Dive into Fun and Mindfulness: Engaging Yoga for Kids at Mindfulnest Yoga
It's so important to connect with local businesses to build a strong, supportive community. At Sage House Therapy, we truly believe in the power of collaboration to enhance the well-being of our clients. One of our recent connections is with Mindfulnest Yoga, which specializes in children's yoga. Children’s yoga is not only about physical health, but it also encourages emotional regulation, mindfulness, and resilience—key components of the therapeutic work we do at Sage House. By supporting and partnering with local businesses, we create a network of resources that truly enrich the lives of the families we serve. We recently had an enlightening conversation with Shannon, the owner of Mindfulnest Yoga, to learn more about her business and the wonderful services she provides for our local community.
Can you provide an overview of your yoga studio, including the types of classes and services you offer?
I like to call myself a yoga nomad since I don't have a brick and mortar studio, but that allows me to teach in different schools and studios, which I love since it's an opportunity to meet and collaborate with different people along the way. I offer classes for all ages, although most of my focus is on school-aged kids (preschool through high school). I teach enrichment classes in schools, family and parent-child classes, and I also teach private sessions or groups of kids that parents gather on their own. In addition, I lead classes for organizations such as scouts, homeschools, and moms' groups.
How do you adapt traditional yoga practices to make them engaging and accessible for children and families?
“Shannon is the best! Her classes are a wonderful blend of good for the body and heart. She is also super creative in making the classes engaging for kids with interesting and fun themes. My 12 year old daughter has loved them! ”
I LOVE coming up with creative ways to engage kids in meditation, breathwork and yoga poses. I incorporate different ways to meditate such as singing bowls, music, artwork, mantras, and visualization. I sometimes use props, such as a hoberman sphere, bubbles, scarves, and pom poms to teach breathwork. And last but not least, I create themes for each yoga class; for example, for ocean yoga, we do poses based on sealife (Warrior 3 for stingray, Dancer for seahorse, Bow for whale, etc.), and creative breathing such as bubble breath or flying fish breath (launch a flying fish with a pipette & straw). I also like to incorporate music, such as Surfin' USA, so we can pretend our mats are surfboards and we can practice poses while we 'surf.' Or Under the Sea, and we can swim around in between our sealife poses. I tend to open class with meditation and breathwork so we can settle our "monkey" brains, then move onto poses, dancing, mindful movement, and finally wind down with our Calm Garden/resting pose, and finish with our final 3 breaths and Namaste!
From your experience, what are some of the mental health benefits that children and families can derive from participating in yoga together on a regular basis?
When kids do yoga on a regular basis, they are collecting tools that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. Kids are growing both mentally and physically, so they are changing so much while also learning to navigate this life. Meditation is a way to reset our brains and self-regulate when we are feeling those big emotions in life. Breathwork is a way to bring more oxygen to our lungs and brains, letting our nervous system know that it's okay to relax. And poses teach spatial awareness, balance, risk-taking, confidence; when kids turn upside down or spin or do poses that use both the right and left brain, their nervous system is being calibrated for a lifetime of movement. And of course, practicing yoga with a loved one creates bonding, trust, and 99% of the time results in laughter and silliness mixed in with the class. All of these elements together are the perfect way to fill a toolbox with methods to stay mentally healthy for a lifetime.
Do you incorporate storytelling, games, or other creative elements into your classes to enhance the mental and emotional well-being of children and families?
Of course! I mentioned some above, but I do also incorporate storytelling, and I have way too many books! We actually just made up a story as we were doing camping yoga; each student had a different camping-inspired picture, and as we did our poses we added onto the story. For example, one yogi had a bear and another one had trees and another one had a sleeping bag. As we went along we each added an element of the story (Once Upon a Time, I was hiking throught the forest and there was a bear (Bear pose) and he chased me through the trees (Tree pose) so I got in my sleeping bag to hide (roll up in mat), etc. It's a great way to practice recall and creativity as we do our poses. I also incorporate games, such as Take it to the Mat (only certain body parts can touch the mat), Yoga Jenga (each block has a pose), Yoga freeze dance, Yoga bingo, and yoga obstacle courses. I also love a good yoga hike outdoors; the options are endless!
How do your classes encourage family bonding and communication while promoting mindfulness and relaxation?
For starters, being a room together without electronics is golden. On top of that, I encourage plenty of partner yoga or just helping each other out during poses, and practices such as back-to-back breathing and holding hands during Savasana truly helps family members connect. Even without guided connection, practicing meditation, breathwork, and poses side by side is a bonding experience since you are both focused on the same thing without any distractions--family members naturally laugh, talk, and connect during a yoga class--in return, this leads to a mindful and relaxing experience for your brain and body.
In what ways do you collaborate with schools, community centers, or other organizations to promote the mental and physical well-being of children and families?
I work with schools to provide before and after school enrichment, and I've also worked in classrooms during the school day as a Mindfulness Specialist. I actually started out teaching in the community center in Vienna in 2018, but eventually gravitated towards renting studio space since it's more cost-effective for my small business (I love to teach at BodyGrace Yoga or BeHive Wellness). I also hold summer camps at the Vienna Volunteer Fire Dept. and the Vienna Moose Lodge! I've also held outdoor classes and camps at Wolftrap National Park, which is such a gorgeous place to practice yoga. If organizations reach out, I use one of those places to host an event.
What advice would you give to parents who are interested in introducing their children to yoga but may be unsure of how to get started?
Don't be worried about your child staying on the mat or following every instruction perfectly. Yoga is a practice, not a perfect. When kids are young, especially, they learn through movement and play, so let them be kids and run around and join us when they are ready. I promise, they'll go home and do everything or talk about it even if they don't seem engaged during class. So many parents send me pictures of their kids meditating, playing 'singing bowls,' doing yoga, holding class with stuffies, or practicing breathwork at home. They are absorbing everything! For teens, just send them my way and I promise we'll have fun. I have two of my own, so I'm ready for them!
“My 4 year old absolutely loved her Mindfulnest class! Ms. Shannon kept the class fun and lighthearted, but still (somehow!) focused and calming. She looked forward to the various themes every week, and loved telling friends and family about how she went to a yoga class “just like a grown up.” We can’t wait for another session!”
Are there any upcoming events or workshops you'd like us to highlight?
I have a 6 day summer camp coming up: SUMMER CAMP
And a mini-camp: MINI CAMP
I will also keep going with my Pre-K parent/child class this summer (currently Mondays at 1:30) and possibly add a Family Class too.
You can subscribe to my newsletters on my homepage at www.mindfulnestyoga.com
How do you envision the future of yoga for children and/or families, and its role in nurturing overall well-being within our community?
I would actually love to see a mindfulness class integrated into the curriculum in school systems like a music or art class, so once a week at least for every class in a school. I know some high schools are starting to offer it in lieu of a PE class. For me, teaching yoga boils down to teaching kindness. When I'm working with kids and teens, I want them to learn to love who they are as a unique individual and to find that light within. Once they do that, they can teach others and help create a kinder community and world. I integrate topics like empathy, compassion, and love into almost every class, but in an organic way since teaching all these mindfulness easily lends itself to working on being a kind and loving human. So I think schools need to work with kids on these seemingly simple and basic things to create compassionate humans, because in this world of fast-paced technology, we're losing sight of what's important. So mindfulness/yoga is one way to get back to these basics, especially if we start them young.
Do you have a business that you’d like us to learn more about? Contact us at connect@sagehousetherapy.com and let us know!