began referring to my […]
Learn Crow Pose and Other Life Lessons
Yogis like crow pose because it’s challenging, looks impressive, and gives a huge boost to their self-esteem once it’s accomplished. I like Crow pose because it also give Yogis wisdom for life. Crow isn’t a pose many conquer on the first try, so it teaches Yogis how diligence pays off. To drive this point home, […]
Getting to See the Magic
Similarities and Differences In some ways teaching kids is drastically different from teaching adults. In other ways, it’s pretty much the same. With both kids and adults, I string together poses and breath work that allow students to feel sensations in their body that awakens awareness of emotions or thoughts in their mind; I see […]
Why I Teach Yoga to Kids
Way back when I was only teaching yoga to grown-ups, my son was diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder. As far as the doctors were concerned, my son’s central nervous system hadn’t fully developed. As far as I was concerned, my child threw fits that lasted hours on a fairly regular basis with no warning. […]
Look where you want to go
When I learned how to surf, it wasn’t until I got up on the board that I realized I was missing one very important piece of information—I didn’t know how to stop. I was sharing a wave with another novice surfer. The two of us locked eyes and knew exactly what we were in for. […]
Make Patience Possible
I got caught in the undertow at Point Pleasant last month and broke my toe. I actually, I broke my foot too, but saying that you broke your foot in the undertow doesn’t quite have the same ring. Broken bones take time to heal — a lot of time. Some days I notice progress—a little […]
3 Tips for Making Awesome Summer Memories
The hot summer sun, walking bare foot in thick blades of St. Augustine grass, the smell of horses and the sound of “y’all” everywhere … it brings back so many childhood memories. I’m in my home state right now treating my kids to summertime Texas style and treating myself to a flood of childhood memories. […]
More Than Ever …
I was teaching yoga to a group of second graders this morning when an alarm sounded. “Lock down drill!” all the kids yelled. The teacher’s aide walked over to bolt the classroom door while the teacher quickly herded students into the coat closet. After the last child was safely inside, I squeezed in with the […]
Happiness Rx for Your Kids (and you too!)
Give your kids a weekly dose of gratitude, but no more, and you’ll be giving them a key to the happiness factory. When it comes to gratitude, too much of a good thing is, well, too much. In fact, if you sit down to focus on everything you’re grateful for more than once a week, […]
A Confidence-Building Mad Lib For Your Yogi
It’s not just the sense of accomplishment kids get when they master a tricky pose. Yoga improves posture and the better your posture, the stronger your confidence researchers say. Experts have also found certain postures—ones that mimic yoga poses—can change body chemistry in a way that sets us up for success. (If you haven’t already […]
Listen … to the sound of strong bonds
Fights with friends, getting left out of party invitations, stressing about homework, feeling overwhelmed … growing up can be hard. I certainly wouldn’t want to go through it alone. That’s why relationships are so important in life. The stronger the relationships you have, the easier it is to navigate all the bumps and bruises […]
Are Muscles Overrated?
My 7-year-old daughter says it’s good to be strong: “You need big muscles to fight off bad guys.” Of course protecting yourself is important, but it doesn’t always require big muscles—or brute strength. Remember those toy finger traps we played with when we were kids? The ones that would squeeze tighter the more you tried […]
A Thanksgiving Tale—with a yoga twist
Before stuffing your little turkeys ’round the Thanksgiving table, read this yoga story to them and lead them through the poses. They’ll get some exercise and everyone will laugh at the surprise ending! *pose descriptions are at the bottom of the story The Giving Turkey There was once a Giving Turkey who had […]
Can YOUR Kid Practice Mindfulness?
Is it hard for you to imagine your child sitting still and quiet for any reason other than to avoid getting stung by a bee? If so, you should know that sitting still isn’t a requirement for practicing mindfulness. Mindfulness can happen while you’re walking, eating, driving, reading, running, singing—doing pretty much anything except for […]
