Many adults so enjoy their yoga practice that they've developed special yoga classes for kids. From the teacher who wants to add a few poses to calm her class down to New York's Karma Kids Yoga, a studio just for kids, yoga for the younger set is popping up all over. If you love both kids and yoga, and you feel the call to teach, many studios now offer special training.
Yoga for Kids
Most kids have a shorter attention span than adults, so kids' yoga classes are made especially for them. A kids' class is usually shorter, and is more likely to include stories and games. Poses might be more dynamic than in adult classes, including practices like hopping tree, where kids hop around in their tree poses on one leg, or animal poses with sound effects. Teachers might incorporate art or puppets into the class.
Target Audience
While some people who train as kids' yoga teachers plan to teach in a yoga studio, others may be incorporating yoga techniques into other settings. Parents, teachers, caregivers and pediatric health professionals are all candidates for this training. Some yoga for kids programs require a certain level of yoga experience, but others don't. The Yoga Kids website asks only for an open heart and a love for children from trainees, and while it says a year of yoga experience is helpful, it's not required.
Yoga Alliance Standards
No certification is officially required for teaching yoga, but the Yoga Alliance set up shop in 1999 to devise minimum standards for teachers. Those who meet the standards and pay a fee can join the YA's registry. The YA has a special 95-hour certification option for children's yoga teachers. It costs $25 for U.S. residents and $35 for international teachers on top of the regular annual fees for YA certification. Children's yoga teachers are required to have 12 hours of general background in child development; 20 hours of techniques, training and practice; 15 hours of teaching methodology; 10 hours of anatomy and physiology; 12 hours of yoga philosophy, ethics and lifestyle for children's teachers; 18 hours practicum; and eight hours of electives.
Training Programs
Training for children's yoga teachers ranges from afternoon workshops to sessions that last a few days. Most have several tiers of study and pricing. It's Yoga, Kids offers a $199 afternoon workshop and a $499 10-hour weekend course. The similarly named YogaKids, developed by Marsha Wenig, offers trainings around the United States. Those who are greatly inspired by the four-day workshop, which costs $849, can further study to become a YogaKids apprentice. This course costs $3,499 and involves a home practicum and a seven-day immersion. Karma Kids offers a 30-hour course for $795, with opportunities for practice teaching in public schools.
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