Make an Impact: Become a Children's Yoga & Mindfulness Teacher
Welcome to our 16th year as an organization, and 15th year of facilitating yoga and mindfulness trainings!
Our courses are comprehensive and designed for parents, classroom teachers, counselors, therapeutic professionals, yoga instructors and others. In our Registered Children’s Yoga School, you choose to become an instructor or earn the international RCYT credential (see below for more about RCYT)! Our YTT program is grounded in cultural appreciation, social justice, multiple languages, original curricula. Participants graduate from our programs equipped and empowered to teach yoga and mindfulness to youth in diverse settings. Scholarships are available for historically marginalized communities and groups. Certificates of hours and course completion, and follow up coaching are also available.
Our trainings are rooted in:
- Educational and neuroscience theories
- The 8 Limbs of Yoga
- Research-Informed Mindfulness Techniques
- Trauma-informed offering multiple movement and somatic-based modalities
- Polyvagal-informed and Bio-psychosocial theories and practices
- Transformative Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)
- Co- and Self-Regulation Strategies
2024 Training Schedule (remaining):
Connecting Yoga & Mindfulness to the Creative Arts
Thursday, May 2, 6:30pm-9:30pm (online);
Saturday, May 4, 9:00am-5:30pm (online/in-person);
Thursday, May 9, 6:300pm-9:30pm (online)
Yoga & Mindfulness for Tweens and Teens
Thursday, June 20, 6:30pm-9:30pm (online);
Saturday, June 22, 9:00am-5:30pm (online/in-person);
Thursday, June 27, 6:30pm-9:30pm (online)
Yoga & Mindfulness in Schools
Thursday, October 3, 6:30pm-9:30pm (online);
Saturday, October 5, 9:00am-5:30pm (online/in-person);
Thursday, October 10, 6:30pm-9:30pm (online)
Meditation & Mindfulness for Youth
Friday, November 1, 6:30pm-9:30pm (online);
Saturday, November 2, 9:00am-5:30pm (online/in-person);
Thursday, November 7, 6:30pm-9:30pm (online)
Our training leaders have their RYT-200 or RYT-500. Two leaders have completed a two year Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program with Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield. In addition to believing wholeheartedly in the life-changing theories and practices of YYY, we are parents, partners, teachers, consultants, retreat leaders; a non-profit founder, a semi-pro tennis player, and an airline pilot. We look forward to meeting and learning about you!
Registered Children’s Yoga Teacher (RCYT)
Select all 5 trainings plus receive additional coaching and support to customize your investment and become an internationally recognized kids yoga and mindfulness teacher! Early-bird (25% off) for RCYT available thru February 2, 2024.
Change and Refund policy: We realize that unforeseen events can arise even with the utmost care and planning. We reserve the right to change dates of a training 14+ days before a training, and you may receive 100% refund when you cancel 14+ days before the start of a training. If your changes are more than 14 days prior to the start of a training, we will be happy to work with you on a refund or move you to another option.
FMI about trainings or our BIPOC and LGBTQ+ scholarship, connect with “Captain” Melissa melissa@yoginos.com
- You do not need to already be a yoga or mindfulness instructor, though an existing practice is helpful.
- Trainings are beneficial for parents, educators, librarians, counselors, psychologists, pediatricians, yoga and fitness instructors, Occupational and Psychosocial Therapists, Special Education professionals, and anyone who works with kids and families.
- Yogiños: Yoga for Youth® trainings are approved and recognized by Yoga Alliance.
- Learn how to offer classes and build a business!
- Step into your own Leadership and learn how to facilitate trainings!
Yoga and Mindfulness Course Options
We have created 6 distinct trainings that can be taken in any order, but one at a time, so you can customize your training experiences. We recommend starting with our Foundations of Yoga for Youth as some of the content is sequential. Our Leadership Program is available annually; there is an application process and the prerequisite of completing at least 1 YYY training.
Introduction to Yogiños: Yoga for Youth®
- Introduction to the theories and practices that serve as our foundation of teaching yoga to families and youth of all ages in a variety of settings with featured discussions that may include research-based age development, neuroscience, social media, implicit bias, inclusion, equity, diversity and race;
- Weekend of transformational demonstrations, discussions and activities with your friends, colleagues, and Yogiños Leaders;
- Interactive experiences facilitating and demonstrating team-building, cooperation, antibullying and tolerance;
- Information and opportunities about starting your own kids yoga business;
- Yogiños: Yoga for Youth® Curriculum eManual with educational and yoga philosophies, trilingual charts, class ideas, basic pose lists, instructions and information designed specifically for youth of all abilities and needs;
- A to Z Bilingual eBook of Poses;
- Wholesale discounts on our t-shirts, music CDs, posters, books, and stamps before and during the weekend session;
- eCommunication and OHMinar sessions with Elizabeth B. Reese, Ph.D., RYT, RCYT, and Yogiños Leaders
As a result of this program, we believe participants will be able to:
- Conceive, design and teach an OHMazing® theme-based Yogiños: Yoga for Youth® kids yoga class
- Practice and teach all 8 Limbs of Yoga, including poses (asana) and breathing (pranayama)
- Understand and use age-appropriate and safe forms of yoga, including games and related activities, to engage kids physically, emotionally, and mentally
- Modify lessons for various audiences and age groups
- Learn, practice and weave multiple languages and intelligences into your yoga for kids class
- Use yoga for kids as a means to teach tools and technqiues to empower youth and adults who work with them to disrupt habitual reactions and instead curate compassionate responses.
Yoga in Schools:
Mindfulness and Movement Across the Curriculum
- Introduction to the theories and practices of teaching mindfulness and yoga to youth in more formal educational settings with featured discussions on research-based age development, neuroscience, social media, implicit bias, inclusion, equity, diversity and race
- Weekend of transformational, interactive, and interdisciplinary activities with your friends, colleagues, and Yogiños Leaders;
- Yoga and mindfulness tools and techniques especially suited for schools that support teachers and education-based professionals with behavior management and their own stress-related challenges, as well as students with focus, stress and anxiety management, problem-solving and decision making, social interactions, and self-esteem
- Yoga and mindfulness tools adapted to promote self-regulation in any environment with emphasis on youth working in chairs or at desk
- Tips and techniques for starting your own yoga for youth program in schools;
- Yogiños: Yoga for Youth® Curriculum eManual; Yoga in Schools: Mindfulness and Movement Across the Curriculum eManual; Yogiños: Yoga for Youth® Trilingual A-Z Pose Guide; Support to complete your Yogiños: Yoga for Youth® certification
- Modules may be taken in any order
As a result of this program, we believe participants will be able to:
- Conceive, design and teach an OHMazing® theme-based Yogiños: Yoga for Youth® kids yoga class especially designed for use in a variety of school settings
- Practice and teach all 8 Limbs of Yoga, including poses (asana), breathing (pranayama), focus (dharana), and mindful meditation (dhyana), and also develop a language to share the benefits with other professionals
- Understand and use age-appropriate and safe forms of yoga, including games and related activities, to engage kids physically, emotionally, and mentally
- Modify lessons for various academic disciplines, age groups and school contexts
- Learn, practice and weave multiple languages and intelligences, and other learning strategies and styles, into your yoga for kids class
- Use evidence-based mindfulness and yoga in schools as a means to teach strategies and techniques to empower audiences to disrupt habitual, socially-constructed responses and neural pathways toward responding with clear presence and awareness
Yogiños: Yoga for Youth with Differing Abilities and Unexpected Life Changes
Your leaders may include Eve Margol, M.Ed., Cecilia Lo Cicero, Rick Yoder, and others who have over 20 years of personal and professional degrees, experiences, and training in this area.
Yoga for Youth with Differing Needs and Unexpected Life Changes, covers the foundations of working with youth who experience differences such as autism, sensory processing challenges, ADHD, emotional disturbance, trauma, and other cognitive, emotional, and physical challenges.
New to this training, Yoga for Youth with Differing Needs and Unexpected Life Changes, we are including information and practices to support parents and teachers who may be encountering new challenges because of COVID-19 (increased anxiety, depression, difficulties with focus and concentration, and reduction in social interaction, ruminating with fear) and in preparation for what may be a hybrid (online and in-person) next school year. This training will also demonstrate and discuss practices for teaching in an on-line environment.
- Introduction to the theories and practices associated with teaching yoga to youth with special needs, the intersections and research of mindfulness, yoga, special needs and circumstances, problem solving, related neuroscience, and inclusion, equity, and diversity;
- Discuss characteristics of and practice yoga-based tools to assist the most common forms of special needs including physical, developmental, sensory-processing, cognitive and socio-emotional needs
- Discuss characteristics of and practice yoga-based tools to assist youth who manage trauma-based sensitivities and challenges including various forms of abuse, neglect and kids in foster-homes
- Yoga and mindfulness tools and techniques to empower kids with special needs to increase focus, stress and anxiety management, problem-solving and decision making, social interactions, and self-esteem
- Yoga and mindfulness tools adapted to promote self-regulation in any environment including with youth working in classroom spaces Strategies for integrating youth with special needs who are included in regular classrooms
- Tips and techniques for starting your own yoga for youth program in schools and adapting these skills into an existing OT/therapy practice;
- Yogiños: Yoga for Youth® Curriculum eManual; Yoga for Youth with Special Needs eManual; Yogiños: Yoga for Youth® Trilingual A-Z Pose Guide; support to complete your Yogiños: Yoga for Youth® certification
- Modules may be taken in any order
- You may also take the EVERY KIDS YOGA training to count toward your YYY 95-hours.
As a result of this program, we believe participants will be able to:
- Conceive, design and teach an OHMazing® theme-based Yogiños: Yoga for Youth® kids yoga class for youth with special needs
- Practice and teach all 8 Limbs of Yoga, including poses (asana) and breathing (pranayama) for youth with special needs
- Understand and use age-appropriate and safe forms of yoga, including games and related activities, to engage youth with special needs physically, emotionally, and mentally
- Modify yoga practices especially for youth with special needs in a varety of contexts
- Learn, practice and weave multiple intelligences into your yoga for kids class
- Use yoga for kids as a means to teach tools and techniques to empower audiences to respond mindfully rather than react irrationally
Creativity Lab: Connecting Mindfulness, Yoga and the Creative Arts
- Introduction to the theories and practices associated with teaching yoga to youth in formal and informal educational settings including schools, libraries, parks, museums and festivals;
- Discuss and explore the intersections and research of mindfulness, yoga, the creative arts, problem solving and related neuroscience, and inclusion, equity, and diversity;
- Use the creative arts—including visionary and fine art, crafts, music, performance, dance, and more—as catalysts for designing and implementing yoga classes;
- Explore how the creative arts can serve as a component of or as the theme for yoga on-and-off-the-mat experiences;
- Weekend of transformational, interdisciplinary activities with live musicians and original works of art with your friends, colleagues, and Yogiños Leaders;
- Tips and techniques for starting your own yoga for youth program in museums, festivals and related spaces;
- Wholesale discounts on our t-shirts, music CDs, posters, books, and stamps before and during the weekend session;
- eCommunication and OHMinar sessions with Elizabeth B. Reese, Ph.D., RYT, RCYT, and Yogiños Leaders
- FREE eManuals, lesson plan formats, poses, and other resources to help you get started!
As a result of this program, we believe participants will be able to:
- Conceive, design and teach an OHMazing® theme-based, interdisciplinary Yogiños: Yoga for Youth® kids yoga class intergrating mindfulness, yoga, and the creative arts
- Construct and teach kids yoga classes that include creative and expressive arts
- Create and teach activities to center, relax or rejuvenate learners in a various environments
- Practice and teach all 8 Limbs of Yoga, including poses (asana) and breathing (pranayama)
- Understand and use age-appropriate and safe forms of yoga, including games and related activities, to engage kids physically, emotionally, and mentally;
- Modify lessons for various audiences and age groups;
- Modify lessons for various audiences designed for less formal learning (ie, museums and festivas) environments;
- Learn, practice and weave multiple languages and intelligences into your yoga for kids class;
- Use yoga for kids as a means to teach tools and technqiues to empower audiences to respond mindfully rather than react irrationally.
Yoga for Tweens and Teens
- Tools and techniques for teaching yoga postures, breathing exercises and mindfulness practices to tweens and teens including discussing intersections and research of mindfulness, yoga, the changing teenage body and related neuroscience, explicit and implicit bias, inclusion, equity, diversity, and race;
- Specific practices for empowering tweens/teens to cope with common stressors and transitions, including depression and anxiety, test anxiety, body image, pressure from friends and family, career planning, and goal setting
- In-depth exploration of functional anatomy, the benefits of yoga postures and practices, and how to safely sequence postures
- How to adapt yoga classes for studios, schools, workshops, and camps
- A weekend of transformational demonstrations, discussions and activities with your friends, colleagues, and Yogiños Leaders;
- Interactive experiences facilitating and demonstrating team-building, cooperation and tolerance
- Information about starting your own youth yoga business;
- Yogiños: Yoga for Youth® Curriculum eManual, A to Z Bilingual eBook of Poses, Tweens and Teens eManual, support to complete your Yogiños: Yoga for Youth® certification.
As a result of this program, we believe participants will be able to:
- Conceive, design and teach age-appropriate theme-based tween and teen yoga classes
- Practice and teach all 8 Limbs of Yoga, including poses (asana) and breathing (pranayama)
- Understand and use age-appropriate and safe forms of yoga, including games and related activities, to engage youth physically, emotionally, and mentally
- Modify lessons for various audiences and age groups
- Learn, practice and weave multiple intelligences and tween/teen-based developmental theories into your yoga classes
- Use yoga for kids as a means to teach tools and techniques to empower audiences to respond mindfully rather than react irrationally
Mindfulness and meditation are OHMazing®!
Learn how to teach research-based and trauma-informed mindfulness to youth, teachers, and parents!
Opportunities: participants will learn and practice how to integrate practical mindfulness and meditation tools into preK-12 curricula, the work place, and daily life, including how to cultivate calmness, balance, and focus amidst most any circumstance;
Honor: participants will learn processes for generating evidence-based loving kindness tools toward the self and others, including people with which we may feel at odds;
Mindfulness and meditation: participants will learn the similarities and differences between these terms and be able to articulate and demonstrate concepts to others, including slowing down, stillness, and being present with compassion and without judgment;
Aware: participants will learn techniques to become aware of body sensations, moods, feelings and thoughts with tools to disrupt habitual reactions and instead cultivate intentional responses;
Zzzzzzz: participants will learn practices that can be used to help ourselves or someone else fall asleep or return to slumber;
Investigate: participants will explore, identify and connect research-based practices and how they are aligned with social-emotional learning (SEL) and social justice protocols;
Nourish: participants will learn strategies to deepen connections and relationships to themselves, others and the universe;
Grow: participants will learn strategies to create and grow mindfulness and meditation practices and lessons for various ages, contexts, and outcomes.
More info coming soon!
- Beth and the entire Yoginos program are OHMazing! The materials and teacher training are presented with love and enthusiasm. The information is detailed and filled with programs that are tried and true and proven to be helpful for teachers, students and parents. I am proud to teach this information to adults and kids and feel confident that I was given the tools to do this successfully. ~Randi Jo Greenberg, founder, Yoga with Randi Jo, Park CIty, Utah
- "There is no more perfect time to provide our students and staff with tools for mindfulness, movement and kind, respectful interactions. In a world where many things are out of our control, our thoughts, breath and actions are ours to choose. MOSST brings awareness and options for us to better take care of ourselves and others. Thank you, Beth Reese and Yoginos Yoga for Youth, for this gift to our community at a time when we need it the most." ~Michelle Symonds, Head of School, Holy Spirit Episcopal School
- I am so grateful for Yoginos: Yoga for Youth (YYY). When I began my career as a children's yoga teacher, I came to Yoginos for a foundation knowledge and over the year, I received so much more. Every workshop and training such as the yoga for youth with special needs training provided me a deeper knowledge of how to connect with and teach my students. The group of other YYY teachers has given me a network of like-minded individuals. Finally, the support and encouragement from Beth is amazing. The kindness from Beth has given me an opportunity to grow personally and professionally. Yoginos, Yoga for Youth has been one of the best investments i could have made! ~Jodi Smith, KIPP Schools Yoga Teacher and foudner, Mosaic Kids Yoga, Houston, TX
