Our registration site is mobile friendly and is the primary way we take payments. Most of our class venues do not have a receptionist so it’s a great help to the instructor if you take care of this yourself in advance.
Baby Yoga & Play classes are offered in 4-8-week series. Full registration required, no drop-ins.
We know it’s hard to get out of the house with a newborn, that naps are sometimes unpredictable, and life can be complicated . . . and that’s why we require series registration for this class.
Committing to the whole series makes it infinitely more likely that you actually attend. It far too easy to say “oh, I’ll go next week” if you are planning on dropping in. If you end up with an unavoidable conflict, illness, or disrupted nap-time, you can take advantage of our generous makeup policy.
Flexibility in Baby Yoga & Play
Because it’s hard to convince babies to be born and maternity leaves to be set on our schedule, we offer lots of flexibility:
Generous Makeup Options – If students must miss a class, they are welcome to
attend any other family yoga class as a makeup within the same timeframe, or
Any of baby’s favorite grownups are welcome in this class – mom, dad, grandparent, nanny . . . and the same adult need not attend each time. Registration is for one adult-baby on a weekly basis, but occasional visitors are welcome to attend as well.
Late or Partial Registration: If there is room in the class once the series begins, late registration will remain open for the first 1/3 of the series. Registration automatically prorates. If you can’t complete a series but can commit to 2/3 of the series in consecutive weeks – say because you are going back to work before our series ends – contact us about partial enrollment.
So what does this mean?
If a full series conflicts with work or travel, feel free to attend multiple times a week during the weeks you can attend.
If you are going back to work and baby will be home with a nanny or other caregiver, feel free to have them attend in your stead.
Still not sure if Baby Yoga & Play is right for you? That’s why we have a no-risk registration policy. If you attend your first class and decide it’s not a good fit, we make it easy to drop a class series. Read all of our class policies and FAQs.
Refunds requested using the form below will be issued based on the following policies:
Single Date Non-Camp Workshops
Workshops are classes that meet only once, including pop-up classes, which are individual date classes of a type that normally meet for multiple weeks, eg. Baby Yoga & Play, Family Yoga, etc.
More Than 7 Days Before Session/Event: Refund or credit issued in full minus a $5 or 4% processing fee (whichever is larger).
More Than 48 Hours Before Session/Event: Refund issued in at 80% or minus minimum $5 processing fee.
No refunds within 48 hours of an event. For recurring workshops such as Intro to Yoga Trapeze, registration may be rescheduled to a future date one time if you notify us before (or during) your scheduled class.
Because your reservation represents a space in class or camp that was held for you and not available for purchase by other students, there are no refunds issued after the dates listed above. Under extraordinary circumstances, we will suspend registration to be used in a later session.
Drop-in Registration is Non-Refundable
A drop-in is a single date registration for a multi-week class (available only for adult classes).
Each drop-in reservations may be rescheduled once at no charge as long as you notify us before or even during class: Simply let us know by email which class you will miss and include the name and email you used when registering along with your preferred make-up date. No reschedules after the fact.
Prenatal drop-ins that are no longer relevant can be transferred to credit for future reservations: If you unexpectedly gave birth before using a drop-in, we will transfer the credit to a general account credit that can be used for baby, children’s or other adult programming.
If we cancel a class or a workshop, we will issue refunds or credits depending on student preference.
Baby Yoga & Play classes do use yoga mats, but most venues have enough to lend if you’d rather not carry one.
Please bring a baby blanket to cover our mats/blankets and a small toy to use during class.
Expect your baby to be a baby and know that their voice is welcome. Crying, eating, diaper changes, and sleeping is all perfectly fine during class.
Please bring only water or milk/formula in closed top containers into the yoga classroom. Feeding your baby – breast or bottle – is always welcome.
Please wear comfortable, stretchy clothes. While this is a movement class, it is not what most would describe as a workout, so full yoga/exercise attire is not necessary. Wear clothing that will allow you to sit on the floor and move around easily (jeans are typically not ideal).
Parents/caregivers fully participate so should wear comfortable clothing and be prepared to move. The more yoga you do, the more your child will do (even if not until you get home).
No yoga experience required for either parent or child.
Yoga mats are not used in this class except during the last few minutes for relaxation. Feel free to bring your own or borrow one of ours.
Let go of expectations: We don’t expect full participation by children, and sometimes hardly any on the first day. Some children will be most comfortable observing and some might even wander the room and appear not to be participating. This is all developmentally appropriate and totally fine. Yes, try to engage your child in class, but feel free to simply relax and enjoy your child however they choose to participate.
No food in the studio. Please bring only water or milk/formula in closed top containers into the yoga classroom, but consider leaving them tucked away in your bag. Interest in water bottles is contagious and few children truly need a water break during a 45 min class. Breastfeeding is always welcome.
Please no photos during class. Not all parents are equally comfortable with having their children photographed and phones are potentially distracting to toddlers who are pretty savvy about what they do. If you would like photos of your little one doing yoga, please take them before or after class or during the last two weeks of the class when the instructor suggests group photos. If one of our instructors takes photos at any time, feel free to request a copy of your child or watch for logo-ed version to turn up on our social media sites so you can re-share.
Things to leave at home: Toys, stuffed friends, and even lovies (if at all possible). Very special friends can watch class from the the shelves if necessary, but toys of any kind just cause conflict in class.
Baby Yoga & Play classes, for newborn to pre-crawling babies and their grownup(s), contains dozens of yoga-inspired movements, postures, songs, rhymes and activities designed to support baby’s development. Each class is filled with calming, nurturing ways to enhance bonding, soothe the inevitable cranky moments, and improve baby’s sleep.
Babies participate while on their backs, tummies, or held in loving arms. For grownups, this class is a special opportunity to meet other parents and caregivers, get support, and learn about baby’s emerging personality.
Grownups will also get to do a bit of postpartum-appropriate yoga themselves, including strength- and flexibility-building postures, breathing exercises, and relaxation techniques to address common physical complaints and mental/emotional stressors during the new-parent period.
Most appropriate from 6-weeks until baby is mobile. Moms, dads, grandparents or other caregivers welcome. No previous yoga experience necessary; be prepared/dressed for movement.
Tot Yoga classes, for crawling or nearly crawling babies to 24-month-old toddlers, are engaging and fun. Class incorporates tot-centric yoga poses, dance and creative movement, songs, stories, and games as children learn yoga through social interaction, repetition, and play.
This class is for newly mobile babies to pre-verbal toddlers still finding their footing. This class moves a little slower than our other early childhood classes and features lots of repetitions. Parents help tots execute poses as much or as little as suits each adult-child pair.
We encourage each child to embrace their own unique expression of yoga poses while supporting their development and growth. Parents and children playfully move together through poses, songs, and activities appropriate for crawlers and walkers.
Registration is by child and includes up to two caregivers on a weekly basis. Any of your child’s favorite grownups is welcome and the same grownup need not attend every class.
Toddler Family Yoga classes, for walking toddlers to 4-year-old preschoolers, are engaging and fun. Class incorporates age-appropriate yoga poses, dance and creative movement, songs, stories, and games as children learn yoga through social interaction, repetition, and play.
Yoga helps toddlers, and preschoolers explore movement milestones, gain confidence, build strength and fitness, learn a tool for self-regulation, connect with parents and caregivers, and set the foundation for healthy body attitudes and a fit lifestyle.
Classes incorporate imagination, songs, words and stories and age-appropriate postures and activities as parents and children playfully move together. We encourage each child to embrace their own unique expression of yoga poses while supporting their development and growth.
Toddler Family Yoga is a crossover class featuring activities from both our Tot Yoga and Little Family Yoga repertoire.
Registration is by child and includes up to two caregivers on a weekly basis. Any of your child’s favorite grownups is welcome and the same grownup need not attend every class.
Younger siblings are welcome in class. Registration is required for 1 year old or walking siblings. Sibling discount (50%) is automatic. Non-walking infants may attend free.
Little Family Yoga classes for 21-month-old toddlers to 4-year-old preschoolers, with their favorite grownup, are engaging and fun. Class incorporates age-appropriate yogaposes, dance and creative movement, songs, stories, and games as children learn yoga through social interaction, repetition, and play.
Yoga can help preschoolers learn how to relieve frustration, improve motor skills, and increase attention span by actively following directions.
Class incorporates more storytelling and imaginative play and movements tend to be faster with these confident movers.
Registration is by child and includes up to two caregivers on a weekly basis. Any of your child’s favorite grownups is welcome and the same grownup need not attend every class.
Younger siblings are welcome in class. Registration is required for 1 year old or walking siblings. Sibling discount (50%) is automatic. Non-walking infants may attend free.
Kids Yoga helps children learn techniques for concentrating, reducing stress, and connecting to their bodies in a loving way while having fun. Breathing Space classes incorporate age-appropriate poses, breathing, movement, games, mindfulness activities, music, and sometimes art.
A kids yoga class encourages children to move creatively in a non-competitive environment while honoring each child’s unique expression of the poses. Classes often revolve around a philosophical or natural theme and always include some form of quiet relaxation.
Individual classes may be for more specific age ranges, so see descriptions for details.
Family Yoga & Mindfulness is structured like an age-appropriate kids class – with yoga poses, sequences, mindfulness activities, songs, and games, and an emphasis activities for parents and children to do together. Classes often revolve around philosophical, seasonal, or narrative themes and always include some form of quiet relaxation. No yoga experience required for either parent or child.
family yoga
Parents should plan to fully participate in family classes. One adult must be present, up to two adults are welcome on weekly basis, and the same adult need not be present every time.
Age ranges and sibling policies vary by offering, so read individual registration descriptions for details. Generally, class is appropriate for siblings 1 year younger than the stated range. Sibling discounts are automatic.
Early Childhood Yoga and Family Yoga classes are registered per child with additional siblings at half price.
This class incorporates traditional yoga asana, breath work, relaxation, and postures adapted for the YogaBody-style trapeze with plenty of time to play, fly, and hang upside down in the rigs. For older kid yogis, it’s a natural addition to yoga class. And, it’s just plain fun.
All trapeze classes are limited to 8 years and older because students must be able to follow directions for safety on the rigs. Additionally, classes are limited to a maximum of ten (10) students.
Tween Yoga (Ages 9-12) provides a non-competitive environment for older children to explore more complex poses and asana than in classes for younger children as well breathing exercises, movement games, mindfulness activities, and much-needed relaxation techniques.
Students learn techniques for concentrating, reducing stress, and connecting to their bodies in a loving way, while still being playful and fun. Classes often revolve around a philosophical theme and may include discussion, journaling, or mindful art.
This class provides a non-competitive environment for teens and preteens to explore more complex poses and asana than in classes for younger children as well breathing exercises, movement games, mindfulness activities, and much-needed relaxation techniques.
Students learn techniques for concentrating, reducing stress, and connecting to their bodies in a loving way, while still being playful and fun. Classes often revolve around a philosophical theme and may include discussion, journaling, or mindful art.
Individual classes may be for more specific age ranges, so see descriptions for details.
In this all-levels yoga class, students will cultivate the flexibility, concentration and strength needed during the transformative time of pregnancy and childbirth. Enjoy the community of other pregnant parents while we practice modified yoga postures, breath work, vocal toning, meditation, and relaxation. No previous yoga experience necessary.
Our Tot Yoga (crawling-24 months) and Preschooler Yoga (21 months-4 yrs) have a 3 month age overlap on purpose. Personality, more than physical development, should be the deciding factor between the two classes.
Tot Yoga tends to be a quieter class with more repetition from week to week, so suits more reserved toddlers better.
Preschooler / Little Family Yoga tends to be louder and move move more quickly from activity to activity to suit the energy level of 2-4 yr olds. Little Family Yoga requires more verbal direction following, incorporates more imaginative play, and typically involves less physical helping from parents. Very active almost-2 year olds often do well in this class because the social environment challenges them more than that of the younger group. Younger siblings accustomed to the energy and speed of older toddlers and preschoolers tend to enjoy this class as well, even if they are not able to do every pose.
Toddler Family Yoga (walking-4 yrs) is a crossover class which is very much like Little Family Yoga with some adaptations 12-21 month old students.
Classes are most likely in Drummond Hall on the first floor. Check the info board by the reception office at the 9th Street entrance (ground floor.)
All strollers should be parked on the ground floor, near the kitchen. There is also a bicycle rack at the top of the 9th Street driveway.
Please plan to leave all non-valuable personal items outside or store them on the shelves in the classroom to keep the floors clear. There will be a coat rack in the hallway outside the classroom for your coats and larger bags.
Hill Center is an easy walk from Eastern Market metro and bus stops.
Street parking can be found on Pennsylvania Avenue or E Street. Please do not park in the very small Hill Center lot. That is reserved for loading and staff use.
Parents and children should still wait on the ground floor for classes to start, if the room isn’t open yet. There is usually seating near the kitchen and always seating in reception.
Breathing Space Family Yoga’s studio is located at 641 Pennsylvania Ave SE (map), Lower Level. (Some families may remember this as the old Realignment Studio or Capitol Hill Yoga space.) The studio is easily reached by the Eastern Market metro stop and several buses along Pennsylvania Avenue or 8th Street St.
All of our classes are on the lower level, down a flight of stairs.
Both children and adults are kindly asked to remove their shoes before entering the classroom space.
Cubbies are available in the classroom space for storing personal belongings.
Please pack dirty diapers away with you.
Small folding strollers are welcome inside, but please leave jogging-style or bulky strollers locked to the bike rack or otherwise secured outside. For safety reasons, strollers cannot be left in the stairway or on landings.
Eastern Market studio lobbyEastern Market studio prop areaEastern Market studio main classroom
Directions
Breathing Space is on the south side of Pennsylvania Avenue. Look for the glass door with our lotus flower logo.
From the Eastern Market Metro: From the top of the escalator or elevator, turn around to face 7th Street SE. Cross 7th Street and walk along Pennsylvania Avenue on the same side of the street toward the Capitol.
Parking: Metered parking is available on Pennsylvania Avenue, and 2 hr parking is available on many of the nearby residential streets. There are garages underneath 660 Penn (Penn Medical) and 700 Penn (Trader Joe’s).
Studio Etiquette
Please leave shoes and coats in the lobby area along with bulky non-valuables. Bring valuables – phones and wallets – into the studio space and store them on the cubby shelves. While we do lock the studio door once class begins, we cannot be responsible for missing valuables.
Please leave all toys and lovies in bags, completely out of sight. Consider leaving water bottles in your bags during toddler classes. Water bottles are shockingly distracting, both for their owner and other children. Adults and older children/teens should feel free to have their bottles with them.
There is a changing table in the right side bathroom, but diapers may be changed wherever is comfortable for you and your child. However, there is no daily trash pickup at the studio. Please pack dirty diapers away with you.
If you are running late . . .
Don’t worry. You can let us know – text: 202-544-0434.
We lock the door after the welcome song or the initial warmup. If the teacher knows you are coming, they can leave the door open for you. For kids’ classes, it is totally ok to ring the bell or knock to get the instructor’s attention if the door is locked. Be aware that you may need to wait a few minutes if the instructor is engaged in an activity.
If you are entering late, please do so as discreetly as possible. The instructor will assist you with setting up if necessary. Please make eye contact in case your instructor has laid a place for you.
Please note that the warmup in adult class serves an important safety function. If you join late, take a couple of minutes to do some gentle movements before jumping into the instructor’s sequence.
Loaner Yoga Mats
We have a number of studio mats that we can loan out. If you are using one for an adult class, we request that you wipe it down afterward. Look for the teal blue disinfecting wipes near the mats or on the white cubbies.
Stroller Parking
Families are welcome to lock strollers up out front. We provide a cable and lock (check your registration receipt or ask your instructor for the code)
Families may also bring strollers downstairs if they can be safely carried down. Please fold strollers whenever possible to reduce tripping hazards in the lobby. Strollers cannot be left in the entryway, even folded, because they are a fire hazard.
Finding good stroller parking out front isn’t always easy. We have arranged for additional stroller parking around the corner. Let us know if you will need a lock (text: 202-544-0434), and we’ll bring one out. On rainy days, we will provide a tarp as well.
The most prominent part of the building is the Nave, or sanctuary. For BSFY events, enter through the A-Street courtyard. Use the door by the bike racks and take the stairs or elevator to the left of the entry way. Classes are most typically in the dance studio on the second floor. Camps are held on the basement level.
Strollers can be left in the lobby downstairs or brought up and stored outside of the studio door.
Please remove shoes before entering the dance studio.
Infant Massage classes involve a full-body massage with oil for baby. We provide sunflower or safflower oil and a bottle for you to use at home. Please contact us if you have allergy concerns and need an alternative oil.
Please bring a baby blanket or towel to cover our mats/blankets and a small toy to use during class.
Expect your baby to be a baby and know that their voice is welcome. Crying, eating, diaper changes, and sleeping is all perfectly fine during class.
Please bring only water or milk/formula in closed top containers into the yoga classroom. Feeding your baby – breast or bottle – is always welcome.
Please wear comfortable clothes that will allow you to sit on the floor and move around easily (jeans are typically not ideal).
Taking this Class as a Self-Paced Course or Live Zoom Class
You will need oil. We recommend cold pressed, organic safflower or sunflower oil, but many families prefer others. Choose a high-quality food-grade oil so you do not need to worry if baby mouths a recently massaged body part. Some families like coconut oil for topical application. Olive oil can be a bit more irritating over time than some other options, but is still a good choice if that’s what you have on hand.
Please bring a baby blanket or towel to cover our mats/blankets and a small toy to use during class.
Expect your baby to be a baby. Crying, eating, diaper changes, and sleeping is all perfectly fine during a live class. If you are using our self-paced modules, feel free to take breaks as needed or do just part of the routine.
Breathing Space has had a chronic problem of last minute additions to camp aftercare. While accommodating one or two campers isn’t usually a problem, sometimes we get half a dozen last minute additions in the week before a camp and sometimes several on the morning of camp.
We get that life is sometimes unpredictable and last minute changes happen and want to help, but we suspect a fair amount of the last minute additions are caused by parents not being sure of their after camp plan when they sign up and then forgetting to do anything about it until days before or even the day of camp.
Last minute additions to aftercare sometimes leave us or the Labyrinth education director scrambling to add staff to aftercare or push us over our desired camper to staff ratios.
Aftercare costs $16 per day until two weeks before camp. After that, it’s $20 per day.
Breathing Space is happy to offer gift certificates, but does not have an automated system for redeeming them. Gift certificate purchases must be done in advance and cannot be redeemed in person at class.
To redeem:
Step 1: Create your account in our registration system. Please add any relevant family members.
If you include class or camp registration instructions in the email, we will set everything up and send you a confirmation. If not, we’ll send you a notice when your credit has been applied and you can
Step 3: Register online
Please contact us if you have questions.
Please note that we process credits as quickly as possible, but it may take a few days to complete your request.
Open Barre is located at 7338 Baltimore Avenue, Suite 200, in College Park, Maryland in the College Park Shopping Center. The studio is right above Cava and Starbucks.
You can find Open Barre by going all the way up the stairs next to Starbucks (if you park in the main front lot), or you can come in through the office building behind the main shopping center (if you park in the back lot).
The parking lot is on Knox Road, across the street from South Campus Commons and adjacent to Knox Towers. Parking is free on Sundays, when early childhood classes are held at this location.
Accessing this space does require stairs. There are fewer if you enter from the back lot. Strollers that are small or can be folded may be left in the hallway outside of the studio or secured to the fence in the rear parking lot. Please do not bring strollers into the studio, and do not block stairs, doorways, or walking paths with strollers.
The building is located at the corner of Sherman Ave and Columbia Rd NW.
The Brazilian American Cultural Center is located at 3001 Sherman Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001. This location hosts weekly early childhood classes. We are pleased to offer early childhood, family and baby yoga there starting in January 2023.
Yoga Heights Takoma Park is located at 255 Carroll Street NW, Washington, DC 20012. This location hosts baby yoga, infant massage, tot yoga, and preschooler yoga. Classes are available on weekdays and Sunday mornings.
Street parking is generally available nearby, and it is walking distance from the Takoma Park metro and bus stops.
The studio has a ground level entrance with no steps required. There is plenty of space in the lobby for stroller parking.
Jen brings a sense of joy and playfulness to her classes – both the adult and kids classes – and hopes to offer her students freedom she finds in yoga. She founded Breathing Space to create hub for family yoga on Capitol Hill and share her enthusiasm for age- and developmentally-appropriate poses, games, and songs with yogis of all ages.
Why Breathing Space?
Like so many, Jen first came to the yoga mat because of an injury, seeking nothing more than to feel better and balance her body for running. She comes back to the mat because yoga invites her to embrace her body and mind with all its imperfections and then to look beyond them to the greater Self.
When she became a mother, her yoga practice became even more important: for building strength and flexibility, as relief for the discomforts of pregnancy and then the stresses of parenthood, as a reminder of the miracle of the human body and of her own resources and capabilities, and a regular connection to her breath and true Self during a time of significant identity changes. Her weekly baby yoga class during maternity leave encouraged her to embrace her daughter in the same loving, non-judgemental way that her own practice did for herself.
After thoroughly enjoying baby yoga classes with her daughter during maternity leave and being unable to find an Itsy Bitsy class that fit her schedule after going back to work, Jen stumbled on a listing for Itsy Bitsy Yoga facilitators training . . . and signed up. That turned out to be the first step on new path.
Jen is a Yoga Alliance® Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher (E-RTY 200) and Registered Children’s Yoga Teacher (RCTY). She is also a Certified Educator of Infant Massage (CEIM) through Infant Massage USA and an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC).
Before turning her attention to yoga full time, Jen spent more than a decade working with non- profit organizations in everything from daily operations, event and volunteer management, and finance to national policy advocacy and media relations. Jen holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Massachusetts and a Master in Public Management degree from the University of Maryland. Her experience in social change movements and managing charitable organizations has been extremely helpful when working with schools and community organizations to implement yoga and mindfulness programs for children
Jessica LaGarde has been teaching creative movement in the metro area since 2005 and is passionate about helping children discover and explore their bodies and the world around them. She was trained by Joye Newman, MA to teach preschool creative movement for Kids’ Moving Company, a Bethesda-based creative movement studio. In 2017, she completed her Baby, Toddler, and Children’s Yoga Teacher Training through Childlight Yoga and has worked with Breathing Space Family Yoga ever since. Jessica teaches classes for infants-adults, directs BSFY yoga camps, and does much of the behind the scenes business administration.
In addition to working with children, Jessica is a registered massage practitioner and is trained in infant massage instruction. She has practiced massage since 2006 and taught massage as part of Potomac Massage Training Institute’s professional training program. She maintains a private massage practice through Shine Massage & Wellness in College Park, MD.
Outside of the movement space and massage room, she enjoys cooking, knitting, gardening, coffee, reading non-fiction, and exploring the outdoors with her daughter.
AJ Hiskey (RYT-200) is an enthusiastic and personable teacher. Born and raised in the DC area. AJ completed her Yoga-Alliance certified training in 2018 with plans to teach adults, but fell in love with teaching children young and old!
AJ teaches a variety of classes from tots to trapeze. Always a kid at heart, she connects easily with children and loves sharing her passions of yoga, meditation, and mindfulness.
When she’s not on the mat, AJ loves being outdoors. She enjoys hiking, camping, swimming, or reading a good book in the sunshine. If she’s indoors, she’s probably rooting for a DC sports team (whether they’re winning or losing!) A life-long cheerleader for not only her favorite teams, but also her friends, family and students; she loves supporting others and helping them to be their best in body, mind and spirit.
Betsy Poos (E-RYT 500, RPYT, YACEP) is a lifelong student of movement and mindfulness. A DC yoga teacher since 2005, she’s honored to be a part of the Breathing Space Family Yoga community teaching preteens, teens and adults.
Betsy is known for her warm energy and informed alignment cues. Her true magic comes in making each practice equally accessible and challenging.
Betsy holds certifications in hatha yoga, Yogahour, pre/postnatal yoga, personal training, and sports nutrition. A consummate student, she is currently completing training to be a Registered Children’s Yoga Teacher specializing in adolescents ages 11-18.
Betsy’s motivation to expand her teaching to teens has come as she’s begun navigating these waters within her own family. Always eager to expand and create, she is an avid dreamer (and doer), reader, and writer. She also makes a point of taking time to pause and believes the best days are nap days.
Betsy lives in Washington, D.C. with her incredibly patient husband, two strong willed daughters, and lovable boston terrier.
Irene Alexandra is a New York native who grew up as a competitive dancer. During her college years, she embarked on her yoga and mindfulness journey. During her journey, she received her BA in Ancient History, MA in Ancient History, MA in Education, and began a career teaching special needs students. Shortly after, she received her RYT-200 Certification and 95-Hour Special Needs and Children’s Yoga Certification. Irene is very enthusiastic about uniting mindfulness and yoga with traditional education, and works to educate others on tools and practices to bring mindfulness and awareness into the classroom and community.
During the summer of 2020, Irene was diagnosed with a rare cancer called Ewing’s Sarcoma, which she has been in remission from since the summer of 2021. While those who undergo chemotherapy and cancer treatment do experience a wide range of grueling physical, mental, and emotional side-effects, she credits yoga and mindfulness to helping to ease those side effects (including neuropathy, and emotional and mental well-being).
In her spare time, Irene loves to spend time with her puppies (Bacchus and Circe), read, travel, enjoy nature and the beach, and create new plant-based recipes.
Lauren Mae works with yogis of all ages to encourage self-connection, compassion, and confidence. She earned her 200 HR YTT certification in December 2022 and has experience teaching yoga to Pre-K and Kindergartners. She hopes to help students discover and grow their innate mindfulness superpowers.
Having survived childhood trauma, Lauren is passionate about providing kids with a safe and empowering yoga experience. She helps her students get to know their unique inner strength and cultivate it to carry off the mat and into life. Lauren is a yoga universalist and takes particular influence from vinyasa, yin, kundalini, and restorative yoga.
Camille Cobbs began her yoga journey in San Francisco in 2013. She stumbled into a level 3 Baptiste Power Flow class not knowing exactly what she’d signed up for, but the sweat, challenge, and positive affirmations inspired her to return week after week. In 2020, yoga became a refuge during one of the most difficult years of our generation. Her practice became a daily requirement, helping her to prioritize mental health, self-care, and healthy movement.
In 2021, she was inspired to complete her yoga teacher training and gained certification in early 2022. Since the completion of her 200 hours, Camille has returned to her power flow roots as an instructor, teaching adult classes around the DC area. She has also been able to reconnect with her passion for early childhood education by teaching a wide range of yoga classes for kids, from Pre-K to middle school. All of Camille’s classes are upbeat, full of music, and focused on self-love and self-study.
Candace Glover is a yoga teacher with the Breathing Space DC. Drawn to the mission of promoting positive community and holistic knowledge, this Washingtonian dedicated her life to helping those in her community achieve overall well-being when she started teaching in 2017. With a 200-accredited hour certification, a 300 CYT and a passion for all things yoga, she flexes her yogic muscles every day by empowering others through versatile mindfulness practices while stimulating the hearts and minds of the DMV’s youth. This former flight attendant uses her worldly influence and desire for mixing things up to engage students as they explore the 8 limbs of yoga. Candace seeks to provide an authentic outlook on the holistic approach by leading by example. Having known the struggle of acceptance and identity growing up, it became very important for Ms.Glover to share the empowering tools she uses every day with herself to provide an embrace of individuality with today’s youth. Understanding that true love starts with self and with it we can accomplish anything, she has made it a top priority to make sure all students she interacts with know the importance of self-love and appreciation. Candace studied human services and general studies at Stevenson University.
Carly Aull has been teaching at Breathing Space Family Yoga since 2021. After practicing yoga for about a decade, she decided to become a certified teacher during lockdown. With little outside distraction at that time, she practiced yoga all day every day and developed a much deeper connection and passion for both learning about it and teaching it. Previously, Carly had been a swim coach and one of the families she taught suggested teaching yoga to kids in addition to adults. She absolutely loves working with kids, and her main focus in class is meditation and developing greater self-awareness. She loves to see students progress by learning to sit in stillness with themselves a little bit longer each class.
Jacque Souza (RYT-500) was born and raised in Brazil. She loves dancing, traveling and studying the healing process through the body-mind. Jacque has been practicing yoga since 2011, and graduated from the Sarasvati Yoga School of Medellin teacher training program in 2015.
Jacque has taught yoga since 2016 and specializes in prenatal yoga, yoga for family, kids and teenagers and Thai Body Work. Her classes offer students an alignment based yoga practice designed to create spaciousness in the body, mind, and spirit. Jacque shares with students methods for reducing stress, enhancing well-being, and bringing peace into their daily lives.
Lili Wilson is a native Washingtonian and product of DC public schools. Lili graduated with a BA in Sociology from Spelman College in 2000. She went on to earn a Master of Divinity from Candler School of Theology at Emory University.
In April 2015, Lili initiated The Beautiful Dawn LLC, a lifestyle brand that primarily inspires young ladies and women to live genuine, bold, passionate lives. In 2016, Lili was trained in children’s yoga and mindfulness at Circle Yoga. For the past several years, she’s taught yoga and mindfulness to children. In Summer of 2020, Lili completed 200 (RYT) hours with Be Here Now Yoga and Wellness. In Spring 2021, Lili received a certificate in teaching mindfulness to children with the Interdependence Project.
In addition to self-care, Lili’s passion is singing and songwriting. She has been touring and recording with gospel, pop, and RnB artists since the age of 15. In Fall 2019, Lili’s talents landed her the tour of her life, Hans Zimmer Live, with movie composer Hans Zimmer.
Lili’s desire is to encourage self-care and self-love, by incorporating her gifts of music, intuitive mediumship, and healing. She is the proud mother of one daughter, Alaia Mary.
Kathy Foltin teaches All Levels Yoga (Adults) at Breathing Space Family Yoga. What Kathy loves about yoga is that there is a practice for everyone. Since 2000, she has been exploring yoga’s rich traditions, from vigorous to restorative, discovering that in yoga we can find what we need and uncover our best selves. Kathy shares her love of yoga with others in encouraging, playful alignment-based vinyasa classes that allow students to gain confidence and feel comfortable exploring poses, mindfulness, and linking breath with movement in a safe, inviting environment. She received her 200 hour certification in 2012, and her 500 hour certification in 2018.
Tamar Lewkowitz received her RYT 200 Vinyasa Certificate in 2015 after graduating from college with a Bachelor’s degree in special education. Tamar spent a year abroad teaching English and volunteering at a special education school to teach yoga to students. Upon returning to the U.S., Tamar moved to the DMV area teaching K-3 special education at The Katherine Thomas School.
Tamar went on to receive her Budding Yogis Certificate and Kids with Special Needs Yoga Certificate from Circle Yoga in 2017, and she received her Chair Yoga Certificate from YogaVista Academy in 2019.
Tamar has brought yoga and movement into the classroom, and has seen firsthand how yoga and mindfulness can directly impact students’ regulation, self-image, and connection to the world around them.
In her spare time, Tamar loves being outdoors in nature hiking, cooking, and spending time with her two young nieces.
After discovering the healing power of yoga and mindfulness in 2014, Shara began her practice using old yoga books bought from antique shops. Since then, she has continued to take yoga classes at her college while saving up for training and certification.
Shara has worked in summer camps for the past 6 years as both a counselor and an assistant director. 2018 was her first summer in DC and her first summer on the Kid’s Yoga Summer Camp team, where she works excitedly and happily with Jen, Jessica, and the rest of the summer team to share yoga and mindfulness with the children of Washington, DC.
Shara loves the energized and enthusiastic curiosity of children, as well as their unending empathy and kindness, and hopes to help them maintain those traits as they age by practicing yoga and mindfulness regularly. She also hopes to attend graduate school for social work in order to create services and policies which extend this and like opportunities to children throughout the US.
When she’s not practicing yoga or assisting in its instruction, Shara enjoys spending her time bird-watching, walking dogs, hanging out with her cat/travel buddy, and making soap, lip balm, or other organic toiletries.
This class incorporates traditional yoga asana, breathwork, and relaxation but is based around our YogaBody-style yoga trapeze rigs. Practicing on the suspension rigs allow us to build core strength, functional upper body strength, and balance while we explore postures in different relationships to gravity and cultivate mindfulness and relaxation.
Class is limited to a maximum of ten (10) students. Drop-ins welcome when space allows.
Baby Yoga & Play classes are offered in 4-8-week series. Full registration required, no drop-ins.
We know it’s hard to get out of the house with a newborn, that naps are sometimes unpredictable, and life can be complicated . . . and that’s why we require series registration for this class.
Committing to the whole series makes it infinitely more likely that you actually attend. It far too easy to say “oh, I’ll go next week” if you are planning on dropping in. If you end up with an unavoidable conflict, illness, or disrupted nap-time, you can take advantage of our generous makeup policy.
Flexibility in Baby Yoga & Play
Because it’s hard to convince babies to be born and maternity leaves to be set on our schedule, we offer lots of flexibility:
Generous Makeup Options – If students must miss a class, they are welcome to
attend any other family yoga class as a makeup within the same timeframe, or
Any of baby’s favorite grownups are welcome in this class – mom, dad, grandparent, nanny . . . and the same adult need not attend each time. Registration is for one adult-baby on a weekly basis, but occasional visitors are welcome to attend as well.
Late or Partial Registration: If there is room in the class once the series begins, late registration will remain open for the first 1/3 of the series. Registration automatically prorates. If you can’t complete a series but can commit to 2/3 of the series in consecutive weeks – say because you are going back to work before our series ends – contact us about partial enrollment.
So what does this mean?
If a full series conflicts with work or travel, feel free to attend multiple times a week during the weeks you can attend.
If you are going back to work and baby will be home with a nanny or other caregiver, feel free to have them attend in your stead.
Still not sure if Baby Yoga & Play is right for you? That’s why we have a no-risk registration policy. If you attend your first class and decide it’s not a good fit, we make it easy to drop a class series. Read all of our class policies and FAQs.
Refunds requested using the form below will be issued based on the following policies:
Single Date Non-Camp Workshops
Workshops are classes that meet only once, including pop-up classes, which are individual date classes of a type that normally meet for multiple weeks, eg. Baby Yoga & Play, Family Yoga, etc.
More Than 7 Days Before Session/Event: Refund or credit issued in full minus a $5 or 4% processing fee (whichever is larger).
More Than 48 Hours Before Session/Event: Refund issued in at 80% or minus minimum $5 processing fee.
No refunds within 48 hours of an event. For recurring workshops such as Intro to Yoga Trapeze, registration may be rescheduled to a future date one time if you notify us before (or during) your scheduled class.
Because your reservation represents a space in class or camp that was held for you and not available for purchase by other students, there are no refunds issued after the dates listed above. Under extraordinary circumstances, we will suspend registration to be used in a later session.
Drop-in Registration is Non-Refundable
A drop-in is a single date registration for a multi-week class (available only for adult classes).
Each drop-in reservations may be rescheduled once at no charge as long as you notify us before or even during class: Simply let us know by email which class you will miss and include the name and email you used when registering along with your preferred make-up date. No reschedules after the fact.
Prenatal drop-ins that are no longer relevant can be transferred to credit for future reservations: If you unexpectedly gave birth before using a drop-in, we will transfer the credit to a general account credit that can be used for baby, children’s or other adult programming.
If we cancel a class or a workshop, we will issue refunds or credits depending on student preference.
Baby Yoga & Play classes do use yoga mats, but most venues have enough to lend if you’d rather not carry one.
Please bring a baby blanket to cover our mats/blankets and a small toy to use during class.
Expect your baby to be a baby and know that their voice is welcome. Crying, eating, diaper changes, and sleeping is all perfectly fine during class.
Please bring only water or milk/formula in closed top containers into the yoga classroom. Feeding your baby – breast or bottle – is always welcome.
Please wear comfortable, stretchy clothes. While this is a movement class, it is not what most would describe as a workout, so full yoga/exercise attire is not necessary. Wear clothing that will allow you to sit on the floor and move around easily (jeans are typically not ideal).
Parents/caregivers fully participate so should wear comfortable clothing and be prepared to move. The more yoga you do, the more your child will do (even if not until you get home).
No yoga experience required for either parent or child.
Yoga mats are not used in this class except during the last few minutes for relaxation. Feel free to bring your own or borrow one of ours.
Let go of expectations: We don’t expect full participation by children, and sometimes hardly any on the first day. Some children will be most comfortable observing and some might even wander the room and appear not to be participating. This is all developmentally appropriate and totally fine. Yes, try to engage your child in class, but feel free to simply relax and enjoy your child however they choose to participate.
No food in the studio. Please bring only water or milk/formula in closed top containers into the yoga classroom, but consider leaving them tucked away in your bag. Interest in water bottles is contagious and few children truly need a water break during a 45 min class. Breastfeeding is always welcome.
Please no photos during class. Not all parents are equally comfortable with having their children photographed and phones are potentially distracting to toddlers who are pretty savvy about what they do. If you would like photos of your little one doing yoga, please take them before or after class or during the last two weeks of the class when the instructor suggests group photos. If one of our instructors takes photos at any time, feel free to request a copy of your child or watch for logo-ed version to turn up on our social media sites so you can re-share.
Things to leave at home: Toys, stuffed friends, and even lovies (if at all possible). Very special friends can watch class from the the shelves if necessary, but toys of any kind just cause conflict in class.
Baby Yoga & Play classes, for newborn to pre-crawling babies and their grownup(s), contains dozens of yoga-inspired movements, postures, songs, rhymes and activities designed to support baby’s development. Each class is filled with calming, nurturing ways to enhance bonding, soothe the inevitable cranky moments, and improve baby’s sleep.
Babies participate while on their backs, tummies, or held in loving arms. For grownups, this class is a special opportunity to meet other parents and caregivers, get support, and learn about baby’s emerging personality.
Grownups will also get to do a bit of postpartum-appropriate yoga themselves, including strength- and flexibility-building postures, breathing exercises, and relaxation techniques to address common physical complaints and mental/emotional stressors during the new-parent period.
Most appropriate from 6-weeks until baby is mobile. Moms, dads, grandparents or other caregivers welcome. No previous yoga experience necessary; be prepared/dressed for movement.
Tot Yoga classes, for crawling or nearly crawling babies to 24-month-old toddlers, are engaging and fun. Class incorporates tot-centric yoga poses, dance and creative movement, songs, stories, and games as children learn yoga through social interaction, repetition, and play.
This class is for newly mobile babies to pre-verbal toddlers still finding their footing. This class moves a little slower than our other early childhood classes and features lots of repetitions. Parents help tots execute poses as much or as little as suits each adult-child pair.
We encourage each child to embrace their own unique expression of yoga poses while supporting their development and growth. Parents and children playfully move together through poses, songs, and activities appropriate for crawlers and walkers.
Registration is by child and includes up to two caregivers on a weekly basis. Any of your child’s favorite grownups is welcome and the same grownup need not attend every class.
Toddler Family Yoga classes, for walking toddlers to 4-year-old preschoolers, are engaging and fun. Class incorporates age-appropriate yoga poses, dance and creative movement, songs, stories, and games as children learn yoga through social interaction, repetition, and play.
Yoga helps toddlers, and preschoolers explore movement milestones, gain confidence, build strength and fitness, learn a tool for self-regulation, connect with parents and caregivers, and set the foundation for healthy body attitudes and a fit lifestyle.
Classes incorporate imagination, songs, words and stories and age-appropriate postures and activities as parents and children playfully move together. We encourage each child to embrace their own unique expression of yoga poses while supporting their development and growth.
Toddler Family Yoga is a crossover class featuring activities from both our Tot Yoga and Little Family Yoga repertoire.
Registration is by child and includes up to two caregivers on a weekly basis. Any of your child’s favorite grownups is welcome and the same grownup need not attend every class.
Younger siblings are welcome in class. Registration is required for 1 year old or walking siblings. Sibling discount (50%) is automatic. Non-walking infants may attend free.
Little Family Yoga classes for 21-month-old toddlers to 4-year-old preschoolers, with their favorite grownup, are engaging and fun. Class incorporates age-appropriate yogaposes, dance and creative movement, songs, stories, and games as children learn yoga through social interaction, repetition, and play.
Yoga can help preschoolers learn how to relieve frustration, improve motor skills, and increase attention span by actively following directions.
Class incorporates more storytelling and imaginative play and movements tend to be faster with these confident movers.
Registration is by child and includes up to two caregivers on a weekly basis. Any of your child’s favorite grownups is welcome and the same grownup need not attend every class.
Younger siblings are welcome in class. Registration is required for 1 year old or walking siblings. Sibling discount (50%) is automatic. Non-walking infants may attend free.
Kids Yoga helps children learn techniques for concentrating, reducing stress, and connecting to their bodies in a loving way while having fun. Breathing Space classes incorporate age-appropriate poses, breathing, movement, games, mindfulness activities, music, and sometimes art.
A kids yoga class encourages children to move creatively in a non-competitive environment while honoring each child’s unique expression of the poses. Classes often revolve around a philosophical or natural theme and always include some form of quiet relaxation.
Individual classes may be for more specific age ranges, so see descriptions for details.
Family Yoga & Mindfulness is structured like an age-appropriate kids class – with yoga poses, sequences, mindfulness activities, songs, and games, and an emphasis activities for parents and children to do together. Classes often revolve around philosophical, seasonal, or narrative themes and always include some form of quiet relaxation. No yoga experience required for either parent or child.
family yoga
Parents should plan to fully participate in family classes. One adult must be present, up to two adults are welcome on weekly basis, and the same adult need not be present every time.
Age ranges and sibling policies vary by offering, so read individual registration descriptions for details. Generally, class is appropriate for siblings 1 year younger than the stated range. Sibling discounts are automatic.
Early Childhood Yoga and Family Yoga classes are registered per child with additional siblings at half price.
This class incorporates traditional yoga asana, breath work, relaxation, and postures adapted for the YogaBody-style trapeze with plenty of time to play, fly, and hang upside down in the rigs. For older kid yogis, it’s a natural addition to yoga class. And, it’s just plain fun.
All trapeze classes are limited to 8 years and older because students must be able to follow directions for safety on the rigs. Additionally, classes are limited to a maximum of ten (10) students.
Tween Yoga (Ages 9-12) provides a non-competitive environment for older children to explore more complex poses and asana than in classes for younger children as well breathing exercises, movement games, mindfulness activities, and much-needed relaxation techniques.
Students learn techniques for concentrating, reducing stress, and connecting to their bodies in a loving way, while still being playful and fun. Classes often revolve around a philosophical theme and may include discussion, journaling, or mindful art.
This class provides a non-competitive environment for teens and preteens to explore more complex poses and asana than in classes for younger children as well breathing exercises, movement games, mindfulness activities, and much-needed relaxation techniques.
Students learn techniques for concentrating, reducing stress, and connecting to their bodies in a loving way, while still being playful and fun. Classes often revolve around a philosophical theme and may include discussion, journaling, or mindful art.
Individual classes may be for more specific age ranges, so see descriptions for details.
In this all-levels yoga class, students will cultivate the flexibility, concentration and strength needed during the transformative time of pregnancy and childbirth. Enjoy the community of other pregnant parents while we practice modified yoga postures, breath work, vocal toning, meditation, and relaxation. No previous yoga experience necessary.
Our Tot Yoga (crawling-24 months) and Preschooler Yoga (21 months-4 yrs) have a 3 month age overlap on purpose. Personality, more than physical development, should be the deciding factor between the two classes.
Tot Yoga tends to be a quieter class with more repetition from week to week, so suits more reserved toddlers better.
Preschooler / Little Family Yoga tends to be louder and move move more quickly from activity to activity to suit the energy level of 2-4 yr olds. Little Family Yoga requires more verbal direction following, incorporates more imaginative play, and typically involves less physical helping from parents. Very active almost-2 year olds often do well in this class because the social environment challenges them more than that of the younger group. Younger siblings accustomed to the energy and speed of older toddlers and preschoolers tend to enjoy this class as well, even if they are not able to do every pose.
Toddler Family Yoga (walking-4 yrs) is a crossover class which is very much like Little Family Yoga with some adaptations 12-21 month old students.
Classes are most likely in Drummond Hall on the first floor. Check the info board by the reception office at the 9th Street entrance (ground floor.)
All strollers should be parked on the ground floor, near the kitchen. There is also a bicycle rack at the top of the 9th Street driveway.
Please plan to leave all non-valuable personal items outside or store them on the shelves in the classroom to keep the floors clear. There will be a coat rack in the hallway outside the classroom for your coats and larger bags.
Hill Center is an easy walk from Eastern Market metro and bus stops.
Street parking can be found on Pennsylvania Avenue or E Street. Please do not park in the very small Hill Center lot. That is reserved for loading and staff use.
Parents and children should still wait on the ground floor for classes to start, if the room isn’t open yet. There is usually seating near the kitchen and always seating in reception.
Breathing Space Family Yoga’s studio is located at 641 Pennsylvania Ave SE (map), Lower Level. (Some families may remember this as the old Realignment Studio or Capitol Hill Yoga space.) The studio is easily reached by the Eastern Market metro stop and several buses along Pennsylvania Avenue or 8th Street St.
All of our classes are on the lower level, down a flight of stairs.
Both children and adults are kindly asked to remove their shoes before entering the classroom space.
Cubbies are available in the classroom space for storing personal belongings.
Please pack dirty diapers away with you.
Small folding strollers are welcome inside, but please leave jogging-style or bulky strollers locked to the bike rack or otherwise secured outside. For safety reasons, strollers cannot be left in the stairway or on landings.
Eastern Market studio lobbyEastern Market studio prop areaEastern Market studio main classroom
Directions
Breathing Space is on the south side of Pennsylvania Avenue. Look for the glass door with our lotus flower logo.
From the Eastern Market Metro: From the top of the escalator or elevator, turn around to face 7th Street SE. Cross 7th Street and walk along Pennsylvania Avenue on the same side of the street toward the Capitol.
Parking: Metered parking is available on Pennsylvania Avenue, and 2 hr parking is available on many of the nearby residential streets. There are garages underneath 660 Penn (Penn Medical) and 700 Penn (Trader Joe’s).
Studio Etiquette
Please leave shoes and coats in the lobby area along with bulky non-valuables. Bring valuables – phones and wallets – into the studio space and store them on the cubby shelves. While we do lock the studio door once class begins, we cannot be responsible for missing valuables.
Please leave all toys and lovies in bags, completely out of sight. Consider leaving water bottles in your bags during toddler classes. Water bottles are shockingly distracting, both for their owner and other children. Adults and older children/teens should feel free to have their bottles with them.
There is a changing table in the right side bathroom, but diapers may be changed wherever is comfortable for you and your child. However, there is no daily trash pickup at the studio. Please pack dirty diapers away with you.
If you are running late . . .
Don’t worry. You can let us know – text: 202-544-0434.
We lock the door after the welcome song or the initial warmup. If the teacher knows you are coming, they can leave the door open for you. For kids’ classes, it is totally ok to ring the bell or knock to get the instructor’s attention if the door is locked. Be aware that you may need to wait a few minutes if the instructor is engaged in an activity.
If you are entering late, please do so as discreetly as possible. The instructor will assist you with setting up if necessary. Please make eye contact in case your instructor has laid a place for you.
Please note that the warmup in adult class serves an important safety function. If you join late, take a couple of minutes to do some gentle movements before jumping into the instructor’s sequence.
Loaner Yoga Mats
We have a number of studio mats that we can loan out. If you are using one for an adult class, we request that you wipe it down afterward. Look for the teal blue disinfecting wipes near the mats or on the white cubbies.
Stroller Parking
Families are welcome to lock strollers up out front. We provide a cable and lock (check your registration receipt or ask your instructor for the code)
Families may also bring strollers downstairs if they can be safely carried down. Please fold strollers whenever possible to reduce tripping hazards in the lobby. Strollers cannot be left in the entryway, even folded, because they are a fire hazard.
Finding good stroller parking out front isn’t always easy. We have arranged for additional stroller parking around the corner. Let us know if you will need a lock (text: 202-544-0434), and we’ll bring one out. On rainy days, we will provide a tarp as well.
The most prominent part of the building is the Nave, or sanctuary. For BSFY events, enter through the A-Street courtyard. Use the door by the bike racks and take the stairs or elevator to the left of the entry way. Classes are most typically in the dance studio on the second floor. Camps are held on the basement level.
Strollers can be left in the lobby downstairs or brought up and stored outside of the studio door.
Please remove shoes before entering the dance studio.
Infant Massage classes involve a full-body massage with oil for baby. We provide sunflower or safflower oil and a bottle for you to use at home. Please contact us if you have allergy concerns and need an alternative oil.
Please bring a baby blanket or towel to cover our mats/blankets and a small toy to use during class.
Expect your baby to be a baby and know that their voice is welcome. Crying, eating, diaper changes, and sleeping is all perfectly fine during class.
Please bring only water or milk/formula in closed top containers into the yoga classroom. Feeding your baby – breast or bottle – is always welcome.
Please wear comfortable clothes that will allow you to sit on the floor and move around easily (jeans are typically not ideal).
Taking this Class as a Self-Paced Course or Live Zoom Class
You will need oil. We recommend cold pressed, organic safflower or sunflower oil, but many families prefer others. Choose a high-quality food-grade oil so you do not need to worry if baby mouths a recently massaged body part. Some families like coconut oil for topical application. Olive oil can be a bit more irritating over time than some other options, but is still a good choice if that’s what you have on hand.
Please bring a baby blanket or towel to cover our mats/blankets and a small toy to use during class.
Expect your baby to be a baby. Crying, eating, diaper changes, and sleeping is all perfectly fine during a live class. If you are using our self-paced modules, feel free to take breaks as needed or do just part of the routine.
Breathing Space has had a chronic problem of last minute additions to camp aftercare. While accommodating one or two campers isn’t usually a problem, sometimes we get half a dozen last minute additions in the week before a camp and sometimes several on the morning of camp.
We get that life is sometimes unpredictable and last minute changes happen and want to help, but we suspect a fair amount of the last minute additions are caused by parents not being sure of their after camp plan when they sign up and then forgetting to do anything about it until days before or even the day of camp.
Last minute additions to aftercare sometimes leave us or the Labyrinth education director scrambling to add staff to aftercare or push us over our desired camper to staff ratios.
Aftercare costs $16 per day until two weeks before camp. After that, it’s $20 per day.
Breathing Space is happy to offer gift certificates, but does not have an automated system for redeeming them. Gift certificate purchases must be done in advance and cannot be redeemed in person at class.
To redeem:
Step 1: Create your account in our registration system. Please add any relevant family members.
If you include class or camp registration instructions in the email, we will set everything up and send you a confirmation. If not, we’ll send you a notice when your credit has been applied and you can
Step 3: Register online
Please contact us if you have questions.
Please note that we process credits as quickly as possible, but it may take a few days to complete your request.
Open Barre is located at 7338 Baltimore Avenue, Suite 200, in College Park, Maryland in the College Park Shopping Center. The studio is right above Cava and Starbucks.
You can find Open Barre by going all the way up the stairs next to Starbucks (if you park in the main front lot), or you can come in through the office building behind the main shopping center (if you park in the back lot).
The parking lot is on Knox Road, across the street from South Campus Commons and adjacent to Knox Towers. Parking is free on Sundays, when early childhood classes are held at this location.
Accessing this space does require stairs. There are fewer if you enter from the back lot. Strollers that are small or can be folded may be left in the hallway outside of the studio or secured to the fence in the rear parking lot. Please do not bring strollers into the studio, and do not block stairs, doorways, or walking paths with strollers.
The building is located at the corner of Sherman Ave and Columbia Rd NW.
The Brazilian American Cultural Center is located at 3001 Sherman Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001. This location hosts weekly early childhood classes. We are pleased to offer early childhood, family and baby yoga there starting in January 2023.
Yoga Heights Takoma Park is located at 255 Carroll Street NW, Washington, DC 20012. This location hosts baby yoga, infant massage, tot yoga, and preschooler yoga. Classes are available on weekdays and Sunday mornings.
Street parking is generally available nearby, and it is walking distance from the Takoma Park metro and bus stops.
The studio has a ground level entrance with no steps required. There is plenty of space in the lobby for stroller parking.
Jen brings a sense of joy and playfulness to her classes – both the adult and kids classes – and hopes to offer her students freedom she finds in yoga. She founded Breathing Space to create hub for family yoga on Capitol Hill and share her enthusiasm for age- and developmentally-appropriate poses, games, and songs with yogis of all ages.
Why Breathing Space?
Like so many, Jen first came to the yoga mat because of an injury, seeking nothing more than to feel better and balance her body for running. She comes back to the mat because yoga invites her to embrace her body and mind with all its imperfections and then to look beyond them to the greater Self.
When she became a mother, her yoga practice became even more important: for building strength and flexibility, as relief for the discomforts of pregnancy and then the stresses of parenthood, as a reminder of the miracle of the human body and of her own resources and capabilities, and a regular connection to her breath and true Self during a time of significant identity changes. Her weekly baby yoga class during maternity leave encouraged her to embrace her daughter in the same loving, non-judgemental way that her own practice did for herself.
After thoroughly enjoying baby yoga classes with her daughter during maternity leave and being unable to find an Itsy Bitsy class that fit her schedule after going back to work, Jen stumbled on a listing for Itsy Bitsy Yoga facilitators training . . . and signed up. That turned out to be the first step on new path.
Jen is a Yoga Alliance® Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher (E-RTY 200) and Registered Children’s Yoga Teacher (RCTY). She is also a Certified Educator of Infant Massage (CEIM) through Infant Massage USA and an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC).
Before turning her attention to yoga full time, Jen spent more than a decade working with non- profit organizations in everything from daily operations, event and volunteer management, and finance to national policy advocacy and media relations. Jen holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Massachusetts and a Master in Public Management degree from the University of Maryland. Her experience in social change movements and managing charitable organizations has been extremely helpful when working with schools and community organizations to implement yoga and mindfulness programs for children
Jessica LaGarde has been teaching creative movement in the metro area since 2005 and is passionate about helping children discover and explore their bodies and the world around them. She was trained by Joye Newman, MA to teach preschool creative movement for Kids’ Moving Company, a Bethesda-based creative movement studio. In 2017, she completed her Baby, Toddler, and Children’s Yoga Teacher Training through Childlight Yoga and has worked with Breathing Space Family Yoga ever since. Jessica teaches classes for infants-adults, directs BSFY yoga camps, and does much of the behind the scenes business administration.
In addition to working with children, Jessica is a registered massage practitioner and is trained in infant massage instruction. She has practiced massage since 2006 and taught massage as part of Potomac Massage Training Institute’s professional training program. She maintains a private massage practice through Shine Massage & Wellness in College Park, MD.
Outside of the movement space and massage room, she enjoys cooking, knitting, gardening, coffee, reading non-fiction, and exploring the outdoors with her daughter.
AJ Hiskey (RYT-200) is an enthusiastic and personable teacher. Born and raised in the DC area. AJ completed her Yoga-Alliance certified training in 2018 with plans to teach adults, but fell in love with teaching children young and old!
AJ teaches a variety of classes from tots to trapeze. Always a kid at heart, she connects easily with children and loves sharing her passions of yoga, meditation, and mindfulness.
When she’s not on the mat, AJ loves being outdoors. She enjoys hiking, camping, swimming, or reading a good book in the sunshine. If she’s indoors, she’s probably rooting for a DC sports team (whether they’re winning or losing!) A life-long cheerleader for not only her favorite teams, but also her friends, family and students; she loves supporting others and helping them to be their best in body, mind and spirit.
Betsy Poos (E-RYT 500, RPYT, YACEP) is a lifelong student of movement and mindfulness. A DC yoga teacher since 2005, she’s honored to be a part of the Breathing Space Family Yoga community teaching preteens, teens and adults.
Betsy is known for her warm energy and informed alignment cues. Her true magic comes in making each practice equally accessible and challenging.
Betsy holds certifications in hatha yoga, Yogahour, pre/postnatal yoga, personal training, and sports nutrition. A consummate student, she is currently completing training to be a Registered Children’s Yoga Teacher specializing in adolescents ages 11-18.
Betsy’s motivation to expand her teaching to teens has come as she’s begun navigating these waters within her own family. Always eager to expand and create, she is an avid dreamer (and doer), reader, and writer. She also makes a point of taking time to pause and believes the best days are nap days.
Betsy lives in Washington, D.C. with her incredibly patient husband, two strong willed daughters, and lovable boston terrier.
Irene Alexandra is a New York native who grew up as a competitive dancer. During her college years, she embarked on her yoga and mindfulness journey. During her journey, she received her BA in Ancient History, MA in Ancient History, MA in Education, and began a career teaching special needs students. Shortly after, she received her RYT-200 Certification and 95-Hour Special Needs and Children’s Yoga Certification. Irene is very enthusiastic about uniting mindfulness and yoga with traditional education, and works to educate others on tools and practices to bring mindfulness and awareness into the classroom and community.
During the summer of 2020, Irene was diagnosed with a rare cancer called Ewing’s Sarcoma, which she has been in remission from since the summer of 2021. While those who undergo chemotherapy and cancer treatment do experience a wide range of grueling physical, mental, and emotional side-effects, she credits yoga and mindfulness to helping to ease those side effects (including neuropathy, and emotional and mental well-being).
In her spare time, Irene loves to spend time with her puppies (Bacchus and Circe), read, travel, enjoy nature and the beach, and create new plant-based recipes.
Lauren Mae works with yogis of all ages to encourage self-connection, compassion, and confidence. She earned her 200 HR YTT certification in December 2022 and has experience teaching yoga to Pre-K and Kindergartners. She hopes to help students discover and grow their innate mindfulness superpowers.
Having survived childhood trauma, Lauren is passionate about providing kids with a safe and empowering yoga experience. She helps her students get to know their unique inner strength and cultivate it to carry off the mat and into life. Lauren is a yoga universalist and takes particular influence from vinyasa, yin, kundalini, and restorative yoga.
Camille Cobbs began her yoga journey in San Francisco in 2013. She stumbled into a level 3 Baptiste Power Flow class not knowing exactly what she’d signed up for, but the sweat, challenge, and positive affirmations inspired her to return week after week. In 2020, yoga became a refuge during one of the most difficult years of our generation. Her practice became a daily requirement, helping her to prioritize mental health, self-care, and healthy movement.
In 2021, she was inspired to complete her yoga teacher training and gained certification in early 2022. Since the completion of her 200 hours, Camille has returned to her power flow roots as an instructor, teaching adult classes around the DC area. She has also been able to reconnect with her passion for early childhood education by teaching a wide range of yoga classes for kids, from Pre-K to middle school. All of Camille’s classes are upbeat, full of music, and focused on self-love and self-study.
Candace Glover is a yoga teacher with the Breathing Space DC. Drawn to the mission of promoting positive community and holistic knowledge, this Washingtonian dedicated her life to helping those in her community achieve overall well-being when she started teaching in 2017. With a 200-accredited hour certification, a 300 CYT and a passion for all things yoga, she flexes her yogic muscles every day by empowering others through versatile mindfulness practices while stimulating the hearts and minds of the DMV’s youth. This former flight attendant uses her worldly influence and desire for mixing things up to engage students as they explore the 8 limbs of yoga. Candace seeks to provide an authentic outlook on the holistic approach by leading by example. Having known the struggle of acceptance and identity growing up, it became very important for Ms.Glover to share the empowering tools she uses every day with herself to provide an embrace of individuality with today’s youth. Understanding that true love starts with self and with it we can accomplish anything, she has made it a top priority to make sure all students she interacts with know the importance of self-love and appreciation. Candace studied human services and general studies at Stevenson University.
Carly Aull has been teaching at Breathing Space Family Yoga since 2021. After practicing yoga for about a decade, she decided to become a certified teacher during lockdown. With little outside distraction at that time, she practiced yoga all day every day and developed a much deeper connection and passion for both learning about it and teaching it. Previously, Carly had been a swim coach and one of the families she taught suggested teaching yoga to kids in addition to adults. She absolutely loves working with kids, and her main focus in class is meditation and developing greater self-awareness. She loves to see students progress by learning to sit in stillness with themselves a little bit longer each class.
Jacque Souza (RYT-500) was born and raised in Brazil. She loves dancing, traveling and studying the healing process through the body-mind. Jacque has been practicing yoga since 2011, and graduated from the Sarasvati Yoga School of Medellin teacher training program in 2015.
Jacque has taught yoga since 2016 and specializes in prenatal yoga, yoga for family, kids and teenagers and Thai Body Work. Her classes offer students an alignment based yoga practice designed to create spaciousness in the body, mind, and spirit. Jacque shares with students methods for reducing stress, enhancing well-being, and bringing peace into their daily lives.
Lili Wilson is a native Washingtonian and product of DC public schools. Lili graduated with a BA in Sociology from Spelman College in 2000. She went on to earn a Master of Divinity from Candler School of Theology at Emory University.
In April 2015, Lili initiated The Beautiful Dawn LLC, a lifestyle brand that primarily inspires young ladies and women to live genuine, bold, passionate lives. In 2016, Lili was trained in children’s yoga and mindfulness at Circle Yoga. For the past several years, she’s taught yoga and mindfulness to children. In Summer of 2020, Lili completed 200 (RYT) hours with Be Here Now Yoga and Wellness. In Spring 2021, Lili received a certificate in teaching mindfulness to children with the Interdependence Project.
In addition to self-care, Lili’s passion is singing and songwriting. She has been touring and recording with gospel, pop, and RnB artists since the age of 15. In Fall 2019, Lili’s talents landed her the tour of her life, Hans Zimmer Live, with movie composer Hans Zimmer.
Lili’s desire is to encourage self-care and self-love, by incorporating her gifts of music, intuitive mediumship, and healing. She is the proud mother of one daughter, Alaia Mary.
Kathy Foltin teaches All Levels Yoga (Adults) at Breathing Space Family Yoga. What Kathy loves about yoga is that there is a practice for everyone. Since 2000, she has been exploring yoga’s rich traditions, from vigorous to restorative, discovering that in yoga we can find what we need and uncover our best selves. Kathy shares her love of yoga with others in encouraging, playful alignment-based vinyasa classes that allow students to gain confidence and feel comfortable exploring poses, mindfulness, and linking breath with movement in a safe, inviting environment. She received her 200 hour certification in 2012, and her 500 hour certification in 2018.
Tamar Lewkowitz received her RYT 200 Vinyasa Certificate in 2015 after graduating from college with a Bachelor’s degree in special education. Tamar spent a year abroad teaching English and volunteering at a special education school to teach yoga to students. Upon returning to the U.S., Tamar moved to the DMV area teaching K-3 special education at The Katherine Thomas School.
Tamar went on to receive her Budding Yogis Certificate and Kids with Special Needs Yoga Certificate from Circle Yoga in 2017, and she received her Chair Yoga Certificate from YogaVista Academy in 2019.
Tamar has brought yoga and movement into the classroom, and has seen firsthand how yoga and mindfulness can directly impact students’ regulation, self-image, and connection to the world around them.
In her spare time, Tamar loves being outdoors in nature hiking, cooking, and spending time with her two young nieces.
After discovering the healing power of yoga and mindfulness in 2014, Shara began her practice using old yoga books bought from antique shops. Since then, she has continued to take yoga classes at her college while saving up for training and certification.
Shara has worked in summer camps for the past 6 years as both a counselor and an assistant director. 2018 was her first summer in DC and her first summer on the Kid’s Yoga Summer Camp team, where she works excitedly and happily with Jen, Jessica, and the rest of the summer team to share yoga and mindfulness with the children of Washington, DC.
Shara loves the energized and enthusiastic curiosity of children, as well as their unending empathy and kindness, and hopes to help them maintain those traits as they age by practicing yoga and mindfulness regularly. She also hopes to attend graduate school for social work in order to create services and policies which extend this and like opportunities to children throughout the US.
When she’s not practicing yoga or assisting in its instruction, Shara enjoys spending her time bird-watching, walking dogs, hanging out with her cat/travel buddy, and making soap, lip balm, or other organic toiletries.
This class incorporates traditional yoga asana, breathwork, and relaxation but is based around our YogaBody-style yoga trapeze rigs. Practicing on the suspension rigs allow us to build core strength, functional upper body strength, and balance while we explore postures in different relationships to gravity and cultivate mindfulness and relaxation.
Class is limited to a maximum of ten (10) students. Drop-ins welcome when space allows.
Baby Yoga & Play classes are offered in 4-8-week series. Full registration required, no drop-ins.
We know it’s hard to get out of the house with a newborn, that naps are sometimes unpredictable, and life can be complicated . . . and that’s why we require series registration for this class.
Committing to the whole series makes it infinitely more likely that you actually attend. It far too easy to say “oh, I’ll go next week” if you are planning on dropping in. If you end up with an unavoidable conflict, illness, or disrupted nap-time, you can take advantage of our generous makeup policy.
Flexibility in Baby Yoga & Play
Because it’s hard to convince babies to be born and maternity leaves to be set on our schedule, we offer lots of flexibility:
Generous Makeup Options – If students must miss a class, they are welcome to
attend any other family yoga class as a makeup within the same timeframe, or
Any of baby’s favorite grownups are welcome in this class – mom, dad, grandparent, nanny . . . and the same adult need not attend each time. Registration is for one adult-baby on a weekly basis, but occasional visitors are welcome to attend as well.
Late or Partial Registration: If there is room in the class once the series begins, late registration will remain open for the first 1/3 of the series. Registration automatically prorates. If you can’t complete a series but can commit to 2/3 of the series in consecutive weeks – say because you are going back to work before our series ends – contact us about partial enrollment.
So what does this mean?
If a full series conflicts with work or travel, feel free to attend multiple times a week during the weeks you can attend.
If you are going back to work and baby will be home with a nanny or other caregiver, feel free to have them attend in your stead.
Still not sure if Baby Yoga & Play is right for you? That’s why we have a no-risk registration policy. If you attend your first class and decide it’s not a good fit, we make it easy to drop a class series. Read all of our class policies and FAQs.
Refunds requested using the form below will be issued based on the following policies:
Single Date Non-Camp Workshops
Workshops are classes that meet only once, including pop-up classes, which are individual date classes of a type that normally meet for multiple weeks, eg. Baby Yoga & Play, Family Yoga, etc.
More Than 7 Days Before Session/Event: Refund or credit issued in full minus a $5 or 4% processing fee (whichever is larger).
More Than 48 Hours Before Session/Event: Refund issued in at 80% or minus minimum $5 processing fee.
No refunds within 48 hours of an event. For recurring workshops such as Intro to Yoga Trapeze, registration may be rescheduled to a future date one time if you notify us before (or during) your scheduled class.
Because your reservation represents a space in class or camp that was held for you and not available for purchase by other students, there are no refunds issued after the dates listed above. Under extraordinary circumstances, we will suspend registration to be used in a later session.
Drop-in Registration is Non-Refundable
A drop-in is a single date registration for a multi-week class (available only for adult classes).
Each drop-in reservations may be rescheduled once at no charge as long as you notify us before or even during class: Simply let us know by email which class you will miss and include the name and email you used when registering along with your preferred make-up date. No reschedules after the fact.
Prenatal drop-ins that are no longer relevant can be transferred to credit for future reservations: If you unexpectedly gave birth before using a drop-in, we will transfer the credit to a general account credit that can be used for baby, children’s or other adult programming.
If we cancel a class or a workshop, we will issue refunds or credits depending on student preference.
Baby Yoga & Play classes do use yoga mats, but most venues have enough to lend if you’d rather not carry one.
Please bring a baby blanket to cover our mats/blankets and a small toy to use during class.
Expect your baby to be a baby and know that their voice is welcome. Crying, eating, diaper changes, and sleeping is all perfectly fine during class.
Please bring only water or milk/formula in closed top containers into the yoga classroom. Feeding your baby – breast or bottle – is always welcome.
Please wear comfortable, stretchy clothes. While this is a movement class, it is not what most would describe as a workout, so full yoga/exercise attire is not necessary. Wear clothing that will allow you to sit on the floor and move around easily (jeans are typically not ideal).
Parents/caregivers fully participate so should wear comfortable clothing and be prepared to move. The more yoga you do, the more your child will do (even if not until you get home).
No yoga experience required for either parent or child.
Yoga mats are not used in this class except during the last few minutes for relaxation. Feel free to bring your own or borrow one of ours.
Let go of expectations: We don’t expect full participation by children, and sometimes hardly any on the first day. Some children will be most comfortable observing and some might even wander the room and appear not to be participating. This is all developmentally appropriate and totally fine. Yes, try to engage your child in class, but feel free to simply relax and enjoy your child however they choose to participate.
No food in the studio. Please bring only water or milk/formula in closed top containers into the yoga classroom, but consider leaving them tucked away in your bag. Interest in water bottles is contagious and few children truly need a water break during a 45 min class. Breastfeeding is always welcome.
Please no photos during class. Not all parents are equally comfortable with having their children photographed and phones are potentially distracting to toddlers who are pretty savvy about what they do. If you would like photos of your little one doing yoga, please take them before or after class or during the last two weeks of the class when the instructor suggests group photos. If one of our instructors takes photos at any time, feel free to request a copy of your child or watch for logo-ed version to turn up on our social media sites so you can re-share.
Things to leave at home: Toys, stuffed friends, and even lovies (if at all possible). Very special friends can watch class from the the shelves if necessary, but toys of any kind just cause conflict in class.
Baby Yoga & Play classes, for newborn to pre-crawling babies and their grownup(s), contains dozens of yoga-inspired movements, postures, songs, rhymes and activities designed to support baby’s development. Each class is filled with calming, nurturing ways to enhance bonding, soothe the inevitable cranky moments, and improve baby’s sleep.
Babies participate while on their backs, tummies, or held in loving arms. For grownups, this class is a special opportunity to meet other parents and caregivers, get support, and learn about baby’s emerging personality.
Grownups will also get to do a bit of postpartum-appropriate yoga themselves, including strength- and flexibility-building postures, breathing exercises, and relaxation techniques to address common physical complaints and mental/emotional stressors during the new-parent period.
Most appropriate from 6-weeks until baby is mobile. Moms, dads, grandparents or other caregivers welcome. No previous yoga experience necessary; be prepared/dressed for movement.
Tot Yoga classes, for crawling or nearly crawling babies to 24-month-old toddlers, are engaging and fun. Class incorporates tot-centric yoga poses, dance and creative movement, songs, stories, and games as children learn yoga through social interaction, repetition, and play.
This class is for newly mobile babies to pre-verbal toddlers still finding their footing. This class moves a little slower than our other early childhood classes and features lots of repetitions. Parents help tots execute poses as much or as little as suits each adult-child pair.
We encourage each child to embrace their own unique expression of yoga poses while supporting their development and growth. Parents and children playfully move together through poses, songs, and activities appropriate for crawlers and walkers.
Registration is by child and includes up to two caregivers on a weekly basis. Any of your child’s favorite grownups is welcome and the same grownup need not attend every class.
Toddler Family Yoga classes, for walking toddlers to 4-year-old preschoolers, are engaging and fun. Class incorporates age-appropriate yoga poses, dance and creative movement, songs, stories, and games as children learn yoga through social interaction, repetition, and play.
Yoga helps toddlers, and preschoolers explore movement milestones, gain confidence, build strength and fitness, learn a tool for self-regulation, connect with parents and caregivers, and set the foundation for healthy body attitudes and a fit lifestyle.
Classes incorporate imagination, songs, words and stories and age-appropriate postures and activities as parents and children playfully move together. We encourage each child to embrace their own unique expression of yoga poses while supporting their development and growth.
Toddler Family Yoga is a crossover class featuring activities from both our Tot Yoga and Little Family Yoga repertoire.
Registration is by child and includes up to two caregivers on a weekly basis. Any of your child’s favorite grownups is welcome and the same grownup need not attend every class.
Younger siblings are welcome in class. Registration is required for 1 year old or walking siblings. Sibling discount (50%) is automatic. Non-walking infants may attend free.
Little Family Yoga classes for 21-month-old toddlers to 4-year-old preschoolers, with their favorite grownup, are engaging and fun. Class incorporates age-appropriate yogaposes, dance and creative movement, songs, stories, and games as children learn yoga through social interaction, repetition, and play.
Yoga can help preschoolers learn how to relieve frustration, improve motor skills, and increase attention span by actively following directions.
Class incorporates more storytelling and imaginative play and movements tend to be faster with these confident movers.
Registration is by child and includes up to two caregivers on a weekly basis. Any of your child’s favorite grownups is welcome and the same grownup need not attend every class.
Younger siblings are welcome in class. Registration is required for 1 year old or walking siblings. Sibling discount (50%) is automatic. Non-walking infants may attend free.
Kids Yoga helps children learn techniques for concentrating, reducing stress, and connecting to their bodies in a loving way while having fun. Breathing Space classes incorporate age-appropriate poses, breathing, movement, games, mindfulness activities, music, and sometimes art.
A kids yoga class encourages children to move creatively in a non-competitive environment while honoring each child’s unique expression of the poses. Classes often revolve around a philosophical or natural theme and always include some form of quiet relaxation.
Individual classes may be for more specific age ranges, so see descriptions for details.
Family Yoga & Mindfulness is structured like an age-appropriate kids class – with yoga poses, sequences, mindfulness activities, songs, and games, and an emphasis activities for parents and children to do together. Classes often revolve around philosophical, seasonal, or narrative themes and always include some form of quiet relaxation. No yoga experience required for either parent or child.
family yoga
Parents should plan to fully participate in family classes. One adult must be present, up to two adults are welcome on weekly basis, and the same adult need not be present every time.
Age ranges and sibling policies vary by offering, so read individual registration descriptions for details. Generally, class is appropriate for siblings 1 year younger than the stated range. Sibling discounts are automatic.
Early Childhood Yoga and Family Yoga classes are registered per child with additional siblings at half price.
This class incorporates traditional yoga asana, breath work, relaxation, and postures adapted for the YogaBody-style trapeze with plenty of time to play, fly, and hang upside down in the rigs. For older kid yogis, it’s a natural addition to yoga class. And, it’s just plain fun.
All trapeze classes are limited to 8 years and older because students must be able to follow directions for safety on the rigs. Additionally, classes are limited to a maximum of ten (10) students.
Tween Yoga (Ages 9-12) provides a non-competitive environment for older children to explore more complex poses and asana than in classes for younger children as well breathing exercises, movement games, mindfulness activities, and much-needed relaxation techniques.
Students learn techniques for concentrating, reducing stress, and connecting to their bodies in a loving way, while still being playful and fun. Classes often revolve around a philosophical theme and may include discussion, journaling, or mindful art.
This class provides a non-competitive environment for teens and preteens to explore more complex poses and asana than in classes for younger children as well breathing exercises, movement games, mindfulness activities, and much-needed relaxation techniques.
Students learn techniques for concentrating, reducing stress, and connecting to their bodies in a loving way, while still being playful and fun. Classes often revolve around a philosophical theme and may include discussion, journaling, or mindful art.
Individual classes may be for more specific age ranges, so see descriptions for details.
In this all-levels yoga class, students will cultivate the flexibility, concentration and strength needed during the transformative time of pregnancy and childbirth. Enjoy the community of other pregnant parents while we practice modified yoga postures, breath work, vocal toning, meditation, and relaxation. No previous yoga experience necessary.
Our Tot Yoga (crawling-24 months) and Preschooler Yoga (21 months-4 yrs) have a 3 month age overlap on purpose. Personality, more than physical development, should be the deciding factor between the two classes.
Tot Yoga tends to be a quieter class with more repetition from week to week, so suits more reserved toddlers better.
Preschooler / Little Family Yoga tends to be louder and move move more quickly from activity to activity to suit the energy level of 2-4 yr olds. Little Family Yoga requires more verbal direction following, incorporates more imaginative play, and typically involves less physical helping from parents. Very active almost-2 year olds often do well in this class because the social environment challenges them more than that of the younger group. Younger siblings accustomed to the energy and speed of older toddlers and preschoolers tend to enjoy this class as well, even if they are not able to do every pose.
Toddler Family Yoga (walking-4 yrs) is a crossover class which is very much like Little Family Yoga with some adaptations 12-21 month old students.
Classes are most likely in Drummond Hall on the first floor. Check the info board by the reception office at the 9th Street entrance (ground floor.)
All strollers should be parked on the ground floor, near the kitchen. There is also a bicycle rack at the top of the 9th Street driveway.
Please plan to leave all non-valuable personal items outside or store them on the shelves in the classroom to keep the floors clear. There will be a coat rack in the hallway outside the classroom for your coats and larger bags.
Hill Center is an easy walk from Eastern Market metro and bus stops.
Street parking can be found on Pennsylvania Avenue or E Street. Please do not park in the very small Hill Center lot. That is reserved for loading and staff use.
Parents and children should still wait on the ground floor for classes to start, if the room isn’t open yet. There is usually seating near the kitchen and always seating in reception.
Breathing Space Family Yoga’s studio is located at 641 Pennsylvania Ave SE (map), Lower Level. (Some families may remember this as the old Realignment Studio or Capitol Hill Yoga space.) The studio is easily reached by the Eastern Market metro stop and several buses along Pennsylvania Avenue or 8th Street St.
All of our classes are on the lower level, down a flight of stairs.
Both children and adults are kindly asked to remove their shoes before entering the classroom space.
Cubbies are available in the classroom space for storing personal belongings.
Please pack dirty diapers away with you.
Small folding strollers are welcome inside, but please leave jogging-style or bulky strollers locked to the bike rack or otherwise secured outside. For safety reasons, strollers cannot be left in the stairway or on landings.
Eastern Market studio lobbyEastern Market studio prop areaEastern Market studio main classroom
Directions
Breathing Space is on the south side of Pennsylvania Avenue. Look for the glass door with our lotus flower logo.
From the Eastern Market Metro: From the top of the escalator or elevator, turn around to face 7th Street SE. Cross 7th Street and walk along Pennsylvania Avenue on the same side of the street toward the Capitol.
Parking: Metered parking is available on Pennsylvania Avenue, and 2 hr parking is available on many of the nearby residential streets. There are garages underneath 660 Penn (Penn Medical) and 700 Penn (Trader Joe’s).
Studio Etiquette
Please leave shoes and coats in the lobby area along with bulky non-valuables. Bring valuables – phones and wallets – into the studio space and store them on the cubby shelves. While we do lock the studio door once class begins, we cannot be responsible for missing valuables.
Please leave all toys and lovies in bags, completely out of sight. Consider leaving water bottles in your bags during toddler classes. Water bottles are shockingly distracting, both for their owner and other children. Adults and older children/teens should feel free to have their bottles with them.
There is a changing table in the right side bathroom, but diapers may be changed wherever is comfortable for you and your child. However, there is no daily trash pickup at the studio. Please pack dirty diapers away with you.
If you are running late . . .
Don’t worry. You can let us know – text: 202-544-0434.
We lock the door after the welcome song or the initial warmup. If the teacher knows you are coming, they can leave the door open for you. For kids’ classes, it is totally ok to ring the bell or knock to get the instructor’s attention if the door is locked. Be aware that you may need to wait a few minutes if the instructor is engaged in an activity.
If you are entering late, please do so as discreetly as possible. The instructor will assist you with setting up if necessary. Please make eye contact in case your instructor has laid a place for you.
Please note that the warmup in adult class serves an important safety function. If you join late, take a couple of minutes to do some gentle movements before jumping into the instructor’s sequence.
Loaner Yoga Mats
We have a number of studio mats that we can loan out. If you are using one for an adult class, we request that you wipe it down afterward. Look for the teal blue disinfecting wipes near the mats or on the white cubbies.
Stroller Parking
Families are welcome to lock strollers up out front. We provide a cable and lock (check your registration receipt or ask your instructor for the code)
Families may also bring strollers downstairs if they can be safely carried down. Please fold strollers whenever possible to reduce tripping hazards in the lobby. Strollers cannot be left in the entryway, even folded, because they are a fire hazard.
Finding good stroller parking out front isn’t always easy. We have arranged for additional stroller parking around the corner. Let us know if you will need a lock (text: 202-544-0434), and we’ll bring one out. On rainy days, we will provide a tarp as well.
The most prominent part of the building is the Nave, or sanctuary. For BSFY events, enter through the A-Street courtyard. Use the door by the bike racks and take the stairs or elevator to the left of the entry way. Classes are most typically in the dance studio on the second floor. Camps are held on the basement level.
Strollers can be left in the lobby downstairs or brought up and stored outside of the studio door.
Please remove shoes before entering the dance studio.
Infant Massage classes involve a full-body massage with oil for baby. We provide sunflower or safflower oil and a bottle for you to use at home. Please contact us if you have allergy concerns and need an alternative oil.
Please bring a baby blanket or towel to cover our mats/blankets and a small toy to use during class.
Expect your baby to be a baby and know that their voice is welcome. Crying, eating, diaper changes, and sleeping is all perfectly fine during class.
Please bring only water or milk/formula in closed top containers into the yoga classroom. Feeding your baby – breast or bottle – is always welcome.
Please wear comfortable clothes that will allow you to sit on the floor and move around easily (jeans are typically not ideal).
Taking this Class as a Self-Paced Course or Live Zoom Class
You will need oil. We recommend cold pressed, organic safflower or sunflower oil, but many families prefer others. Choose a high-quality food-grade oil so you do not need to worry if baby mouths a recently massaged body part. Some families like coconut oil for topical application. Olive oil can be a bit more irritating over time than some other options, but is still a good choice if that’s what you have on hand.
Please bring a baby blanket or towel to cover our mats/blankets and a small toy to use during class.
Expect your baby to be a baby. Crying, eating, diaper changes, and sleeping is all perfectly fine during a live class. If you are using our self-paced modules, feel free to take breaks as needed or do just part of the routine.
Breathing Space has had a chronic problem of last minute additions to camp aftercare. While accommodating one or two campers isn’t usually a problem, sometimes we get half a dozen last minute additions in the week before a camp and sometimes several on the morning of camp.
We get that life is sometimes unpredictable and last minute changes happen and want to help, but we suspect a fair amount of the last minute additions are caused by parents not being sure of their after camp plan when they sign up and then forgetting to do anything about it until days before or even the day of camp.
Last minute additions to aftercare sometimes leave us or the Labyrinth education director scrambling to add staff to aftercare or push us over our desired camper to staff ratios.
Aftercare costs $16 per day until two weeks before camp. After that, it’s $20 per day.
Breathing Space is happy to offer gift certificates, but does not have an automated system for redeeming them. Gift certificate purchases must be done in advance and cannot be redeemed in person at class.
To redeem:
Step 1: Create your account in our registration system. Please add any relevant family members.
If you include class or camp registration instructions in the email, we will set everything up and send you a confirmation. If not, we’ll send you a notice when your credit has been applied and you can
Step 3: Register online
Please contact us if you have questions.
Please note that we process credits as quickly as possible, but it may take a few days to complete your request.
Open Barre is located at 7338 Baltimore Avenue, Suite 200, in College Park, Maryland in the College Park Shopping Center. The studio is right above Cava and Starbucks.
You can find Open Barre by going all the way up the stairs next to Starbucks (if you park in the main front lot), or you can come in through the office building behind the main shopping center (if you park in the back lot).
The parking lot is on Knox Road, across the street from South Campus Commons and adjacent to Knox Towers. Parking is free on Sundays, when early childhood classes are held at this location.
Accessing this space does require stairs. There are fewer if you enter from the back lot. Strollers that are small or can be folded may be left in the hallway outside of the studio or secured to the fence in the rear parking lot. Please do not bring strollers into the studio, and do not block stairs, doorways, or walking paths with strollers.
The building is located at the corner of Sherman Ave and Columbia Rd NW.
The Brazilian American Cultural Center is located at 3001 Sherman Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001. This location hosts weekly early childhood classes. We are pleased to offer early childhood, family and baby yoga there starting in January 2023.
Yoga Heights Takoma Park is located at 255 Carroll Street NW, Washington, DC 20012. This location hosts baby yoga, infant massage, tot yoga, and preschooler yoga. Classes are available on weekdays and Sunday mornings.
Street parking is generally available nearby, and it is walking distance from the Takoma Park metro and bus stops.
The studio has a ground level entrance with no steps required. There is plenty of space in the lobby for stroller parking.
Jen brings a sense of joy and playfulness to her classes – both the adult and kids classes – and hopes to offer her students freedom she finds in yoga. She founded Breathing Space to create hub for family yoga on Capitol Hill and share her enthusiasm for age- and developmentally-appropriate poses, games, and songs with yogis of all ages.
Why Breathing Space?
Like so many, Jen first came to the yoga mat because of an injury, seeking nothing more than to feel better and balance her body for running. She comes back to the mat because yoga invites her to embrace her body and mind with all its imperfections and then to look beyond them to the greater Self.
When she became a mother, her yoga practice became even more important: for building strength and flexibility, as relief for the discomforts of pregnancy and then the stresses of parenthood, as a reminder of the miracle of the human body and of her own resources and capabilities, and a regular connection to her breath and true Self during a time of significant identity changes. Her weekly baby yoga class during maternity leave encouraged her to embrace her daughter in the same loving, non-judgemental way that her own practice did for herself.
After thoroughly enjoying baby yoga classes with her daughter during maternity leave and being unable to find an Itsy Bitsy class that fit her schedule after going back to work, Jen stumbled on a listing for Itsy Bitsy Yoga facilitators training . . . and signed up. That turned out to be the first step on new path.
Jen is a Yoga Alliance® Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher (E-RTY 200) and Registered Children’s Yoga Teacher (RCTY). She is also a Certified Educator of Infant Massage (CEIM) through Infant Massage USA and an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC).
Before turning her attention to yoga full time, Jen spent more than a decade working with non- profit organizations in everything from daily operations, event and volunteer management, and finance to national policy advocacy and media relations. Jen holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Massachusetts and a Master in Public Management degree from the University of Maryland. Her experience in social change movements and managing charitable organizations has been extremely helpful when working with schools and community organizations to implement yoga and mindfulness programs for children
Jessica LaGarde has been teaching creative movement in the metro area since 2005 and is passionate about helping children discover and explore their bodies and the world around them. She was trained by Joye Newman, MA to teach preschool creative movement for Kids’ Moving Company, a Bethesda-based creative movement studio. In 2017, she completed her Baby, Toddler, and Children’s Yoga Teacher Training through Childlight Yoga and has worked with Breathing Space Family Yoga ever since. Jessica teaches classes for infants-adults, directs BSFY yoga camps, and does much of the behind the scenes business administration.
In addition to working with children, Jessica is a registered massage practitioner and is trained in infant massage instruction. She has practiced massage since 2006 and taught massage as part of Potomac Massage Training Institute’s professional training program. She maintains a private massage practice through Shine Massage & Wellness in College Park, MD.
Outside of the movement space and massage room, she enjoys cooking, knitting, gardening, coffee, reading non-fiction, and exploring the outdoors with her daughter.
AJ Hiskey (RYT-200) is an enthusiastic and personable teacher. Born and raised in the DC area. AJ completed her Yoga-Alliance certified training in 2018 with plans to teach adults, but fell in love with teaching children young and old!
AJ teaches a variety of classes from tots to trapeze. Always a kid at heart, she connects easily with children and loves sharing her passions of yoga, meditation, and mindfulness.
When she’s not on the mat, AJ loves being outdoors. She enjoys hiking, camping, swimming, or reading a good book in the sunshine. If she’s indoors, she’s probably rooting for a DC sports team (whether they’re winning or losing!) A life-long cheerleader for not only her favorite teams, but also her friends, family and students; she loves supporting others and helping them to be their best in body, mind and spirit.
Betsy Poos (E-RYT 500, RPYT, YACEP) is a lifelong student of movement and mindfulness. A DC yoga teacher since 2005, she’s honored to be a part of the Breathing Space Family Yoga community teaching preteens, teens and adults.
Betsy is known for her warm energy and informed alignment cues. Her true magic comes in making each practice equally accessible and challenging.
Betsy holds certifications in hatha yoga, Yogahour, pre/postnatal yoga, personal training, and sports nutrition. A consummate student, she is currently completing training to be a Registered Children’s Yoga Teacher specializing in adolescents ages 11-18.
Betsy’s motivation to expand her teaching to teens has come as she’s begun navigating these waters within her own family. Always eager to expand and create, she is an avid dreamer (and doer), reader, and writer. She also makes a point of taking time to pause and believes the best days are nap days.
Betsy lives in Washington, D.C. with her incredibly patient husband, two strong willed daughters, and lovable boston terrier.
Irene Alexandra is a New York native who grew up as a competitive dancer. During her college years, she embarked on her yoga and mindfulness journey. During her journey, she received her BA in Ancient History, MA in Ancient History, MA in Education, and began a career teaching special needs students. Shortly after, she received her RYT-200 Certification and 95-Hour Special Needs and Children’s Yoga Certification. Irene is very enthusiastic about uniting mindfulness and yoga with traditional education, and works to educate others on tools and practices to bring mindfulness and awareness into the classroom and community.
During the summer of 2020, Irene was diagnosed with a rare cancer called Ewing’s Sarcoma, which she has been in remission from since the summer of 2021. While those who undergo chemotherapy and cancer treatment do experience a wide range of grueling physical, mental, and emotional side-effects, she credits yoga and mindfulness to helping to ease those side effects (including neuropathy, and emotional and mental well-being).
In her spare time, Irene loves to spend time with her puppies (Bacchus and Circe), read, travel, enjoy nature and the beach, and create new plant-based recipes.
Lauren Mae works with yogis of all ages to encourage self-connection, compassion, and confidence. She earned her 200 HR YTT certification in December 2022 and has experience teaching yoga to Pre-K and Kindergartners. She hopes to help students discover and grow their innate mindfulness superpowers.
Having survived childhood trauma, Lauren is passionate about providing kids with a safe and empowering yoga experience. She helps her students get to know their unique inner strength and cultivate it to carry off the mat and into life. Lauren is a yoga universalist and takes particular influence from vinyasa, yin, kundalini, and restorative yoga.
Camille Cobbs began her yoga journey in San Francisco in 2013. She stumbled into a level 3 Baptiste Power Flow class not knowing exactly what she’d signed up for, but the sweat, challenge, and positive affirmations inspired her to return week after week. In 2020, yoga became a refuge during one of the most difficult years of our generation. Her practice became a daily requirement, helping her to prioritize mental health, self-care, and healthy movement.
In 2021, she was inspired to complete her yoga teacher training and gained certification in early 2022. Since the completion of her 200 hours, Camille has returned to her power flow roots as an instructor, teaching adult classes around the DC area. She has also been able to reconnect with her passion for early childhood education by teaching a wide range of yoga classes for kids, from Pre-K to middle school. All of Camille’s classes are upbeat, full of music, and focused on self-love and self-study.
Candace Glover is a yoga teacher with the Breathing Space DC. Drawn to the mission of promoting positive community and holistic knowledge, this Washingtonian dedicated her life to helping those in her community achieve overall well-being when she started teaching in 2017. With a 200-accredited hour certification, a 300 CYT and a passion for all things yoga, she flexes her yogic muscles every day by empowering others through versatile mindfulness practices while stimulating the hearts and minds of the DMV’s youth. This former flight attendant uses her worldly influence and desire for mixing things up to engage students as they explore the 8 limbs of yoga. Candace seeks to provide an authentic outlook on the holistic approach by leading by example. Having known the struggle of acceptance and identity growing up, it became very important for Ms.Glover to share the empowering tools she uses every day with herself to provide an embrace of individuality with today’s youth. Understanding that true love starts with self and with it we can accomplish anything, she has made it a top priority to make sure all students she interacts with know the importance of self-love and appreciation. Candace studied human services and general studies at Stevenson University.
Carly Aull has been teaching at Breathing Space Family Yoga since 2021. After practicing yoga for about a decade, she decided to become a certified teacher during lockdown. With little outside distraction at that time, she practiced yoga all day every day and developed a much deeper connection and passion for both learning about it and teaching it. Previously, Carly had been a swim coach and one of the families she taught suggested teaching yoga to kids in addition to adults. She absolutely loves working with kids, and her main focus in class is meditation and developing greater self-awareness. She loves to see students progress by learning to sit in stillness with themselves a little bit longer each class.
Jacque Souza (RYT-500) was born and raised in Brazil. She loves dancing, traveling and studying the healing process through the body-mind. Jacque has been practicing yoga since 2011, and graduated from the Sarasvati Yoga School of Medellin teacher training program in 2015.
Jacque has taught yoga since 2016 and specializes in prenatal yoga, yoga for family, kids and teenagers and Thai Body Work. Her classes offer students an alignment based yoga practice designed to create spaciousness in the body, mind, and spirit. Jacque shares with students methods for reducing stress, enhancing well-being, and bringing peace into their daily lives.
Lili Wilson is a native Washingtonian and product of DC public schools. Lili graduated with a BA in Sociology from Spelman College in 2000. She went on to earn a Master of Divinity from Candler School of Theology at Emory University.
In April 2015, Lili initiated The Beautiful Dawn LLC, a lifestyle brand that primarily inspires young ladies and women to live genuine, bold, passionate lives. In 2016, Lili was trained in children’s yoga and mindfulness at Circle Yoga. For the past several years, she’s taught yoga and mindfulness to children. In Summer of 2020, Lili completed 200 (RYT) hours with Be Here Now Yoga and Wellness. In Spring 2021, Lili received a certificate in teaching mindfulness to children with the Interdependence Project.
In addition to self-care, Lili’s passion is singing and songwriting. She has been touring and recording with gospel, pop, and RnB artists since the age of 15. In Fall 2019, Lili’s talents landed her the tour of her life, Hans Zimmer Live, with movie composer Hans Zimmer.
Lili’s desire is to encourage self-care and self-love, by incorporating her gifts of music, intuitive mediumship, and healing. She is the proud mother of one daughter, Alaia Mary.
Kathy Foltin teaches All Levels Yoga (Adults) at Breathing Space Family Yoga. What Kathy loves about yoga is that there is a practice for everyone. Since 2000, she has been exploring yoga’s rich traditions, from vigorous to restorative, discovering that in yoga we can find what we need and uncover our best selves. Kathy shares her love of yoga with others in encouraging, playful alignment-based vinyasa classes that allow students to gain confidence and feel comfortable exploring poses, mindfulness, and linking breath with movement in a safe, inviting environment. She received her 200 hour certification in 2012, and her 500 hour certification in 2018.
Tamar Lewkowitz received her RYT 200 Vinyasa Certificate in 2015 after graduating from college with a Bachelor’s degree in special education. Tamar spent a year abroad teaching English and volunteering at a special education school to teach yoga to students. Upon returning to the U.S., Tamar moved to the DMV area teaching K-3 special education at The Katherine Thomas School.
Tamar went on to receive her Budding Yogis Certificate and Kids with Special Needs Yoga Certificate from Circle Yoga in 2017, and she received her Chair Yoga Certificate from YogaVista Academy in 2019.
Tamar has brought yoga and movement into the classroom, and has seen firsthand how yoga and mindfulness can directly impact students’ regulation, self-image, and connection to the world around them.
In her spare time, Tamar loves being outdoors in nature hiking, cooking, and spending time with her two young nieces.
After discovering the healing power of yoga and mindfulness in 2014, Shara began her practice using old yoga books bought from antique shops. Since then, she has continued to take yoga classes at her college while saving up for training and certification.
Shara has worked in summer camps for the past 6 years as both a counselor and an assistant director. 2018 was her first summer in DC and her first summer on the Kid’s Yoga Summer Camp team, where she works excitedly and happily with Jen, Jessica, and the rest of the summer team to share yoga and mindfulness with the children of Washington, DC.
Shara loves the energized and enthusiastic curiosity of children, as well as their unending empathy and kindness, and hopes to help them maintain those traits as they age by practicing yoga and mindfulness regularly. She also hopes to attend graduate school for social work in order to create services and policies which extend this and like opportunities to children throughout the US.
When she’s not practicing yoga or assisting in its instruction, Shara enjoys spending her time bird-watching, walking dogs, hanging out with her cat/travel buddy, and making soap, lip balm, or other organic toiletries.
This class incorporates traditional yoga asana, breathwork, and relaxation but is based around our YogaBody-style yoga trapeze rigs. Practicing on the suspension rigs allow us to build core strength, functional upper body strength, and balance while we explore postures in different relationships to gravity and cultivate mindfulness and relaxation.
Class is limited to a maximum of ten (10) students. Drop-ins welcome when space allows.
Baby Yoga & Play classes are offered in 4-8-week series. Full registration required, no drop-ins.
We know it’s hard to get out of the house with a newborn, that naps are sometimes unpredictable, and life can be complicated . . . and that’s why we require series registration for this class.
Committing to the whole series makes it infinitely more likely that you actually attend. It far too easy to say “oh, I’ll go next week” if you are planning on dropping in. If you end up with an unavoidable conflict, illness, or disrupted nap-time, you can take advantage of our generous makeup policy.
Flexibility in Baby Yoga & Play
Because it’s hard to convince babies to be born and maternity leaves to be set on our schedule, we offer lots of flexibility:
Generous Makeup Options – If students must miss a class, they are welcome to
attend any other family yoga class as a makeup within the same timeframe, or
Any of baby’s favorite grownups are welcome in this class – mom, dad, grandparent, nanny . . . and the same adult need not attend each time. Registration is for one adult-baby on a weekly basis, but occasional visitors are welcome to attend as well.
Late or Partial Registration: If there is room in the class once the series begins, late registration will remain open for the first 1/3 of the series. Registration automatically prorates. If you can’t complete a series but can commit to 2/3 of the series in consecutive weeks – say because you are going back to work before our series ends – contact us about partial enrollment.
So what does this mean?
If a full series conflicts with work or travel, feel free to attend multiple times a week during the weeks you can attend.
If you are going back to work and baby will be home with a nanny or other caregiver, feel free to have them attend in your stead.
Still not sure if Baby Yoga & Play is right for you? That’s why we have a no-risk registration policy. If you attend your first class and decide it’s not a good fit, we make it easy to drop a class series. Read all of our class policies and FAQs.
Refunds requested using the form below will be issued based on the following policies:
Single Date Non-Camp Workshops
Workshops are classes that meet only once, including pop-up classes, which are individual date classes of a type that normally meet for multiple weeks, eg. Baby Yoga & Play, Family Yoga, etc.
More Than 7 Days Before Session/Event: Refund or credit issued in full minus a $5 or 4% processing fee (whichever is larger).
More Than 48 Hours Before Session/Event: Refund issued in at 80% or minus minimum $5 processing fee.
No refunds within 48 hours of an event. For recurring workshops such as Intro to Yoga Trapeze, registration may be rescheduled to a future date one time if you notify us before (or during) your scheduled class.
Because your reservation represents a space in class or camp that was held for you and not available for purchase by other students, there are no refunds issued after the dates listed above. Under extraordinary circumstances, we will suspend registration to be used in a later session.
Drop-in Registration is Non-Refundable
A drop-in is a single date registration for a multi-week class (available only for adult classes).
Each drop-in reservations may be rescheduled once at no charge as long as you notify us before or even during class: Simply let us know by email which class you will miss and include the name and email you used when registering along with your preferred make-up date. No reschedules after the fact.
Prenatal drop-ins that are no longer relevant can be transferred to credit for future reservations: If you unexpectedly gave birth before using a drop-in, we will transfer the credit to a general account credit that can be used for baby, children’s or other adult programming.
If we cancel a class or a workshop, we will issue refunds or credits depending on student preference.
Baby Yoga & Play classes do use yoga mats, but most venues have enough to lend if you’d rather not carry one.
Please bring a baby blanket to cover our mats/blankets and a small toy to use during class.
Expect your baby to be a baby and know that their voice is welcome. Crying, eating, diaper changes, and sleeping is all perfectly fine during class.
Please bring only water or milk/formula in closed top containers into the yoga classroom. Feeding your baby – breast or bottle – is always welcome.
Please wear comfortable, stretchy clothes. While this is a movement class, it is not what most would describe as a workout, so full yoga/exercise attire is not necessary. Wear clothing that will allow you to sit on the floor and move around easily (jeans are typically not ideal).
Parents/caregivers fully participate so should wear comfortable clothing and be prepared to move. The more yoga you do, the more your child will do (even if not until you get home).
No yoga experience required for either parent or child.
Yoga mats are not used in this class except during the last few minutes for relaxation. Feel free to bring your own or borrow one of ours.
Let go of expectations: We don’t expect full participation by children, and sometimes hardly any on the first day. Some children will be most comfortable observing and some might even wander the room and appear not to be participating. This is all developmentally appropriate and totally fine. Yes, try to engage your child in class, but feel free to simply relax and enjoy your child however they choose to participate.
No food in the studio. Please bring only water or milk/formula in closed top containers into the yoga classroom, but consider leaving them tucked away in your bag. Interest in water bottles is contagious and few children truly need a water break during a 45 min class. Breastfeeding is always welcome.
Please no photos during class. Not all parents are equally comfortable with having their children photographed and phones are potentially distracting to toddlers who are pretty savvy about what they do. If you would like photos of your little one doing yoga, please take them before or after class or during the last two weeks of the class when the instructor suggests group photos. If one of our instructors takes photos at any time, feel free to request a copy of your child or watch for logo-ed version to turn up on our social media sites so you can re-share.
Things to leave at home: Toys, stuffed friends, and even lovies (if at all possible). Very special friends can watch class from the the shelves if necessary, but toys of any kind just cause conflict in class.
Baby Yoga & Play classes, for newborn to pre-crawling babies and their grownup(s), contains dozens of yoga-inspired movements, postures, songs, rhymes and activities designed to support baby’s development. Each class is filled with calming, nurturing ways to enhance bonding, soothe the inevitable cranky moments, and improve baby’s sleep.
Babies participate while on their backs, tummies, or held in loving arms. For grownups, this class is a special opportunity to meet other parents and caregivers, get support, and learn about baby’s emerging personality.
Grownups will also get to do a bit of postpartum-appropriate yoga themselves, including strength- and flexibility-building postures, breathing exercises, and relaxation techniques to address common physical complaints and mental/emotional stressors during the new-parent period.
Most appropriate from 6-weeks until baby is mobile. Moms, dads, grandparents or other caregivers welcome. No previous yoga experience necessary; be prepared/dressed for movement.
Tot Yoga classes, for crawling or nearly crawling babies to 24-month-old toddlers, are engaging and fun. Class incorporates tot-centric yoga poses, dance and creative movement, songs, stories, and games as children learn yoga through social interaction, repetition, and play.
This class is for newly mobile babies to pre-verbal toddlers still finding their footing. This class moves a little slower than our other early childhood classes and features lots of repetitions. Parents help tots execute poses as much or as little as suits each adult-child pair.
We encourage each child to embrace their own unique expression of yoga poses while supporting their development and growth. Parents and children playfully move together through poses, songs, and activities appropriate for crawlers and walkers.
Registration is by child and includes up to two caregivers on a weekly basis. Any of your child’s favorite grownups is welcome and the same grownup need not attend every class.
Toddler Family Yoga classes, for walking toddlers to 4-year-old preschoolers, are engaging and fun. Class incorporates age-appropriate yoga poses, dance and creative movement, songs, stories, and games as children learn yoga through social interaction, repetition, and play.
Yoga helps toddlers, and preschoolers explore movement milestones, gain confidence, build strength and fitness, learn a tool for self-regulation, connect with parents and caregivers, and set the foundation for healthy body attitudes and a fit lifestyle.
Classes incorporate imagination, songs, words and stories and age-appropriate postures and activities as parents and children playfully move together. We encourage each child to embrace their own unique expression of yoga poses while supporting their development and growth.
Toddler Family Yoga is a crossover class featuring activities from both our Tot Yoga and Little Family Yoga repertoire.
Registration is by child and includes up to two caregivers on a weekly basis. Any of your child’s favorite grownups is welcome and the same grownup need not attend every class.
Younger siblings are welcome in class. Registration is required for 1 year old or walking siblings. Sibling discount (50%) is automatic. Non-walking infants may attend free.
Little Family Yoga classes for 21-month-old toddlers to 4-year-old preschoolers, with their favorite grownup, are engaging and fun. Class incorporates age-appropriate yogaposes, dance and creative movement, songs, stories, and games as children learn yoga through social interaction, repetition, and play.
Yoga can help preschoolers learn how to relieve frustration, improve motor skills, and increase attention span by actively following directions.
Class incorporates more storytelling and imaginative play and movements tend to be faster with these confident movers.
Registration is by child and includes up to two caregivers on a weekly basis. Any of your child’s favorite grownups is welcome and the same grownup need not attend every class.
Younger siblings are welcome in class. Registration is required for 1 year old or walking siblings. Sibling discount (50%) is automatic. Non-walking infants may attend free.
Kids Yoga helps children learn techniques for concentrating, reducing stress, and connecting to their bodies in a loving way while having fun. Breathing Space classes incorporate age-appropriate poses, breathing, movement, games, mindfulness activities, music, and sometimes art.
A kids yoga class encourages children to move creatively in a non-competitive environment while honoring each child’s unique expression of the poses. Classes often revolve around a philosophical or natural theme and always include some form of quiet relaxation.
Individual classes may be for more specific age ranges, so see descriptions for details.
Family Yoga & Mindfulness is structured like an age-appropriate kids class – with yoga poses, sequences, mindfulness activities, songs, and games, and an emphasis activities for parents and children to do together. Classes often revolve around philosophical, seasonal, or narrative themes and always include some form of quiet relaxation. No yoga experience required for either parent or child.
family yoga
Parents should plan to fully participate in family classes. One adult must be present, up to two adults are welcome on weekly basis, and the same adult need not be present every time.
Age ranges and sibling policies vary by offering, so read individual registration descriptions for details. Generally, class is appropriate for siblings 1 year younger than the stated range. Sibling discounts are automatic.
Early Childhood Yoga and Family Yoga classes are registered per child with additional siblings at half price.
This class incorporates traditional yoga asana, breath work, relaxation, and postures adapted for the YogaBody-style trapeze with plenty of time to play, fly, and hang upside down in the rigs. For older kid yogis, it’s a natural addition to yoga class. And, it’s just plain fun.
All trapeze classes are limited to 8 years and older because students must be able to follow directions for safety on the rigs. Additionally, classes are limited to a maximum of ten (10) students.
Tween Yoga (Ages 9-12) provides a non-competitive environment for older children to explore more complex poses and asana than in classes for younger children as well breathing exercises, movement games, mindfulness activities, and much-needed relaxation techniques.
Students learn techniques for concentrating, reducing stress, and connecting to their bodies in a loving way, while still being playful and fun. Classes often revolve around a philosophical theme and may include discussion, journaling, or mindful art.
This class provides a non-competitive environment for teens and preteens to explore more complex poses and asana than in classes for younger children as well breathing exercises, movement games, mindfulness activities, and much-needed relaxation techniques.
Students learn techniques for concentrating, reducing stress, and connecting to their bodies in a loving way, while still being playful and fun. Classes often revolve around a philosophical theme and may include discussion, journaling, or mindful art.
Individual classes may be for more specific age ranges, so see descriptions for details.
In this all-levels yoga class, students will cultivate the flexibility, concentration and strength needed during the transformative time of pregnancy and childbirth. Enjoy the community of other pregnant parents while we practice modified yoga postures, breath work, vocal toning, meditation, and relaxation. No previous yoga experience necessary.
Our Tot Yoga (crawling-24 months) and Preschooler Yoga (21 months-4 yrs) have a 3 month age overlap on purpose. Personality, more than physical development, should be the deciding factor between the two classes.
Tot Yoga tends to be a quieter class with more repetition from week to week, so suits more reserved toddlers better.
Preschooler / Little Family Yoga tends to be louder and move move more quickly from activity to activity to suit the energy level of 2-4 yr olds. Little Family Yoga requires more verbal direction following, incorporates more imaginative play, and typically involves less physical helping from parents. Very active almost-2 year olds often do well in this class because the social environment challenges them more than that of the younger group. Younger siblings accustomed to the energy and speed of older toddlers and preschoolers tend to enjoy this class as well, even if they are not able to do every pose.
Toddler Family Yoga (walking-4 yrs) is a crossover class which is very much like Little Family Yoga with some adaptations 12-21 month old students.
Classes are most likely in Drummond Hall on the first floor. Check the info board by the reception office at the 9th Street entrance (ground floor.)
All strollers should be parked on the ground floor, near the kitchen. There is also a bicycle rack at the top of the 9th Street driveway.
Please plan to leave all non-valuable personal items outside or store them on the shelves in the classroom to keep the floors clear. There will be a coat rack in the hallway outside the classroom for your coats and larger bags.
Hill Center is an easy walk from Eastern Market metro and bus stops.
Street parking can be found on Pennsylvania Avenue or E Street. Please do not park in the very small Hill Center lot. That is reserved for loading and staff use.
Parents and children should still wait on the ground floor for classes to start, if the room isn’t open yet. There is usually seating near the kitchen and always seating in reception.
Breathing Space Family Yoga’s studio is located at 641 Pennsylvania Ave SE (map), Lower Level. (Some families may remember this as the old Realignment Studio or Capitol Hill Yoga space.) The studio is easily reached by the Eastern Market metro stop and several buses along Pennsylvania Avenue or 8th Street St.
All of our classes are on the lower level, down a flight of stairs.
Both children and adults are kindly asked to remove their shoes before entering the classroom space.
Cubbies are available in the classroom space for storing personal belongings.
Please pack dirty diapers away with you.
Small folding strollers are welcome inside, but please leave jogging-style or bulky strollers locked to the bike rack or otherwise secured outside. For safety reasons, strollers cannot be left in the stairway or on landings.
Eastern Market studio lobbyEastern Market studio prop areaEastern Market studio main classroom
Directions
Breathing Space is on the south side of Pennsylvania Avenue. Look for the glass door with our lotus flower logo.
From the Eastern Market Metro: From the top of the escalator or elevator, turn around to face 7th Street SE. Cross 7th Street and walk along Pennsylvania Avenue on the same side of the street toward the Capitol.
Parking: Metered parking is available on Pennsylvania Avenue, and 2 hr parking is available on many of the nearby residential streets. There are garages underneath 660 Penn (Penn Medical) and 700 Penn (Trader Joe’s).
Studio Etiquette
Please leave shoes and coats in the lobby area along with bulky non-valuables. Bring valuables – phones and wallets – into the studio space and store them on the cubby shelves. While we do lock the studio door once class begins, we cannot be responsible for missing valuables.
Please leave all toys and lovies in bags, completely out of sight. Consider leaving water bottles in your bags during toddler classes. Water bottles are shockingly distracting, both for their owner and other children. Adults and older children/teens should feel free to have their bottles with them.
There is a changing table in the right side bathroom, but diapers may be changed wherever is comfortable for you and your child. However, there is no daily trash pickup at the studio. Please pack dirty diapers away with you.
If you are running late . . .
Don’t worry. You can let us know – text: 202-544-0434.
We lock the door after the welcome song or the initial warmup. If the teacher knows you are coming, they can leave the door open for you. For kids’ classes, it is totally ok to ring the bell or knock to get the instructor’s attention if the door is locked. Be aware that you may need to wait a few minutes if the instructor is engaged in an activity.
If you are entering late, please do so as discreetly as possible. The instructor will assist you with setting up if necessary. Please make eye contact in case your instructor has laid a place for you.
Please note that the warmup in adult class serves an important safety function. If you join late, take a couple of minutes to do some gentle movements before jumping into the instructor’s sequence.
Loaner Yoga Mats
We have a number of studio mats that we can loan out. If you are using one for an adult class, we request that you wipe it down afterward. Look for the teal blue disinfecting wipes near the mats or on the white cubbies.
Stroller Parking
Families are welcome to lock strollers up out front. We provide a cable and lock (check your registration receipt or ask your instructor for the code)
Families may also bring strollers downstairs if they can be safely carried down. Please fold strollers whenever possible to reduce tripping hazards in the lobby. Strollers cannot be left in the entryway, even folded, because they are a fire hazard.
Finding good stroller parking out front isn’t always easy. We have arranged for additional stroller parking around the corner. Let us know if you will need a lock (text: 202-544-0434), and we’ll bring one out. On rainy days, we will provide a tarp as well.
The most prominent part of the building is the Nave, or sanctuary. For BSFY events, enter through the A-Street courtyard. Use the door by the bike racks and take the stairs or elevator to the left of the entry way. Classes are most typically in the dance studio on the second floor. Camps are held on the basement level.
Strollers can be left in the lobby downstairs or brought up and stored outside of the studio door.
Please remove shoes before entering the dance studio.
Infant Massage classes involve a full-body massage with oil for baby. We provide sunflower or safflower oil and a bottle for you to use at home. Please contact us if you have allergy concerns and need an alternative oil.
Please bring a baby blanket or towel to cover our mats/blankets and a small toy to use during class.
Expect your baby to be a baby and know that their voice is welcome. Crying, eating, diaper changes, and sleeping is all perfectly fine during class.
Please bring only water or milk/formula in closed top containers into the yoga classroom. Feeding your baby – breast or bottle – is always welcome.
Please wear comfortable clothes that will allow you to sit on the floor and move around easily (jeans are typically not ideal).
Taking this Class as a Self-Paced Course or Live Zoom Class
You will need oil. We recommend cold pressed, organic safflower or sunflower oil, but many families prefer others. Choose a high-quality food-grade oil so you do not need to worry if baby mouths a recently massaged body part. Some families like coconut oil for topical application. Olive oil can be a bit more irritating over time than some other options, but is still a good choice if that’s what you have on hand.
Please bring a baby blanket or towel to cover our mats/blankets and a small toy to use during class.
Expect your baby to be a baby. Crying, eating, diaper changes, and sleeping is all perfectly fine during a live class. If you are using our self-paced modules, feel free to take breaks as needed or do just part of the routine.
Breathing Space has had a chronic problem of last minute additions to camp aftercare. While accommodating one or two campers isn’t usually a problem, sometimes we get half a dozen last minute additions in the week before a camp and sometimes several on the morning of camp.
We get that life is sometimes unpredictable and last minute changes happen and want to help, but we suspect a fair amount of the last minute additions are caused by parents not being sure of their after camp plan when they sign up and then forgetting to do anything about it until days before or even the day of camp.
Last minute additions to aftercare sometimes leave us or the Labyrinth education director scrambling to add staff to aftercare or push us over our desired camper to staff ratios.
Aftercare costs $16 per day until two weeks before camp. After that, it’s $20 per day.
Breathing Space is happy to offer gift certificates, but does not have an automated system for redeeming them. Gift certificate purchases must be done in advance and cannot be redeemed in person at class.
To redeem:
Step 1: Create your account in our registration system. Please add any relevant family members.
If you include class or camp registration instructions in the email, we will set everything up and send you a confirmation. If not, we’ll send you a notice when your credit has been applied and you can
Step 3: Register online
Please contact us if you have questions.
Please note that we process credits as quickly as possible, but it may take a few days to complete your request.
Open Barre is located at 7338 Baltimore Avenue, Suite 200, in College Park, Maryland in the College Park Shopping Center. The studio is right above Cava and Starbucks.
You can find Open Barre by going all the way up the stairs next to Starbucks (if you park in the main front lot), or you can come in through the office building behind the main shopping center (if you park in the back lot).
The parking lot is on Knox Road, across the street from South Campus Commons and adjacent to Knox Towers. Parking is free on Sundays, when early childhood classes are held at this location.
Accessing this space does require stairs. There are fewer if you enter from the back lot. Strollers that are small or can be folded may be left in the hallway outside of the studio or secured to the fence in the rear parking lot. Please do not bring strollers into the studio, and do not block stairs, doorways, or walking paths with strollers.
The building is located at the corner of Sherman Ave and Columbia Rd NW.
The Brazilian American Cultural Center is located at 3001 Sherman Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001. This location hosts weekly early childhood classes. We are pleased to offer early childhood, family and baby yoga there starting in January 2023.
Yoga Heights Takoma Park is located at 255 Carroll Street NW, Washington, DC 20012. This location hosts baby yoga, infant massage, tot yoga, and preschooler yoga. Classes are available on weekdays and Sunday mornings.
Street parking is generally available nearby, and it is walking distance from the Takoma Park metro and bus stops.
The studio has a ground level entrance with no steps required. There is plenty of space in the lobby for stroller parking.
Jen brings a sense of joy and playfulness to her classes – both the adult and kids classes – and hopes to offer her students freedom she finds in yoga. She founded Breathing Space to create hub for family yoga on Capitol Hill and share her enthusiasm for age- and developmentally-appropriate poses, games, and songs with yogis of all ages.
Why Breathing Space?
Like so many, Jen first came to the yoga mat because of an injury, seeking nothing more than to feel better and balance her body for running. She comes back to the mat because yoga invites her to embrace her body and mind with all its imperfections and then to look beyond them to the greater Self.
When she became a mother, her yoga practice became even more important: for building strength and flexibility, as relief for the discomforts of pregnancy and then the stresses of parenthood, as a reminder of the miracle of the human body and of her own resources and capabilities, and a regular connection to her breath and true Self during a time of significant identity changes. Her weekly baby yoga class during maternity leave encouraged her to embrace her daughter in the same loving, non-judgemental way that her own practice did for herself.
After thoroughly enjoying baby yoga classes with her daughter during maternity leave and being unable to find an Itsy Bitsy class that fit her schedule after going back to work, Jen stumbled on a listing for Itsy Bitsy Yoga facilitators training . . . and signed up. That turned out to be the first step on new path.
Jen is a Yoga Alliance® Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher (E-RTY 200) and Registered Children’s Yoga Teacher (RCTY). She is also a Certified Educator of Infant Massage (CEIM) through Infant Massage USA and an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC).
Before turning her attention to yoga full time, Jen spent more than a decade working with non- profit organizations in everything from daily operations, event and volunteer management, and finance to national policy advocacy and media relations. Jen holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Massachusetts and a Master in Public Management degree from the University of Maryland. Her experience in social change movements and managing charitable organizations has been extremely helpful when working with schools and community organizations to implement yoga and mindfulness programs for children
Jessica LaGarde has been teaching creative movement in the metro area since 2005 and is passionate about helping children discover and explore their bodies and the world around them. She was trained by Joye Newman, MA to teach preschool creative movement for Kids’ Moving Company, a Bethesda-based creative movement studio. In 2017, she completed her Baby, Toddler, and Children’s Yoga Teacher Training through Childlight Yoga and has worked with Breathing Space Family Yoga ever since. Jessica teaches classes for infants-adults, directs BSFY yoga camps, and does much of the behind the scenes business administration.
In addition to working with children, Jessica is a registered massage practitioner and is trained in infant massage instruction. She has practiced massage since 2006 and taught massage as part of Potomac Massage Training Institute’s professional training program. She maintains a private massage practice through Shine Massage & Wellness in College Park, MD.
Outside of the movement space and massage room, she enjoys cooking, knitting, gardening, coffee, reading non-fiction, and exploring the outdoors with her daughter.
AJ Hiskey (RYT-200) is an enthusiastic and personable teacher. Born and raised in the DC area. AJ completed her Yoga-Alliance certified training in 2018 with plans to teach adults, but fell in love with teaching children young and old!
AJ teaches a variety of classes from tots to trapeze. Always a kid at heart, she connects easily with children and loves sharing her passions of yoga, meditation, and mindfulness.
When she’s not on the mat, AJ loves being outdoors. She enjoys hiking, camping, swimming, or reading a good book in the sunshine. If she’s indoors, she’s probably rooting for a DC sports team (whether they’re winning or losing!) A life-long cheerleader for not only her favorite teams, but also her friends, family and students; she loves supporting others and helping them to be their best in body, mind and spirit.
Betsy Poos (E-RYT 500, RPYT, YACEP) is a lifelong student of movement and mindfulness. A DC yoga teacher since 2005, she’s honored to be a part of the Breathing Space Family Yoga community teaching preteens, teens and adults.
Betsy is known for her warm energy and informed alignment cues. Her true magic comes in making each practice equally accessible and challenging.
Betsy holds certifications in hatha yoga, Yogahour, pre/postnatal yoga, personal training, and sports nutrition. A consummate student, she is currently completing training to be a Registered Children’s Yoga Teacher specializing in adolescents ages 11-18.
Betsy’s motivation to expand her teaching to teens has come as she’s begun navigating these waters within her own family. Always eager to expand and create, she is an avid dreamer (and doer), reader, and writer. She also makes a point of taking time to pause and believes the best days are nap days.
Betsy lives in Washington, D.C. with her incredibly patient husband, two strong willed daughters, and lovable boston terrier.
Irene Alexandra is a New York native who grew up as a competitive dancer. During her college years, she embarked on her yoga and mindfulness journey. During her journey, she received her BA in Ancient History, MA in Ancient History, MA in Education, and began a career teaching special needs students. Shortly after, she received her RYT-200 Certification and 95-Hour Special Needs and Children’s Yoga Certification. Irene is very enthusiastic about uniting mindfulness and yoga with traditional education, and works to educate others on tools and practices to bring mindfulness and awareness into the classroom and community.
During the summer of 2020, Irene was diagnosed with a rare cancer called Ewing’s Sarcoma, which she has been in remission from since the summer of 2021. While those who undergo chemotherapy and cancer treatment do experience a wide range of grueling physical, mental, and emotional side-effects, she credits yoga and mindfulness to helping to ease those side effects (including neuropathy, and emotional and mental well-being).
In her spare time, Irene loves to spend time with her puppies (Bacchus and Circe), read, travel, enjoy nature and the beach, and create new plant-based recipes.
Lauren Mae works with yogis of all ages to encourage self-connection, compassion, and confidence. She earned her 200 HR YTT certification in December 2022 and has experience teaching yoga to Pre-K and Kindergartners. She hopes to help students discover and grow their innate mindfulness superpowers.
Having survived childhood trauma, Lauren is passionate about providing kids with a safe and empowering yoga experience. She helps her students get to know their unique inner strength and cultivate it to carry off the mat and into life. Lauren is a yoga universalist and takes particular influence from vinyasa, yin, kundalini, and restorative yoga.
Camille Cobbs began her yoga journey in San Francisco in 2013. She stumbled into a level 3 Baptiste Power Flow class not knowing exactly what she’d signed up for, but the sweat, challenge, and positive affirmations inspired her to return week after week. In 2020, yoga became a refuge during one of the most difficult years of our generation. Her practice became a daily requirement, helping her to prioritize mental health, self-care, and healthy movement.
In 2021, she was inspired to complete her yoga teacher training and gained certification in early 2022. Since the completion of her 200 hours, Camille has returned to her power flow roots as an instructor, teaching adult classes around the DC area. She has also been able to reconnect with her passion for early childhood education by teaching a wide range of yoga classes for kids, from Pre-K to middle school. All of Camille’s classes are upbeat, full of music, and focused on self-love and self-study.
Candace Glover is a yoga teacher with the Breathing Space DC. Drawn to the mission of promoting positive community and holistic knowledge, this Washingtonian dedicated her life to helping those in her community achieve overall well-being when she started teaching in 2017. With a 200-accredited hour certification, a 300 CYT and a passion for all things yoga, she flexes her yogic muscles every day by empowering others through versatile mindfulness practices while stimulating the hearts and minds of the DMV’s youth. This former flight attendant uses her worldly influence and desire for mixing things up to engage students as they explore the 8 limbs of yoga. Candace seeks to provide an authentic outlook on the holistic approach by leading by example. Having known the struggle of acceptance and identity growing up, it became very important for Ms.Glover to share the empowering tools she uses every day with herself to provide an embrace of individuality with today’s youth. Understanding that true love starts with self and with it we can accomplish anything, she has made it a top priority to make sure all students she interacts with know the importance of self-love and appreciation. Candace studied human services and general studies at Stevenson University.
Carly Aull has been teaching at Breathing Space Family Yoga since 2021. After practicing yoga for about a decade, she decided to become a certified teacher during lockdown. With little outside distraction at that time, she practiced yoga all day every day and developed a much deeper connection and passion for both learning about it and teaching it. Previously, Carly had been a swim coach and one of the families she taught suggested teaching yoga to kids in addition to adults. She absolutely loves working with kids, and her main focus in class is meditation and developing greater self-awareness. She loves to see students progress by learning to sit in stillness with themselves a little bit longer each class.
Jacque Souza (RYT-500) was born and raised in Brazil. She loves dancing, traveling and studying the healing process through the body-mind. Jacque has been practicing yoga since 2011, and graduated from the Sarasvati Yoga School of Medellin teacher training program in 2015.
Jacque has taught yoga since 2016 and specializes in prenatal yoga, yoga for family, kids and teenagers and Thai Body Work. Her classes offer students an alignment based yoga practice designed to create spaciousness in the body, mind, and spirit. Jacque shares with students methods for reducing stress, enhancing well-being, and bringing peace into their daily lives.
Lili Wilson is a native Washingtonian and product of DC public schools. Lili graduated with a BA in Sociology from Spelman College in 2000. She went on to earn a Master of Divinity from Candler School of Theology at Emory University.
In April 2015, Lili initiated The Beautiful Dawn LLC, a lifestyle brand that primarily inspires young ladies and women to live genuine, bold, passionate lives. In 2016, Lili was trained in children’s yoga and mindfulness at Circle Yoga. For the past several years, she’s taught yoga and mindfulness to children. In Summer of 2020, Lili completed 200 (RYT) hours with Be Here Now Yoga and Wellness. In Spring 2021, Lili received a certificate in teaching mindfulness to children with the Interdependence Project.
In addition to self-care, Lili’s passion is singing and songwriting. She has been touring and recording with gospel, pop, and RnB artists since the age of 15. In Fall 2019, Lili’s talents landed her the tour of her life, Hans Zimmer Live, with movie composer Hans Zimmer.
Lili’s desire is to encourage self-care and self-love, by incorporating her gifts of music, intuitive mediumship, and healing. She is the proud mother of one daughter, Alaia Mary.
Kathy Foltin teaches All Levels Yoga (Adults) at Breathing Space Family Yoga. What Kathy loves about yoga is that there is a practice for everyone. Since 2000, she has been exploring yoga’s rich traditions, from vigorous to restorative, discovering that in yoga we can find what we need and uncover our best selves. Kathy shares her love of yoga with others in encouraging, playful alignment-based vinyasa classes that allow students to gain confidence and feel comfortable exploring poses, mindfulness, and linking breath with movement in a safe, inviting environment. She received her 200 hour certification in 2012, and her 500 hour certification in 2018.
Tamar Lewkowitz received her RYT 200 Vinyasa Certificate in 2015 after graduating from college with a Bachelor’s degree in special education. Tamar spent a year abroad teaching English and volunteering at a special education school to teach yoga to students. Upon returning to the U.S., Tamar moved to the DMV area teaching K-3 special education at The Katherine Thomas School.
Tamar went on to receive her Budding Yogis Certificate and Kids with Special Needs Yoga Certificate from Circle Yoga in 2017, and she received her Chair Yoga Certificate from YogaVista Academy in 2019.
Tamar has brought yoga and movement into the classroom, and has seen firsthand how yoga and mindfulness can directly impact students’ regulation, self-image, and connection to the world around them.
In her spare time, Tamar loves being outdoors in nature hiking, cooking, and spending time with her two young nieces.
After discovering the healing power of yoga and mindfulness in 2014, Shara began her practice using old yoga books bought from antique shops. Since then, she has continued to take yoga classes at her college while saving up for training and certification.
Shara has worked in summer camps for the past 6 years as both a counselor and an assistant director. 2018 was her first summer in DC and her first summer on the Kid’s Yoga Summer Camp team, where she works excitedly and happily with Jen, Jessica, and the rest of the summer team to share yoga and mindfulness with the children of Washington, DC.
Shara loves the energized and enthusiastic curiosity of children, as well as their unending empathy and kindness, and hopes to help them maintain those traits as they age by practicing yoga and mindfulness regularly. She also hopes to attend graduate school for social work in order to create services and policies which extend this and like opportunities to children throughout the US.
When she’s not practicing yoga or assisting in its instruction, Shara enjoys spending her time bird-watching, walking dogs, hanging out with her cat/travel buddy, and making soap, lip balm, or other organic toiletries.
This class incorporates traditional yoga asana, breathwork, and relaxation but is based around our YogaBody-style yoga trapeze rigs. Practicing on the suspension rigs allow us to build core strength, functional upper body strength, and balance while we explore postures in different relationships to gravity and cultivate mindfulness and relaxation.
Class is limited to a maximum of ten (10) students. Drop-ins welcome when space allows.
Baby Yoga & Play classes are offered in 4-8-week series. Full registration required, no drop-ins.
We know it’s hard to get out of the house with a newborn, that naps are sometimes unpredictable, and life can be complicated . . . and that’s why we require series registration for this class.
Committing to the whole series makes it infinitely more likely that you actually attend. It far too easy to say “oh, I’ll go next week” if you are planning on dropping in. If you end up with an unavoidable conflict, illness, or disrupted nap-time, you can take advantage of our generous makeup policy.
Flexibility in Baby Yoga & Play
Because it’s hard to convince babies to be born and maternity leaves to be set on our schedule, we offer lots of flexibility:
Generous Makeup Options – If students must miss a class, they are welcome to
attend any other family yoga class as a makeup within the same timeframe, or
Any of baby’s favorite grownups are welcome in this class – mom, dad, grandparent, nanny . . . and the same adult need not attend each time. Registration is for one adult-baby on a weekly basis, but occasional visitors are welcome to attend as well.
Late or Partial Registration: If there is room in the class once the series begins, late registration will remain open for the first 1/3 of the series. Registration automatically prorates. If you can’t complete a series but can commit to 2/3 of the series in consecutive weeks – say because you are going back to work before our series ends – contact us about partial enrollment.
So what does this mean?
If a full series conflicts with work or travel, feel free to attend multiple times a week during the weeks you can attend.
If you are going back to work and baby will be home with a nanny or other caregiver, feel free to have them attend in your stead.
Still not sure if Baby Yoga & Play is right for you? That’s why we have a no-risk registration policy. If you attend your first class and decide it’s not a good fit, we make it easy to drop a class series. Read all of our class policies and FAQs.
Refunds requested using the form below will be issued based on the following policies:
Single Date Non-Camp Workshops
Workshops are classes that meet only once, including pop-up classes, which are individual date classes of a type that normally meet for multiple weeks, eg. Baby Yoga & Play, Family Yoga, etc.
More Than 7 Days Before Session/Event: Refund or credit issued in full minus a $5 or 4% processing fee (whichever is larger).
More Than 48 Hours Before Session/Event: Refund issued in at 80% or minus minimum $5 processing fee.
No refunds within 48 hours of an event. For recurring workshops such as Intro to Yoga Trapeze, registration may be rescheduled to a future date one time if you notify us before (or during) your scheduled class.
Because your reservation represents a space in class or camp that was held for you and not available for purchase by other students, there are no refunds issued after the dates listed above. Under extraordinary circumstances, we will suspend registration to be used in a later session.
Drop-in Registration is Non-Refundable
A drop-in is a single date registration for a multi-week class (available only for adult classes).
Each drop-in reservations may be rescheduled once at no charge as long as you notify us before or even during class: Simply let us know by email which class you will miss and include the name and email you used when registering along with your preferred make-up date. No reschedules after the fact.
Prenatal drop-ins that are no longer relevant can be transferred to credit for future reservations: If you unexpectedly gave birth before using a drop-in, we will transfer the credit to a general account credit that can be used for baby, children’s or other adult programming.
If we cancel a class or a workshop, we will issue refunds or credits depending on student preference.
Baby Yoga & Play classes do use yoga mats, but most venues have enough to lend if you’d rather not carry one.
Please bring a baby blanket to cover our mats/blankets and a small toy to use during class.
Expect your baby to be a baby and know that their voice is welcome. Crying, eating, diaper changes, and sleeping is all perfectly fine during class.
Please bring only water or milk/formula in closed top containers into the yoga classroom. Feeding your baby – breast or bottle – is always welcome.
Please wear comfortable, stretchy clothes. While this is a movement class, it is not what most would describe as a workout, so full yoga/exercise attire is not necessary. Wear clothing that will allow you to sit on the floor and move around easily (jeans are typically not ideal).
Parents/caregivers fully participate so should wear comfortable clothing and be prepared to move. The more yoga you do, the more your child will do (even if not until you get home).
No yoga experience required for either parent or child.
Yoga mats are not used in this class except during the last few minutes for relaxation. Feel free to bring your own or borrow one of ours.
Let go of expectations: We don’t expect full participation by children, and sometimes hardly any on the first day. Some children will be most comfortable observing and some might even wander the room and appear not to be participating. This is all developmentally appropriate and totally fine. Yes, try to engage your child in class, but feel free to simply relax and enjoy your child however they choose to participate.
No food in the studio. Please bring only water or milk/formula in closed top containers into the yoga classroom, but consider leaving them tucked away in your bag. Interest in water bottles is contagious and few children truly need a water break during a 45 min class. Breastfeeding is always welcome.
Please no photos during class. Not all parents are equally comfortable with having their children photographed and phones are potentially distracting to toddlers who are pretty savvy about what they do. If you would like photos of your little one doing yoga, please take them before or after class or during the last two weeks of the class when the instructor suggests group photos. If one of our instructors takes photos at any time, feel free to request a copy of your child or watch for logo-ed version to turn up on our social media sites so you can re-share.
Things to leave at home: Toys, stuffed friends, and even lovies (if at all possible). Very special friends can watch class from the the shelves if necessary, but toys of any kind just cause conflict in class.
Baby Yoga & Play classes, for newborn to pre-crawling babies and their grownup(s), contains dozens of yoga-inspired movements, postures, songs, rhymes and activities designed to support baby’s development. Each class is filled with calming, nurturing ways to enhance bonding, soothe the inevitable cranky moments, and improve baby’s sleep.
Babies participate while on their backs, tummies, or held in loving arms. For grownups, this class is a special opportunity to meet other parents and caregivers, get support, and learn about baby’s emerging personality.
Grownups will also get to do a bit of postpartum-appropriate yoga themselves, including strength- and flexibility-building postures, breathing exercises, and relaxation techniques to address common physical complaints and mental/emotional stressors during the new-parent period.
Most appropriate from 6-weeks until baby is mobile. Moms, dads, grandparents or other caregivers welcome. No previous yoga experience necessary; be prepared/dressed for movement.
Tot Yoga classes, for crawling or nearly crawling babies to 24-month-old toddlers, are engaging and fun. Class incorporates tot-centric yoga poses, dance and creative movement, songs, stories, and games as children learn yoga through social interaction, repetition, and play.
This class is for newly mobile babies to pre-verbal toddlers still finding their footing. This class moves a little slower than our other early childhood classes and features lots of repetitions. Parents help tots execute poses as much or as little as suits each adult-child pair.
We encourage each child to embrace their own unique expression of yoga poses while supporting their development and growth. Parents and children playfully move together through poses, songs, and activities appropriate for crawlers and walkers.
Registration is by child and includes up to two caregivers on a weekly basis. Any of your child’s favorite grownups is welcome and the same grownup need not attend every class.
Toddler Family Yoga classes, for walking toddlers to 4-year-old preschoolers, are engaging and fun. Class incorporates age-appropriate yoga poses, dance and creative movement, songs, stories, and games as children learn yoga through social interaction, repetition, and play.
Yoga helps toddlers, and preschoolers explore movement milestones, gain confidence, build strength and fitness, learn a tool for self-regulation, connect with parents and caregivers, and set the foundation for healthy body attitudes and a fit lifestyle.
Classes incorporate imagination, songs, words and stories and age-appropriate postures and activities as parents and children playfully move together. We encourage each child to embrace their own unique expression of yoga poses while supporting their development and growth.
Toddler Family Yoga is a crossover class featuring activities from both our Tot Yoga and Little Family Yoga repertoire.
Registration is by child and includes up to two caregivers on a weekly basis. Any of your child’s favorite grownups is welcome and the same grownup need not attend every class.
Younger siblings are welcome in class. Registration is required for 1 year old or walking siblings. Sibling discount (50%) is automatic. Non-walking infants may attend free.
Little Family Yoga classes for 21-month-old toddlers to 4-year-old preschoolers, with their favorite grownup, are engaging and fun. Class incorporates age-appropriate yogaposes, dance and creative movement, songs, stories, and games as children learn yoga through social interaction, repetition, and play.
Yoga can help preschoolers learn how to relieve frustration, improve motor skills, and increase attention span by actively following directions.
Class incorporates more storytelling and imaginative play and movements tend to be faster with these confident movers.
Registration is by child and includes up to two caregivers on a weekly basis. Any of your child’s favorite grownups is welcome and the same grownup need not attend every class.
Younger siblings are welcome in class. Registration is required for 1 year old or walking siblings. Sibling discount (50%) is automatic. Non-walking infants may attend free.
Kids Yoga helps children learn techniques for concentrating, reducing stress, and connecting to their bodies in a loving way while having fun. Breathing Space classes incorporate age-appropriate poses, breathing, movement, games, mindfulness activities, music, and sometimes art.
A kids yoga class encourages children to move creatively in a non-competitive environment while honoring each child’s unique expression of the poses. Classes often revolve around a philosophical or natural theme and always include some form of quiet relaxation.
Individual classes may be for more specific age ranges, so see descriptions for details.
Family Yoga & Mindfulness is structured like an age-appropriate kids class – with yoga poses, sequences, mindfulness activities, songs, and games, and an emphasis activities for parents and children to do together. Classes often revolve around philosophical, seasonal, or narrative themes and always include some form of quiet relaxation. No yoga experience required for either parent or child.
family yoga
Parents should plan to fully participate in family classes. One adult must be present, up to two adults are welcome on weekly basis, and the same adult need not be present every time.
Age ranges and sibling policies vary by offering, so read individual registration descriptions for details. Generally, class is appropriate for siblings 1 year younger than the stated range. Sibling discounts are automatic.
Early Childhood Yoga and Family Yoga classes are registered per child with additional siblings at half price.
This class incorporates traditional yoga asana, breath work, relaxation, and postures adapted for the YogaBody-style trapeze with plenty of time to play, fly, and hang upside down in the rigs. For older kid yogis, it’s a natural addition to yoga class. And, it’s just plain fun.
All trapeze classes are limited to 8 years and older because students must be able to follow directions for safety on the rigs. Additionally, classes are limited to a maximum of ten (10) students.
Tween Yoga (Ages 9-12) provides a non-competitive environment for older children to explore more complex poses and asana than in classes for younger children as well breathing exercises, movement games, mindfulness activities, and much-needed relaxation techniques.
Students learn techniques for concentrating, reducing stress, and connecting to their bodies in a loving way, while still being playful and fun. Classes often revolve around a philosophical theme and may include discussion, journaling, or mindful art.
This class provides a non-competitive environment for teens and preteens to explore more complex poses and asana than in classes for younger children as well breathing exercises, movement games, mindfulness activities, and much-needed relaxation techniques.
Students learn techniques for concentrating, reducing stress, and connecting to their bodies in a loving way, while still being playful and fun. Classes often revolve around a philosophical theme and may include discussion, journaling, or mindful art.
Individual classes may be for more specific age ranges, so see descriptions for details.
In this all-levels yoga class, students will cultivate the flexibility, concentration and strength needed during the transformative time of pregnancy and childbirth. Enjoy the community of other pregnant parents while we practice modified yoga postures, breath work, vocal toning, meditation, and relaxation. No previous yoga experience necessary.
Our Tot Yoga (crawling-24 months) and Preschooler Yoga (21 months-4 yrs) have a 3 month age overlap on purpose. Personality, more than physical development, should be the deciding factor between the two classes.
Tot Yoga tends to be a quieter class with more repetition from week to week, so suits more reserved toddlers better.
Preschooler / Little Family Yoga tends to be louder and move move more quickly from activity to activity to suit the energy level of 2-4 yr olds. Little Family Yoga requires more verbal direction following, incorporates more imaginative play, and typically involves less physical helping from parents. Very active almost-2 year olds often do well in this class because the social environment challenges them more than that of the younger group. Younger siblings accustomed to the energy and speed of older toddlers and preschoolers tend to enjoy this class as well, even if they are not able to do every pose.
Toddler Family Yoga (walking-4 yrs) is a crossover class which is very much like Little Family Yoga with some adaptations 12-21 month old students.
Classes are most likely in Drummond Hall on the first floor. Check the info board by the reception office at the 9th Street entrance (ground floor.)
All strollers should be parked on the ground floor, near the kitchen. There is also a bicycle rack at the top of the 9th Street driveway.
Please plan to leave all non-valuable personal items outside or store them on the shelves in the classroom to keep the floors clear. There will be a coat rack in the hallway outside the classroom for your coats and larger bags.
Hill Center is an easy walk from Eastern Market metro and bus stops.
Street parking can be found on Pennsylvania Avenue or E Street. Please do not park in the very small Hill Center lot. That is reserved for loading and staff use.
Parents and children should still wait on the ground floor for classes to start, if the room isn’t open yet. There is usually seating near the kitchen and always seating in reception.
Breathing Space Family Yoga’s studio is located at 641 Pennsylvania Ave SE (map), Lower Level. (Some families may remember this as the old Realignment Studio or Capitol Hill Yoga space.) The studio is easily reached by the Eastern Market metro stop and several buses along Pennsylvania Avenue or 8th Street St.
All of our classes are on the lower level, down a flight of stairs.
Both children and adults are kindly asked to remove their shoes before entering the classroom space.
Cubbies are available in the classroom space for storing personal belongings.
Please pack dirty diapers away with you.
Small folding strollers are welcome inside, but please leave jogging-style or bulky strollers locked to the bike rack or otherwise secured outside. For safety reasons, strollers cannot be left in the stairway or on landings.
Eastern Market studio lobbyEastern Market studio prop areaEastern Market studio main classroom
Directions
Breathing Space is on the south side of Pennsylvania Avenue. Look for the glass door with our lotus flower logo.
From the Eastern Market Metro: From the top of the escalator or elevator, turn around to face 7th Street SE. Cross 7th Street and walk along Pennsylvania Avenue on the same side of the street toward the Capitol.
Parking: Metered parking is available on Pennsylvania Avenue, and 2 hr parking is available on many of the nearby residential streets. There are garages underneath 660 Penn (Penn Medical) and 700 Penn (Trader Joe’s).
Studio Etiquette
Please leave shoes and coats in the lobby area along with bulky non-valuables. Bring valuables – phones and wallets – into the studio space and store them on the cubby shelves. While we do lock the studio door once class begins, we cannot be responsible for missing valuables.
Please leave all toys and lovies in bags, completely out of sight. Consider leaving water bottles in your bags during toddler classes. Water bottles are shockingly distracting, both for their owner and other children. Adults and older children/teens should feel free to have their bottles with them.
There is a changing table in the right side bathroom, but diapers may be changed wherever is comfortable for you and your child. However, there is no daily trash pickup at the studio. Please pack dirty diapers away with you.
If you are running late . . .
Don’t worry. You can let us know – text: 202-544-0434.
We lock the door after the welcome song or the initial warmup. If the teacher knows you are coming, they can leave the door open for you. For kids’ classes, it is totally ok to ring the bell or knock to get the instructor’s attention if the door is locked. Be aware that you may need to wait a few minutes if the instructor is engaged in an activity.
If you are entering late, please do so as discreetly as possible. The instructor will assist you with setting up if necessary. Please make eye contact in case your instructor has laid a place for you.
Please note that the warmup in adult class serves an important safety function. If you join late, take a couple of minutes to do some gentle movements before jumping into the instructor’s sequence.
Loaner Yoga Mats
We have a number of studio mats that we can loan out. If you are using one for an adult class, we request that you wipe it down afterward. Look for the teal blue disinfecting wipes near the mats or on the white cubbies.
Stroller Parking
Families are welcome to lock strollers up out front. We provide a cable and lock (check your registration receipt or ask your instructor for the code)
Families may also bring strollers downstairs if they can be safely carried down. Please fold strollers whenever possible to reduce tripping hazards in the lobby. Strollers cannot be left in the entryway, even folded, because they are a fire hazard.
Finding good stroller parking out front isn’t always easy. We have arranged for additional stroller parking around the corner. Let us know if you will need a lock (text: 202-544-0434), and we’ll bring one out. On rainy days, we will provide a tarp as well.
The most prominent part of the building is the Nave, or sanctuary. For BSFY events, enter through the A-Street courtyard. Use the door by the bike racks and take the stairs or elevator to the left of the entry way. Classes are most typically in the dance studio on the second floor. Camps are held on the basement level.
Strollers can be left in the lobby downstairs or brought up and stored outside of the studio door.
Please remove shoes before entering the dance studio.
Infant Massage classes involve a full-body massage with oil for baby. We provide sunflower or safflower oil and a bottle for you to use at home. Please contact us if you have allergy concerns and need an alternative oil.
Please bring a baby blanket or towel to cover our mats/blankets and a small toy to use during class.
Expect your baby to be a baby and know that their voice is welcome. Crying, eating, diaper changes, and sleeping is all perfectly fine during class.
Please bring only water or milk/formula in closed top containers into the yoga classroom. Feeding your baby – breast or bottle – is always welcome.
Please wear comfortable clothes that will allow you to sit on the floor and move around easily (jeans are typically not ideal).
Taking this Class as a Self-Paced Course or Live Zoom Class
You will need oil. We recommend cold pressed, organic safflower or sunflower oil, but many families prefer others. Choose a high-quality food-grade oil so you do not need to worry if baby mouths a recently massaged body part. Some families like coconut oil for topical application. Olive oil can be a bit more irritating over time than some other options, but is still a good choice if that’s what you have on hand.
Please bring a baby blanket or towel to cover our mats/blankets and a small toy to use during class.
Expect your baby to be a baby. Crying, eating, diaper changes, and sleeping is all perfectly fine during a live class. If you are using our self-paced modules, feel free to take breaks as needed or do just part of the routine.
Breathing Space has had a chronic problem of last minute additions to camp aftercare. While accommodating one or two campers isn’t usually a problem, sometimes we get half a dozen last minute additions in the week before a camp and sometimes several on the morning of camp.
We get that life is sometimes unpredictable and last minute changes happen and want to help, but we suspect a fair amount of the last minute additions are caused by parents not being sure of their after camp plan when they sign up and then forgetting to do anything about it until days before or even the day of camp.
Last minute additions to aftercare sometimes leave us or the Labyrinth education director scrambling to add staff to aftercare or push us over our desired camper to staff ratios.
Aftercare costs $16 per day until two weeks before camp. After that, it’s $20 per day.
Breathing Space is happy to offer gift certificates, but does not have an automated system for redeeming them. Gift certificate purchases must be done in advance and cannot be redeemed in person at class.
To redeem:
Step 1: Create your account in our registration system. Please add any relevant family members.
If you include class or camp registration instructions in the email, we will set everything up and send you a confirmation. If not, we’ll send you a notice when your credit has been applied and you can
Step 3: Register online
Please contact us if you have questions.
Please note that we process credits as quickly as possible, but it may take a few days to complete your request.
Open Barre is located at 7338 Baltimore Avenue, Suite 200, in College Park, Maryland in the College Park Shopping Center. The studio is right above Cava and Starbucks.
You can find Open Barre by going all the way up the stairs next to Starbucks (if you park in the main front lot), or you can come in through the office building behind the main shopping center (if you park in the back lot).
The parking lot is on Knox Road, across the street from South Campus Commons and adjacent to Knox Towers. Parking is free on Sundays, when early childhood classes are held at this location.
Accessing this space does require stairs. There are fewer if you enter from the back lot. Strollers that are small or can be folded may be left in the hallway outside of the studio or secured to the fence in the rear parking lot. Please do not bring strollers into the studio, and do not block stairs, doorways, or walking paths with strollers.
The building is located at the corner of Sherman Ave and Columbia Rd NW.
The Brazilian American Cultural Center is located at 3001 Sherman Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001. This location hosts weekly early childhood classes. We are pleased to offer early childhood, family and baby yoga there starting in January 2023.
Yoga Heights Takoma Park is located at 255 Carroll Street NW, Washington, DC 20012. This location hosts baby yoga, infant massage, tot yoga, and preschooler yoga. Classes are available on weekdays and Sunday mornings.
Street parking is generally available nearby, and it is walking distance from the Takoma Park metro and bus stops.
The studio has a ground level entrance with no steps required. There is plenty of space in the lobby for stroller parking.
Jen brings a sense of joy and playfulness to her classes – both the adult and kids classes – and hopes to offer her students freedom she finds in yoga. She founded Breathing Space to create hub for family yoga on Capitol Hill and share her enthusiasm for age- and developmentally-appropriate poses, games, and songs with yogis of all ages.
Why Breathing Space?
Like so many, Jen first came to the yoga mat because of an injury, seeking nothing more than to feel better and balance her body for running. She comes back to the mat because yoga invites her to embrace her body and mind with all its imperfections and then to look beyond them to the greater Self.
When she became a mother, her yoga practice became even more important: for building strength and flexibility, as relief for the discomforts of pregnancy and then the stresses of parenthood, as a reminder of the miracle of the human body and of her own resources and capabilities, and a regular connection to her breath and true Self during a time of significant identity changes. Her weekly baby yoga class during maternity leave encouraged her to embrace her daughter in the same loving, non-judgemental way that her own practice did for herself.
After thoroughly enjoying baby yoga classes with her daughter during maternity leave and being unable to find an Itsy Bitsy class that fit her schedule after going back to work, Jen stumbled on a listing for Itsy Bitsy Yoga facilitators training . . . and signed up. That turned out to be the first step on new path.
Jen is a Yoga Alliance® Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher (E-RTY 200) and Registered Children’s Yoga Teacher (RCTY). She is also a Certified Educator of Infant Massage (CEIM) through Infant Massage USA and an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC).
Before turning her attention to yoga full time, Jen spent more than a decade working with non- profit organizations in everything from daily operations, event and volunteer management, and finance to national policy advocacy and media relations. Jen holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Massachusetts and a Master in Public Management degree from the University of Maryland. Her experience in social change movements and managing charitable organizations has been extremely helpful when working with schools and community organizations to implement yoga and mindfulness programs for children
Jessica LaGarde has been teaching creative movement in the metro area since 2005 and is passionate about helping children discover and explore their bodies and the world around them. She was trained by Joye Newman, MA to teach preschool creative movement for Kids’ Moving Company, a Bethesda-based creative movement studio. In 2017, she completed her Baby, Toddler, and Children’s Yoga Teacher Training through Childlight Yoga and has worked with Breathing Space Family Yoga ever since. Jessica teaches classes for infants-adults, directs BSFY yoga camps, and does much of the behind the scenes business administration.
In addition to working with children, Jessica is a registered massage practitioner and is trained in infant massage instruction. She has practiced massage since 2006 and taught massage as part of Potomac Massage Training Institute’s professional training program. She maintains a private massage practice through Shine Massage & Wellness in College Park, MD.
Outside of the movement space and massage room, she enjoys cooking, knitting, gardening, coffee, reading non-fiction, and exploring the outdoors with her daughter.
AJ Hiskey (RYT-200) is an enthusiastic and personable teacher. Born and raised in the DC area. AJ completed her Yoga-Alliance certified training in 2018 with plans to teach adults, but fell in love with teaching children young and old!
AJ teaches a variety of classes from tots to trapeze. Always a kid at heart, she connects easily with children and loves sharing her passions of yoga, meditation, and mindfulness.
When she’s not on the mat, AJ loves being outdoors. She enjoys hiking, camping, swimming, or reading a good book in the sunshine. If she’s indoors, she’s probably rooting for a DC sports team (whether they’re winning or losing!) A life-long cheerleader for not only her favorite teams, but also her friends, family and students; she loves supporting others and helping them to be their best in body, mind and spirit.
Betsy Poos (E-RYT 500, RPYT, YACEP) is a lifelong student of movement and mindfulness. A DC yoga teacher since 2005, she’s honored to be a part of the Breathing Space Family Yoga community teaching preteens, teens and adults.
Betsy is known for her warm energy and informed alignment cues. Her true magic comes in making each practice equally accessible and challenging.
Betsy holds certifications in hatha yoga, Yogahour, pre/postnatal yoga, personal training, and sports nutrition. A consummate student, she is currently completing training to be a Registered Children’s Yoga Teacher specializing in adolescents ages 11-18.
Betsy’s motivation to expand her teaching to teens has come as she’s begun navigating these waters within her own family. Always eager to expand and create, she is an avid dreamer (and doer), reader, and writer. She also makes a point of taking time to pause and believes the best days are nap days.
Betsy lives in Washington, D.C. with her incredibly patient husband, two strong willed daughters, and lovable boston terrier.
Irene Alexandra is a New York native who grew up as a competitive dancer. During her college years, she embarked on her yoga and mindfulness journey. During her journey, she received her BA in Ancient History, MA in Ancient History, MA in Education, and began a career teaching special needs students. Shortly after, she received her RYT-200 Certification and 95-Hour Special Needs and Children’s Yoga Certification. Irene is very enthusiastic about uniting mindfulness and yoga with traditional education, and works to educate others on tools and practices to bring mindfulness and awareness into the classroom and community.
During the summer of 2020, Irene was diagnosed with a rare cancer called Ewing’s Sarcoma, which she has been in remission from since the summer of 2021. While those who undergo chemotherapy and cancer treatment do experience a wide range of grueling physical, mental, and emotional side-effects, she credits yoga and mindfulness to helping to ease those side effects (including neuropathy, and emotional and mental well-being).
In her spare time, Irene loves to spend time with her puppies (Bacchus and Circe), read, travel, enjoy nature and the beach, and create new plant-based recipes.
Lauren Mae works with yogis of all ages to encourage self-connection, compassion, and confidence. She earned her 200 HR YTT certification in December 2022 and has experience teaching yoga to Pre-K and Kindergartners. She hopes to help students discover and grow their innate mindfulness superpowers.
Having survived childhood trauma, Lauren is passionate about providing kids with a safe and empowering yoga experience. She helps her students get to know their unique inner strength and cultivate it to carry off the mat and into life. Lauren is a yoga universalist and takes particular influence from vinyasa, yin, kundalini, and restorative yoga.
Camille Cobbs began her yoga journey in San Francisco in 2013. She stumbled into a level 3 Baptiste Power Flow class not knowing exactly what she’d signed up for, but the sweat, challenge, and positive affirmations inspired her to return week after week. In 2020, yoga became a refuge during one of the most difficult years of our generation. Her practice became a daily requirement, helping her to prioritize mental health, self-care, and healthy movement.
In 2021, she was inspired to complete her yoga teacher training and gained certification in early 2022. Since the completion of her 200 hours, Camille has returned to her power flow roots as an instructor, teaching adult classes around the DC area. She has also been able to reconnect with her passion for early childhood education by teaching a wide range of yoga classes for kids, from Pre-K to middle school. All of Camille’s classes are upbeat, full of music, and focused on self-love and self-study.
Candace Glover is a yoga teacher with the Breathing Space DC. Drawn to the mission of promoting positive community and holistic knowledge, this Washingtonian dedicated her life to helping those in her community achieve overall well-being when she started teaching in 2017. With a 200-accredited hour certification, a 300 CYT and a passion for all things yoga, she flexes her yogic muscles every day by empowering others through versatile mindfulness practices while stimulating the hearts and minds of the DMV’s youth. This former flight attendant uses her worldly influence and desire for mixing things up to engage students as they explore the 8 limbs of yoga. Candace seeks to provide an authentic outlook on the holistic approach by leading by example. Having known the struggle of acceptance and identity growing up, it became very important for Ms.Glover to share the empowering tools she uses every day with herself to provide an embrace of individuality with today’s youth. Understanding that true love starts with self and with it we can accomplish anything, she has made it a top priority to make sure all students she interacts with know the importance of self-love and appreciation. Candace studied human services and general studies at Stevenson University.
Carly Aull has been teaching at Breathing Space Family Yoga since 2021. After practicing yoga for about a decade, she decided to become a certified teacher during lockdown. With little outside distraction at that time, she practiced yoga all day every day and developed a much deeper connection and passion for both learning about it and teaching it. Previously, Carly had been a swim coach and one of the families she taught suggested teaching yoga to kids in addition to adults. She absolutely loves working with kids, and her main focus in class is meditation and developing greater self-awareness. She loves to see students progress by learning to sit in stillness with themselves a little bit longer each class.
Jacque Souza (RYT-500) was born and raised in Brazil. She loves dancing, traveling and studying the healing process through the body-mind. Jacque has been practicing yoga since 2011, and graduated from the Sarasvati Yoga School of Medellin teacher training program in 2015.
Jacque has taught yoga since 2016 and specializes in prenatal yoga, yoga for family, kids and teenagers and Thai Body Work. Her classes offer students an alignment based yoga practice designed to create spaciousness in the body, mind, and spirit. Jacque shares with students methods for reducing stress, enhancing well-being, and bringing peace into their daily lives.
Lili Wilson is a native Washingtonian and product of DC public schools. Lili graduated with a BA in Sociology from Spelman College in 2000. She went on to earn a Master of Divinity from Candler School of Theology at Emory University.
In April 2015, Lili initiated The Beautiful Dawn LLC, a lifestyle brand that primarily inspires young ladies and women to live genuine, bold, passionate lives. In 2016, Lili was trained in children’s yoga and mindfulness at Circle Yoga. For the past several years, she’s taught yoga and mindfulness to children. In Summer of 2020, Lili completed 200 (RYT) hours with Be Here Now Yoga and Wellness. In Spring 2021, Lili received a certificate in teaching mindfulness to children with the Interdependence Project.
In addition to self-care, Lili’s passion is singing and songwriting. She has been touring and recording with gospel, pop, and RnB artists since the age of 15. In Fall 2019, Lili’s talents landed her the tour of her life, Hans Zimmer Live, with movie composer Hans Zimmer.
Lili’s desire is to encourage self-care and self-love, by incorporating her gifts of music, intuitive mediumship, and healing. She is the proud mother of one daughter, Alaia Mary.
Kathy Foltin teaches All Levels Yoga (Adults) at Breathing Space Family Yoga. What Kathy loves about yoga is that there is a practice for everyone. Since 2000, she has been exploring yoga’s rich traditions, from vigorous to restorative, discovering that in yoga we can find what we need and uncover our best selves. Kathy shares her love of yoga with others in encouraging, playful alignment-based vinyasa classes that allow students to gain confidence and feel comfortable exploring poses, mindfulness, and linking breath with movement in a safe, inviting environment. She received her 200 hour certification in 2012, and her 500 hour certification in 2018.
Tamar Lewkowitz received her RYT 200 Vinyasa Certificate in 2015 after graduating from college with a Bachelor’s degree in special education. Tamar spent a year abroad teaching English and volunteering at a special education school to teach yoga to students. Upon returning to the U.S., Tamar moved to the DMV area teaching K-3 special education at The Katherine Thomas School.
Tamar went on to receive her Budding Yogis Certificate and Kids with Special Needs Yoga Certificate from Circle Yoga in 2017, and she received her Chair Yoga Certificate from YogaVista Academy in 2019.
Tamar has brought yoga and movement into the classroom, and has seen firsthand how yoga and mindfulness can directly impact students’ regulation, self-image, and connection to the world around them.
In her spare time, Tamar loves being outdoors in nature hiking, cooking, and spending time with her two young nieces.
After discovering the healing power of yoga and mindfulness in 2014, Shara began her practice using old yoga books bought from antique shops. Since then, she has continued to take yoga classes at her college while saving up for training and certification.
Shara has worked in summer camps for the past 6 years as both a counselor and an assistant director. 2018 was her first summer in DC and her first summer on the Kid’s Yoga Summer Camp team, where she works excitedly and happily with Jen, Jessica, and the rest of the summer team to share yoga and mindfulness with the children of Washington, DC.
Shara loves the energized and enthusiastic curiosity of children, as well as their unending empathy and kindness, and hopes to help them maintain those traits as they age by practicing yoga and mindfulness regularly. She also hopes to attend graduate school for social work in order to create services and policies which extend this and like opportunities to children throughout the US.
When she’s not practicing yoga or assisting in its instruction, Shara enjoys spending her time bird-watching, walking dogs, hanging out with her cat/travel buddy, and making soap, lip balm, or other organic toiletries.
This class incorporates traditional yoga asana, breathwork, and relaxation but is based around our YogaBody-style yoga trapeze rigs. Practicing on the suspension rigs allow us to build core strength, functional upper body strength, and balance while we explore postures in different relationships to gravity and cultivate mindfulness and relaxation.
Class is limited to a maximum of ten (10) students. Drop-ins welcome when space allows.
We know it’s hard to get out of the house with a newborn, that naps are sometimes unpredictable, and life can be complicated . . . and that’s why we require series registration for this class.
Because it’s hard to convince babies to be born and maternity leaves to be set on our schedule, we offer lots of flexibility:
Please bring only water or milk/formula in closed top containers into the yoga classroom. Feeding your baby – breast or bottle – is always welcome.
Parents/caregivers fully participate so should wear comfortable clothing and be prepared to move. The more yoga you do, the more your child will do (even if not until you get home).
Babies participate while on their backs, tummies, or held in loving arms. For grownups, this class is a special opportunity to meet other parents and caregivers, get support, and learn about baby’s emerging personality.
Tot Yoga classes, for crawling or nearly crawling babies to 24-month-old toddlers, are engaging and fun. Class incorporates tot-centric yoga poses, dance and creative movement, songs, stories, and games as children learn yoga through social interaction, repetition, and play.
This class is for newly mobile babies to pre-verbal toddlers still finding their footing. This class moves a little slower than our other early childhood classes and features lots of repetitions. Parents help tots execute poses as much or as little as suits each adult-child pair.
Classes incorporate imagination, songs, words and stories and age-appropriate postures and activities as parents and children playfully move together. We encourage each child to embrace their own unique expression of yoga poses while supporting their development and growth.
Tot Yoga tends to be a quieter class with more repetition from week to week, so suits more reserved toddlers better.
The Brazilian American Cultural Center is located at 3001 Sherman Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001. This location hosts weekly early childhood classes. We are pleased to offer early childhood, family and baby yoga there starting in January 2023.
Jessica LaGarde has been teaching creative movement in the metro area since 2005 and is passionate about helping children discover and explore their bodies and the world around them. She was trained by Joye Newman, MA to teach preschool creative movement for Kids’ Moving Company, a Bethesda-based creative movement studio. In 2017, she completed her Baby, Toddler, and Children’s Yoga Teacher Training through Childlight Yoga and has worked with Breathing Space Family Yoga ever since. Jessica teaches classes for infants-adults, directs BSFY yoga camps, and does much of the behind the scenes business administration.
Kathy Foltin teaches All Levels Yoga (Adults) at Breathing Space Family Yoga. What Kathy loves about yoga is that there is a practice for everyone. Since 2000, she has been exploring yoga’s rich traditions, from vigorous to restorative, discovering that in yoga we can find what we need and uncover our best selves. Kathy shares her love of yoga with others in encouraging, playful alignment-based vinyasa classes that allow students to gain confidence and feel comfortable exploring poses, mindfulness, and linking breath with movement in a safe, inviting environment. She received her 200 hour certification in 2012, and her 500 hour certification in 2018.
