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Posts categorized "ChildLight News & Events"
December 2019
November 2019
ChildLight’s 95-hour Children’s Yoga School (RCYS) Graduate Interview: Courtney Pepe, RCYT
1. How did you find your way to ChildLight?
I found ChildLight after using the internet to research available trainings. I realized that a lot of the trainings were local to me and other ones that I had to travel to were actually places that I would love to visit.
2. Why are you interested in yoga & mindfulness for children?
I always knew that I wanted to get certified to teach yoga to children. I found yoga at about 18 years old and it truly changed my life. I know that if I had learned the skills that I now know at 30, my life would have been much easier to take on. I truly do believe that yoga is for everyBODY. And if you can learn the practice of yoga at a young age, that is something that you will take with you for the rest of your life. Your life will be blissful and in turn everyone around you will be impacted positively.
3. Can you tell us about your overall training experience with ChildLight? Any special details you wish to share?
My training with ChildLight was above and beyond anything I could've imagined. I went into each day with an open mind and an eagerness to learn. I love children and it was incredible to see that each and every trainer felt as passionate about young yogi's as I do. The hands on experience, the real life scenarios and the intricately planned manuals complimented each piece of the training. I always left feeling as though I was doing exactly what I was meant to be doing. I have to say that during my Tweens & Teens training with Ann Biese, I was able to dig deep into my own life and heal some wounds that I didn't even realize needed to be healed. Ann reminded me very much of someone that I was deeply connected with and had lost about ten years ago. I felt so comfortable in her presence, I was able to really be me. Ann's kindness, realness, her tone of voice, her way of teaching...everything that she encompasses as a children's yoga teacher was SO super inspiring. That weekend was very special to me and something that made a huge impact on me as a person and in turn as a yoga teacher. THANK YOU, Ann!
4. How are you applying what you learned with your community? What are you passionate about sharing?
I love being able to turn back to the manual and quickly be reminded of something we learned in the training. As I am planning classes for different age groups, I'm taking bits and pieces of EVERY training as I feel that it all came full circle. My classes are about 45 minutes and are filled with community, bonding, breath work, yoga poses, games, dancing, singing and just a ton of FUN. Everyone is included, everyone is mindful and I do feel that everyone leaves more at peace. I truly love sharing the Pranayama aspect of yoga. I know the importance of the breath-- it is a daily reminder that we are alive. I had NO idea about the breath before I walked into yoga teacher training. Yes, I knew that I was breathing but over time my body (and mind) was in full on fight or flight mode. It wasn't good for me and my yoga practice taught me how to change that. I see so many children that are in constant stress mode. I don't blame them at all, I was once there! So to be able to begin a 45 minute yoga practice with a young yogi that is shallow breathing and to end it with them breathing deeply with ease...has truly changed my life.
5. What do you find to be the most beneficial yoga & mindfulness tools for the population that you work with these days?
Again, I would come back to the breath! Any breathing exercise and any prop you can use to convey what you are teaching. I love the mindfulness exercises where you tap into your senses and allow yourself to be fully present. I get a lot of feedback from caregivers where they tell me that their child is able to self soothe and feel at ease with a simple breathing exercise that they learned in my class. Or they found them on a mindfulness walk around the house.
6. Can you describe for us the most rewarding moment that you've had so far in your children's yoga teaching journey?
I would say that the most rewarding moment to date was over the summer when I was teaching yoga and mindfulness to a group of ten, mostly twelve year olds. I taught them a couple of breathing exercises including the "take 5" breath as we centered in the beginning of class. I explained that you can do this anywhere. At your desk at school, at home in your room, in line at the grocery store, etc. Any time that you feel overwhelmed, stressed or just need a few minutes to yourself. They looked very confused at first as I explained it and later said that nobody ever talked to them about breathing. As the class went on, I gave them multiple chances to come to whatever exercise they felt most drawn to. I watched half of the class come to the take 5 breath time and time again. I watched their faces light up and could feel such a peaceful energy. I knew that this was something that they would take with them for the rest of their lives.
I cannot thank you enough for everything that you and the ChildLight team has taught me. These trainings have improved every aspect of my life. They have helped as a human being and as a teacher. I feel SO blessed to be a part of this family!
Courtney Pepe completed ChildLight’s 95hr RCYS program in October of 2019. She resides in Red Hill, PA and is the owner of Quartz Yoga & Wellness Studio. She can be reached at info@quartzorganics.com.
June 2019
ChildLight Yoga Prenatal Yoga Foundations Teacher Training: REVIEW
This blog was originally published by https://honeybee4me.com/
Written by Amy Kirk:
I cut open this gorgeous pepper today for my lunch and was gifted with this little baby pepper inside. I immediately had to show Michele, and we whispered to each other (as if we were going to wake a sleeping baby) how cute it was. I don’t believe in coincidences and I fully believe the universe has a sense of humor.
As my 45th birthday is quickly approaching, thoughts of family and my parents and how fast time has gone by have been on my mind. It also seemed fitting, so close to my own birthday, that I would spend this past weekend learning about childbirth and motherhood.
Hold on to your hats! No, I’m not announcing a pregnancy on my blog. This past weekend, I had the pleasure of completing the ChildLight Yoga Prenatal Yoga Foundations Teacher Training at The Yoga Loft of Bethlehem. This training was long overdue for me. In all my years of teaching, I’ve never had formal training in prenatal yoga.
The 25-hour training was compassionately and skillfully led by Megan Ridge Morris. Megan has a natural gift of creating community and holding a space that feels safe and almost like a womb. Surrounded by 10 incredible women, I had the opportunity to learn all about what happens to a woman’s body during pregnancy, why yoga is beneficial during pregnancy, as well as what should be avoided. There are a lot of myths out there about what to do and not do during a yoga class, and I’m happy to know the facts now.
A fun part of the weekend was hearing everyone tell their birth stories. Megan loves to hear and read these stories and has even started a website to allow others to submit and share their own stories. You can read some beautiful stories here. It is amazing how different each story is and how we all enter the world in our own unique way.
My mom recently recounted my own birth story and filled in some details that I didn’t know. Her emphasis seemed to be that I was safe and loved and truly wanted. I fully acknowledge how privileged I am to have this start to my life. Not everyone is this lucky.
Yoga is an incredible benefit for a pregnant woman. The movement in a safe environment, the “me time,” the relaxation, breathwork, and most of all community with other pregnant women are all what make these classes so special. And while it’s nice to have the training and information now to keep a pregnant woman safe should she enter one of my classes, I do not feel drawn to teach prenatal yoga classes. I do, however, now know 10 incredibly caring and nurturing women who can skillfully provide a prenatal class. If you know anyone looking for this kind of yoga experience, drop me a note and I’ll put you in touch with one of them.
Thank you, Amy Kirk, for these kind words! Click here to learn more about our Prenatal Yoga Teacher Training. Are you searching for a Certified ChildLight Yoga Prenatal Instructor near you? Click here to visit our Instructor Directory!
March 2019
ChildLight Yoga 95-hour Children’s Yoga School (RCYS) Graduate Interview: Jennifer Ford, RYT
1. How did you find your way to ChildLight Yoga?
I have long known the benefits of yoga for myself, but after the birth of my first child and a difficult postpartum experience, I found that attending a mommy and me class with my new baby really helped me find a stronger connection to her. When I went back to work after three months, I was sad that I couldn't find many opportunities for us to go to classes together except during weekday mornings. I finally found a wonderful family yoga class in my town that I went to for years with both of my girls. As they aged out of that class, I found myself looking for something for children ages 3-8 or so. I decided my 2017 New Year's Resolution would be to train to teach kids' yoga. A google search later and I had applied to ChildLight Yoga’s 95-hour program! (I had already completed my 200 hr YTT in 2012).
2. Why are you interested in yoga and mindfulness for children?
I am especially interested in yoga and mindfulness for the whole family. I've used many techniques learned in my own yoga to help with my parenting, especially when my children were very young. I remember using Ujjayi breathing to slow my own anxious heart rate while holding my babies. I could feel that as I relaxed, they relaxed and as they grew older, they learned to breath with me, to sing Om-Shanti and to chant oms at bedtime. I think it's very important for children to continue to feel comfortable in their own bodies and with themselves as they grow. Yoga and mindfulness can help kids connect with themselves, use their imagination and learn how to recognize and be in more control of the big feelings they're having.
3. Can you tell us about your overall training experience with ChildLight Yoga? Any special details you wish to share?
It's been a wonderful experience! I have enjoyed the community that built through those I've met at trainings and those I know only virtually through the Facebook group of instructors. With each module, I am humbled to be learning from the extremely experienced and talented teachers at CLY. There have been so many wonderful tips and tricks that I bring back to my classes, as well as ideas for lesson plans, props and activities.
4. How are you applying what you learned with your community? What are you passionate about sharing?
I teach a Family Yoga class at the studio where I did my 200 hour training and took prenatal and postpartum yoga. I love that the family yoga classes I teach have become a place for moms, dads, grandmas, grandpas, aunts and other caregivers to come together as a community to support our children on their own journeys. Together we help the children learn ways to express themselves, listen to their bodies and calm anxious minds all while having so much fun being silly. For me, the most important part of the class is that the kids and their adults are connecting and doing something together.
I've also really enjoyed volunteering to teach yoga at my children's school and after care program, at our Unitarian Universalist church and with my daughter's Brownie troop.
5. What do you find to be the most beneficial yoga and mindfulness tools for the population that you work with these days?
My family yoga classes LOVE the Hoberman Sphere - we do the "breathing ball" near the beginning of every class to remind them what it feels like to take the deepest of breaths. I just love how quiet the room gets and how it sounds (and how the energy in the room feels!) when we have 20+ people (kids and adults) breathing in unison.
6. Can you describe for us the most rewarding moment that you’ve had so far in your kid’s yoga teaching journey?
I have a Pen Pals lesson plan that I use in my Family Yoga class. I read the book "Same, Same But Different" by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw and we do poses based on the book. The takeaway for the kids is a postcard with a stamp on it. It's all ready to go, I just ask that they think of someone they'd like to write to it and send it out before the next class. After I taught this class for the first time, one of the moms pulled me aside before the next class. She told me that her five-year-old son had decided to write to a grandfather that the family doesn't have much of a relationship with. She was happy that he had reached out to his grandfather and hoped it would start more of a bond with the grandfather and their family. I am grateful for every hug and thank you from every child. I am grateful each time I get to watch a parent or grandparent have a special moment during Savasana with their little one. But this was, above all, something that really made me feel like I had brought some kindness and love into this world through yoga.
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September 2018
4 Benefits of Yoga and Mindfulness for Youth Athletes
In 1996, at six months old, my oldest son picked up his first baseball bat and hasn’t put it down since. Just as I fell in love with yoga, he fell in love with baseball.
Fast forward to the summer of 2010. As I sat there observing the closing remarks pep talk at a local university youth baseball clinic, I bravely decided to email the head baseball coach to discuss offering yoga to the team. Typically, that would have me shaking in my boots! But not this time. I knew baseball from spending years at the field with my son and I certainly knew how to teach yoga and mindfulness. After he agreed to meet with me, I spent hours creating a handout listing the specific benefits of Yoga for Baseball Players. After a ten-minute conversation, I got the gig!
Knowledge and communication are of the utmost importance in order for athletes and those who support them to understand the sport specific benefits for creating a sustainable practice. The coach, youth athletes, and parents need to understand the ‘why’ of what they are doing, and so do you!
TOP 4 BENEFITS OF YOGA & MINDFULNESS FOR YOUTH ATHLETES
- Breath Awareness
“Better breathing equals more oxygen for your muscles, and that equals more endurance.” ~Mindy Solkin of The Running Center It is important for an athlete to utilize the breath in a functional way relevant to the action taking place in the body. Inhaling when the muscles are expanding allows space for air, oxygenating the brain, blood and muscles. Exhaling while muscles are contracting forces out stale air providing extra power and propulsion.
- Injury Prevention
Anyone that has attended a training, workshop or class with me can tell you my number one rule is “Yoga should never hurt.” This is never truer than when working with youth athletes. Teaching proper alignment is imperative for a sustainable physical practice and should support the activity. Clear, simple alignment instructions promotes proper body mechanics and is believed to aid in injury prevention, improve balance, flexibility, range of motion, strength and stability.
- Reduces Anxiety
Have you ever observed (or participated in) an athletic event where the outcome was affected by the participants’ state of mind? A track meet where the runner gives up because he falls behind? A softball pitcher who is rattled by the dugout banter? A swimmer who is frazzled by a false start? Having a yoga and mindfulness practice allows a youth athlete to create the healthy habit of becoming a witness to the present moment, then choose a productive tool, such as a breathing technique, for the best possible desired outcome.
- Recovery
No matter why you may be invited to teach a yoga & mindfulness class to youth athletes, one of the most crucial components of the class needs to be savasana, or “nap time” as some of my students lovingly call it. In this fast moving, over scheduled, high demand world where youth get up early and fall into bed late at night being told they have four minutes to lie on their mat doing absolutely nothing feels like receiving a gift. This time balances work with rest allowing the nervous system to come back into a state of equilibrium. They are so grateful!
Since the initial opportunity in 2010, I have continued to teach yoga and mindfulness with softball, baseball, soccer, football, Cross Country and Track & Field youth athletic teams in a variety of settings. This year, I collaborated with Ann Biese, E-RYT500, RCYT, to document what we have learned through our many years of teaching. We hope you are able to join us at the Yoga & Mindfulness for Youth Athletes one day workshop to learn best practices for integrating yoga and mindfulness into a training regimen.
We hope you can join us soon!
Sally Delisle, E-RYT500, RCYT, YACEP, is the Director and Trainer for ChildLight Yoga Teacher Trainings, as well as a Yoga 4 Classrooms Trainer. She is author/creator of the ChildLight Yoga & Mindfulness Advanced Teaching Concepts Training and manual, Yoga & Mindfulness for Youth Athletes Workshop, and contributor to the ChildLight Yoga & Mindfulness in Schools and Tweens & Teens training manuals. Sally completed her 500 hr yoga certification through The Yoga Loft of Bethlehem, PA where she is currently on faculty of the 200 and 300 hour teacher training programs. She has been sharing yoga and mindfulness practices with children, teens and adults in studio, childcare, preschool, public school, and homeschool settings, as well as teaching athletes, coaches and educators at area universities and school districts, for over 17 years. In addition to holding degrees in both Fine Arts/Dance and Psychology, Sally is a Reiki Master, Doula, and National Board Certified Reflexologist.
July 2018
What is Yoga & Mindfulness Camp?
It’s 9 o’clock on a weekday morning. Windows are open wide, allowing a warm breeze to move through the room. Outside, birds are singing. Inside, a group of children are gathered in a circle. One child is leading the others through a sun salutation . . . all of them breathing and moving together through lunge and plank, up dog and down dog.
A new day of yoga & mindfulness camp has just begun.
While summer camps have been the norm for many generations, you don't often run into yoga camp- which might beg the question, "What is yoga & mindfulness camp?"
I'm glad you asked...
Yoga & Mindfulness camp is where children come together in a welcoming environment to learn about themselves and the world around them. This is the essence of yoga. We learn yoga postures, all of them presented in a fun and age-appropriate way. And, we play games that help reinforce their learning of the postures (most of the activities can be found in Lisa Flynn’s Yoga for Children book). Musical Mats is a great favorite (a lot like musical chairs, except when the music stops, the children have to look for a posture card by their mat and perform the posture indicated). We also play Triangle Tag and Crab Soccer – both vigorous games that get the kids moving, breathing and using their muscles.
But much of what we do provides an opportunity for children to explore their place in the world. As we move through this vast home we call earth, we meet many people and discover much about our environment and ourselves. Every connection a child makes is like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle. We spend our childhoods – our whole lives, really – collecting these pieces. And we are each at the heart of our own puzzle, constructing a picture of the world as it relates to our self. Yoga & mindfulness camp provides an opportunity for children to find these pieces, and offers them tools to help them place each piece where they feel it best fits.
At yoga & mindfulness camp, we take time to get to know one another. Through group activities and games, we learn to appreciate each other where we are and for who we are. Playing games like Web of Connection (a game of sharing in which we construct a literal web of yarn connecting each child to the others), we can see how we are all connected to one another and that, while we’re different, we are also very much the same, and how every action we make affects others around us.
At yoga & mindfulness camp, we might spend an hour walking through the woods, looking closely with magnifying glasses at all the little details of the outside world. While walking, we might collect pinecones, sticks, acorns and stones - bits of nature with which we can build a large nature mandala. We might learn about different rocks and minerals or explore a river and discuss its importance to the local eco-system. Discussions and activities are meant to encourage children to be mindful of their surroundings, to notice and to inquire - asking questions and inspiring thoughts that help them to gain a better understanding of their place in the world around them. And, of course, all of these ideas are reinforced through games, activities, art projects, and of course, yoga.
At yoga & mindfulness camp, we believe in the power of peaceful moments. While most camps provide nonstop intensity, inciting a furor of excitement and energy, yoga & mindfulness camp balances joyful play with quiet reflection and relaxation opportunities that children need both in order to be balanced and healthy. As much as the children enjoy interactive play, they also relish (and request!) these quieter moments such as when they get to lie down for a short period of relaxation and breathing, sometimes involving a visual imagery exercise (imagination vacation) or soft and peaceful music.
The best measure of a successful day at camp is each child's demeanor as they're picked up by their parents: not wired and energized, as you'd expect after a day at camp, but alert, inspired, calm and content.
Year after year our students return to camp which tells us that in addition to all of the social, emotional and physical benefits for children, yoga & mindfulness camp is just plain fun!
Visit the ChildLight Yoga website for details about this summer’s yoga camp offerings at our studio in beautiful downtown Dover, NH (Yoga & Mindfulness Adventure Camp for 5-8 yr olds and GirlPowerment Camp for girls ages 8-12).
Michelle James, A.S. Early Childhood Education, NH Early Childhood Master Professional Individual Mentor, MRTQ Level 6 is an experienced, certified ChildLight Yoga Instructor and early childhood educator who has been working with preschool and elementary school aged children and families since 1991. In addition to teaching art and literacy to children and early childhood educators, you can find Michelle sharing developmentally-appropriate, playful and engaging yoga and mindfulness education at ChildLight Yoga Studio where she teaches Peace Baby Yoga, Tots, Little Family, Kids’ Yoga and Mother Daughter Retreats and leads the summer camps and yoga party program…read more here.
June 2018
Why YOU Should Attend The ChildLight Yoga Summer Training Immersion!
Last summer, Dani Orender, 500RYT, took FIVE ChildLight Yoga teacher trainings back-to-back at our Summer Training Immersion! We caught up with Dani and asked her to share the details of her experience. May this interview be of benefit to those of you considering spending time with us this summer!
Tell us about yourself!
I live in Virginia Beach, VA with my husband and two golden retrievers. I currently teach children’s, prenatal, and warm yoga at Zen Hot Yoga (voted number one yoga facility in the Hampton Roads area). I teach yoga and mindfulness at The Barry Robinson Center, a residential treatment facility for children ages 6-17 that are associated with the military. Privately, I teach under D.O. Yoga.
Join us for our Fourth Annual Summer Training Immersion!
Immerse yourself in kids yoga and mindfulness education while cultivating new friendships, connecting with like-minded community and working toward completion of the ChildLight Yoga 95-hour Registered Children's Yoga School (RCYS) all in one trip to our beautiful studio and training center!
Visit the stunning seacoast of NH and attend one or more of our teacher trainings offered back-to-back during our Annual Summer Training Immersion! Enjoy quality trainings led by topic experts, local outdoor theatre and concerts, shopping and dining, yoga classes for you, nature hikes, a trip to the beach or mountains and all the rest that our historic tourist area has to offer summer visitors!
Each training is open for individual registration allowing the flexibility to attend just one day of training or stay for the entire program to learn from our experienced team. Summer training immersion participants will receive a welcome bag full of surprise gifts from our local partners and enjoy plenty of dining and excursion ideas to make your visit extra special. We realize this is an investment and will help you every step of the way.
SUMMER TRAINING IMMERSION SCHEDULE
ChildLight Yoga for Babies & Toddlers Teacher Training
July 7-8, 2018
ChildLight Yoga & Mindfulness for Children Teacher Training
July 9-11, 2018
ChildLight Yoga & Mindfulness for Children: Advanced Teaching Concepts Teacher Training
July 12-13, 2018
ChildLight Yoga & Mindfulness in Schools Teacher Training
July 14-15, 2018
Trauma Informed Yoga & Mindfulness for Children Workshop
July 16, 2018
ChildLight Yoga & Mindfulness for Children and Teens with Special Needs Teacher Training
July 17-19, 2018
ChildLight Yoga & Mindfulness for Athletes Workshop
July 20, 2018
ChildLight Yoga & Mindfulness for Tweens and Teens Teacher Training
July 21-22, 2018
Prenatal Yoga Foundations Teacher Training
July 23-25, 2018
Prenatal Yoga Advanced Teaching Concepts Teacher Training
July 26-28, 2018
Prenatal Yoga Teacher Certification Teacher Training (RPYT)
July 29-31, 2018
Additional Elective Options for Educators, School Counselors, and other School-based Professionals
Yoga 4 Classrooms Professional Development Workshop for Educators & School Professionals
June 27 & August 4, 2018
June 27 - 29 and August 1-3, 2018
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