• Classes are offered in multi-class sessions requiring registration. No drop-ins permitted in kids and family yoga class series.

• Please register the child participant in all kids and family classes.

• One adult must be present for any class described as family yoga or for children under 4 years old: Family Yoga, Preschooler Yoga, Tot Yoga, etc. Up to two adults are welcome to participate these classes on weekly basis and the same adult need not be present every time.

• In order to create a safe space for the children and because of limited studio space, we request that students not bring observers to class. If grandparents or other special guests wish to see class, please encourage them to participate.
• Occasionally we offer single-date classes, typically for older children or infants, but sometimes as a demo and not associated with a series. Registration in advance is still required for these classes and those not meeting enrollment minimum in the week leading up to class may be cancelled.

Kids-only Classes

Kids and tweens yoga classes not described as family classes are for the children only. Due to limited studio space and to respect the students, family members and friends are asked not to observe these classes. Many of our venues are near cafes and shops.

Infant Massage

Course material is cumulative so drop-ins are not allowed. Families that miss a class are welcome to do an appropriate drop-in in another postnatal class as a makeup or attend the same week in a subsequent series.

A common hesitation to signing up for a weekly class is that parents aren’t sure it will be the right fit for their child. We get that. It can be hard to even imagine a toddler or preschooler yoga class if you’ve never attended one

That’s why we offer a No Risk Refund Policy – Register and come to the first class. If you notify us in writing within 24 hours of class that you will not be able to continue the session, you will pay only for the class you attended plus a $5 admin fee. 

Withdrawals requested using the form below will be processed and refunded as follows:

• More Than 7 Days Before Series Start: Refund issued in full minus the $5 processing fee. Fee waived when applying balance to another registration.
• More Than 48 Hours Before Series Start: Refund issued in at the No Risk Refund Policy rate or 80% minus $5 processing fee, whichever is greater.
• Up to 24 hours after the 3rd* class in a series: Refunds will be prorated for the classes that have passed in the session, not the ones you have actually attended, and issued minus a $5 processing fee. Fee waived when applying the balance to a future registration.

  *Or halfway point for classes that are shorter than 6 weeks. For a 4 or 5 week series, that means week 2. For a 3 week series, that’s week 1. 
  

• No refunds issued more than 24 hours after the 3rd class meeting or the halfway point class in a series, whichever is shorter. Please note, the reason we require notification within 24 hours of your final class is to make it more likely that we fill that seat with another student before the next class meeting. 
  

Children’s and family yoga (crawling babies to teen) is offered in multi-class series, like semesters, no drop-ins.

• Prices for series are a based on a $20 per visit rate and vary depending length of the series. For example:
  • 8 week series  = $160
  • 10 week series = $200

Up to two (2) caregivers may attend family classes with the registered child. The same adult need not attend every week.

Classes described as kids, preteen or teen yoga or Yoga Trapeze are intended for the child participant only. We kindly request that parents not watch class to give your student the privacy to engage without worrying about you. If you have any concerns about your child’s behavior or class experience, please discuss it with the instructor. We will work with you to ensure your child has the best class possible.

Discounts (apply automatically):

• 50% off for younger siblings attending family or early childhood yoga classes: Preschooler, Little Family, Toddler or Tot Yoga.
• 10% off for siblings/family members attending the same kids, trapeze, or adult yoga class.
• Newsletter subscribers: early registration discount – Discount codes are circulated in the newsletter for folks who sign up right away when registration opens. Subscribe to be notified.

Discounts are not cumulative.

Siblings must be enrolled with the exception of non-walking infants or siblings on school-closed days. Sibling discounts are automatic. See our nanny share discount policies.

Should you need to miss a class in your session, we have a very flexible makeup policy.

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
  • bring a friend to class as a makeup.
    See makeup class FAQs for details.

• 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.

See additional policies for:

• Pricing & Registration
• Siblings / Twins / Nanny Shares
• Withdrawal and Refunds

Our trapeze-based classes for kids, teens, and adults are offered in multi-week series. Drop-ins are welcome in our adult classes only.

All trapeze classes are limited to ages 8 and older because students must be able to follow directions for safety on the rigs. See the title for specific class age requirements. Class is limited to a maximum of ten (10) students. 

• Prices for series are based on a $24 per visit rate and vary depending length of the series. For example:
  • 6 week series  = $144
  • 8 week series  = $176

Late registration is possible and prorates.

Discounts:

• Family member discount – 10% discount for siblings or additional family members is automatic.
• Newsletter subscribers: early registration discount – Discount codes are circulated in the newsletter for folks who sign up right away when registration opens. Subscribe to be notified.

New students are encouraged to take an Intro to Yoga Trapeze class before joining a session that is underway.

Intro to Yoga Trapeze

Intro to Yoga Trapeze is our orientation class. Students will learn parts of the rig, vocabulary, how to come in and out of positions safely, and the core positions of a Yoga Trapeze practice so they can confidently join an ongoing class.

Find an Intro to Yoga Trapeze class.

Adults: Get started with a drop in OR take an intro class

Intro to Yoga Trapeze is recommended for all new students, even those who have done aerial yoga somewhere else because there are different kinds of rigs. The intro class is an ideal introduction for anyone with any hesitations about going upside down because we can go at the new student’s pace for introducing skills.

However, our adult classes are taught in a way that makes it possible for a new student who is generally comfortable with going upside down to join in a drop-in format. We use the rigs in a variety of poses, including many with our feet on the ground. The trapeze rig is used as just another prop for changing our experience with the poses. Modifications are provided to allow students to work at their own pace on any given day.

Workshops, special multi-week courses, and camps have their own pricing and policies. See individual workshop pages for details. Class passes and make-up policies do not apply unless specifically noted.

The following discounts apply to full series registration of multi-week classes only:

Sibling Discounts

• Siblings in Child-Caregiver Classes – Siblings registering for the same class are eligible for a 50% discount after the first registration. See individual class descriptions for policies about younger and older siblings outside the stated class age range. All siblings older than 1 year must register for class. Read more.
• Siblings/Family Members in Other Classes – Family members automatically receive 10% discounts for multiple registrations. No code required.
• Twins in Baby Yoga & Play – Families pay for only one registration when bringing twins or two non-mobile share partners with one adult. Read more.

No code is required; simply register both children on the same account in the same class.

Nanny Share Discounts

• Nanny Shares in Child-Caregiver Classes  – Share partners are eligible for 20% discount but both families must register separately. Read more.
• Twins in Baby Yoga & Play – Share partners are eligible for a 50% discount when bringing twins or two non-mobile share partners with one adult. Nanny share partners must register both children separately. Read more.

Built-In Pricing Discount

• Long series – When series are longer than 10 weeks, we offer a per class discount. Final price is posted. No code required.

Early Registration Discount

• Early registration – Varies. Newsletter subscribers registering more than 30 days before a semester starts may use discount codes provided.

Discount codes do not combine. The registration system automatically applies the largest possible discount.

Staff are unable to retroactively add discounts.

Economic Hardship / Limited Income Discounts

• Limited income discount – We offer a 10 percent discount to non-profit employees, military families, or persons on a limited income if it makes attendance possible. Please contact us for the code.
• Pay What You Can – We don’t want a difficult economic situation to take yoga from your life. If paying full price for class is not possible for you at this time, find out about our pay-what-you-can enrollment option.

Nope, sorry. We don’t offer drop-in options for classes for crawling or older children or trial classes during the regular session. 

Children really do need the consistency of a weekly class both for comfort and so they can best learn and drop-ins can be disruptive to the class routine. Read more. Since it often takes several classes for a child to settle in, dropping in once is not really the best indicator of whether your child will enjoy class.

However, we get that it can be tough to commit to a class when you can’t imagine what happens or how your child will react, so:

1. We have a no-risk refund policy. If you register for a class and decide for any reason it’s a bad fit for you, your child, or your schedule, and you decide early in the series, you can drop the class and get a prorated refund. See details.
2. We occasionally offer trial/drop-in days, when the teacher will spend a little extra time explaining the class routine and parents get a chance to see a class in action.

We also understand that life is unpredictable and have a generous makeup policy for families that wish to commit to a series but know they will miss a class or two.

We have several different parent-child yoga classes on our schedule and people have asked, which one should they should sign up for? To answer that, pick the best description that fits your situation:

If you have one child, pick the appropriate age range:

• newborn to almost crawling babies – Baby Yoga & Play or Infant Massage
• crawling (or almost crawling and at least 7 months old) to 1 years – Tot Yoga
• 12-24 months – Tot Yoga or Toddler Family Yoga or as a younger sibling in Little Family Yoga
• almost 2 to 4 years – Toddler Family Yoga or Little Family Yoga
• 3 yrs – Toddler Family Yoga, Prenatal Yoga or as a younger sibling in Family Yoga
• 4 yrs – Little Family Yoga or Family Yoga
• 5-10 yrs – Family Yoga

If you have a 3 year old or children in multiple age ranges, you have a choice of classes:

Toddler Family Yoga (steady walking – 35 months)

• Very active, playful class with simple movements, yoga poses, and beginning breath and body awareness exercises
• Beginning to incorporate imaginative play and simple storytelling in relation to the yoga poses and activities
• Typically only uses yoga mats as a prop or for relaxation
• Younger siblings welcome (non walking infants free)

Little Family Yoga Yoga (21 months – 4 yrs)

• Very active, playful class with age appropriate yoga poses and beginning breath and body awareness exercises
• Incorporates imaginative play and storytelling in relation to the yoga poses and activities
• Games are very simple, usually consisting of only one or two steps: jumping in and out of circles, following directions …
• Partner poses are very simple
• Typically only uses yoga mats as a prop or for relaxation
• Especially good for young 4 year olds or reserved children likely to stay close to their parent during class
• Appropriate for siblings younger than 2 to participate (may enroll at half price, non walking infants free)

Family Yoga (4-8 or 10 yrs)

• Still active and playful, in fact a bit more athletic as coordination improves,
• More imagination/pretend, more and more involved stories,
• Games become more complicated and start to have rules: move & freeze, musical mats …
• Partner poses with parents begin to be recognizable as yoga poses
• Uses mats for the majority of the class, but children will move around the room for many activities
• Appropriate for younger siblings 2.5 years and older or older siblings 10 and younger to participate (50% sibling discount, strongly recommend second adult participant when sibling is younger than 3)
• May also be appropriate for 3-year olds who’ve taken our classes for several months and would enjoy the challenge of keeping up with the big kids. By permission only.

All classes can accommodate younger or older siblings, so what do you do if both children are not within the same class age range?

You have multiple children to enroll:

• A 3-year-old and a 1-year-old – Little Family Yoga (2-4 yrs) with the younger one enrolled at half price
• A 5/6 year old and a 2.5 year old – Family Yoga (4-8 years) with the younger enrolled at half price
• A 5- and 9-year-old – Family Yoga (4-8 yrs) with the older enrolled at half price.

Sibling discounts are automatic; just sign up both children.

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 reservation may be rescheduled once at no charge as long as you notify us before or even during class that you cannot attend. Simply fill out the form. Classes must be rescheduled within four weeks of the original date.
  • 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, we will issue refunds or credits depending on student preference.

Please reach out with any questions.

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.

If we cancel a class or a workshop, we will issue refunds or credits depending on student preference.

Please reach out with any questions.

Student cancellations are subject to our refund policies for classes, camps, or workshops respectively.

What if Breathing space cancels?

In the event that Breathing Space Family Yoga cancels a class session or event before it starts, full refunds will be issued. If a session is cancelled due to low enrollment or other reason after it has begun, prorated refunds will be issued.

Inclement Weather Policy

We will make every effort to hold class as scheduled, even during inclement weather. If our class venue is open and an instructor can safely get there, we will very likely hold class.

Cancellations will be announced as soon as a decision is made, normally 2 hours before class. Registered students will be notified of cancellations by email or text to the contact information in your registration profile. If the cancelled class cannot be rescheduled, credits will be issued to all registered students.

For the safety and consideration of your fellow students and the comfort of your child, please do not bring attend when ill or bring sick children to class or camp. 

Please stay home or keep your child(ren) out of class if they have been experiencing any of the following in the previous 24 hours:

• fever,
• vomiting,
• an unexplained rash,
• diarrhea,
• conjunctivitis,
• mouth sores (especially in oral-staged children),
• persistent and frequent cough that interferes with your child’s class involvement or poses a risk to others,
• extremely runny nose, or
• any other contagious illness. 

Please note that older children too sick to attend school should not be tagging along to yoga class.

Specific Guidance

COVID-19

We will no longer be requiring or verifying vaccination. This policy is subject to change if conditions warrant or public health regulations change.

As long as community spread remains low, masks are optional in all classes. If transmission rates change, we may reinstitute a mask requirement.

The BSFY Studio is well-ventilated, with more than the recommended HVAC air-exchange rate, and runs two large air purifiers during classes.  If you have specific questions about the ventilation in other locations, please reach out.

Students agree to follow DC DOH recommendations for quarantine after COVID-19 exposure or travel.

Influenza

Most healthy adults may be able to infect others beginning 1 day before symptoms develop and up to 5 to 7 days after becoming sick. Children and some people with weakened immune systems may pass the virus for longer than 7 days. (Source: CDC)

In the case of a flu diagnosis, or suspected, please keep your child home for a full week from becoming symptomatic.

Common Cold

You’re generally contagious with a cold 1-2 days before your symptoms start, and you could be contagious as long as your symptoms are present—in rare cases, up to 2 weeks. (Source: Ceder-Sinai.org) 

While you are most contagious in the first 2-4 days of symptoms, resuming daily activities without exposing others depends on both your immune system and your ability to follow hygiene protocols. Most small children have trouble with the latter. If your child has a frequent cough, and is not yet reliable about coughing into their sleeve, or a very runny nose, they are likely to expose others to the lingering virus. Please stay home until the symptoms subside.

Masks

As long as COVID-19 community spread rates remain low, masks are optional in all classes. However, a properly fitted face mask can also reduce transmission of other respiratory diseases, including colds.

If a participant ages 2+ is recovering from an illness that is not COVID and is occasionally coughing or sniffling, a mask should be worn. Participants too young to wear a mask or reliably cover their mouths when coughing or sneezing should stay home while they are showing symptoms.

Weekly Classes

We have a very liberal make-up policy so please take advantage of that if your child (or you) is ill. 

Camps

Unfortunately, it is not possible to do a makeup from camp.  See our camp policies for more details.

Because of the small group sizes, Breathing Space is very limited in ability to offer refunds. If Breathing Space cancels camp for any reason before the camp day or week begins, we will offer refunds, including deposits.

Refunds requested using the form below will be issued according to the following policies:

School Year Camp Policies and Deadlines – Sept-June

• No refunds.

Up to 21 days before a camp begins:

• Registration may be rescheduled or credited to a future camp or class (minus $5 processing fee per camper per day) until 21 days before a scheduled camp.  Rescheduling is subject to space availability.

Within 21 days of camp:

• Credits are only available if a waitlisted camper takes the spot (processing fee still applies). Camps often sell out well in advance. The further in advance you tell us about your camper’s change of plans, the more likely it is that we fill your spot.

Summer Camp Policies and Deadlines

• The first $100 of camp tuition is a non-refundable deposit.

Before May 31:

• Refunds minus the $100 deposit may be requested until May 31.
• Camp registration may be rescheduled to a different week of summer camp. Rescheduling is subject to space availability and a $25 processing fee.

After May 31:

• No refunds after after May 31.
• Withdrawals are be eligible for credit (minus the $100 deposit) toward future camps or classes only if a waitlisted camper takes the vacated spot. Camps often sell out well in advance. The further in advance you tell us about your camper’s change of plans, the more likely it is that we fill your spot. 

We are an extremely small camp and the difference between profitable and not is a very small number of campers.  If these refund policies don’t work for your family, then we recommend finding a larger camp that can absorb losses from last minute cancellations.

Why do you have a refund deadline for camps and classes?

We don’t want folks booking summer camp in January and then figuring out their beach vacations or other plans months later. It’s a pain that summer registration starts so early in DC and families booking tentative camp registrations increases the perception of scarcity and makes the situation worse.

We sometimes fill cancelled spots, but sometimes don’t. When we hit our refund deadlines, the vast majority of possible participants – even those who put themselves on our waitlists –  have made other plans by the time someone cancels a camp spot. Filling vacant spots can be challenging and is often time consuming.

After our refund deadlines, we are counting on our registration numbers to cover our costs. If we allowed last minute refunds, we’d have to raise the price of camps and classes for everyone to compensate.

Refunds will usually be issued by the payment card used for registration or check mailed to the address on your account profile within 30 days of refund request receipt.

If your refund is dependent on another participant taking your spot in a program and the spot isn’t immediately filled, refunds will be issued within 30 days of the scheduled program start date rather than request receipt.

Managing changes to class and camp rosters, waitlists and refunds actually takes up a lot of staff time. While we understand that life isn’t always predictable, we don’t want clients registering to “hold their spot” while they firm up plans. Processing fees discourage this and compensate us for staff time.

We put our Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) on all our receipts, so check there. The receipt may be all you need for reimbursement.  If you can’t locate your receipt. Please send a request by email to have it resent.

If you need forms signed, you can

1. Get them signed by any of our lead instructors on the day of camp. Please have them filed out with camper information, EIN, and date(s) of attendance. 
2. Mail them with a with a self-addressed stamped envelope for return to: Breathing Space, 713 14th Street SE, Washington DC 20003

Unfortunately, we cannot accept emailed forms or arrange for pickup of forms. We work with several hundred families and printing and mailing your forms adds up in administrative time. 

We often here from parents that they are hesitant to enroll if they aren’t sure their child will enjoy a class. We get it. That’s why we have our:

No Risk Refund Policy – Not sure if a kids & family series class will be right for you or your child? Register and come to the first class. If you notify us in writing within 48 hours after the first class that you will not be able to continue the session, we refund all but $22 for that first class.

We are also very flexible about switching classes for students who have nap time shifts during the course of a series. For example, if your child is enrolled in an 11 am class and starts napping at that time, we’ll happily switch her into one of our 9 or 9:30 am classes instead.

Poses and activities are designed with toddlers/preschoolers in mind. While your instructor will likely be able to make suggestions, we expect adults to take care of their own bodies during class.

It’s rarely a problem. Pregnant moms often skip or modify belly-down poses and anything else that doesn’t feel right and adults with special conditions adjusting accordingly.

The biggest challenge is probably for adults who have significant difficulty getting up and down from the floor. I’ve had mobility-challenged caregivers, usually older nannies or grandparents, do very few of the poses with no problem. My suggestion is to try it and see how it goes.

Do note that several of our class venues are down a flight of stairs (strollers can be left locked outside). Our Saturday and Sunday class venues are handicap accessible.

Yes, one adult can bring more than one child to class. (See below for special nanny share policies)

Baby Yoga & Play

Yes, you can bring twins. Because so much of this class hands on we charge the same for two babies as one baby if there’s only one caregiver attending. No need to register both babies, simply put them both in your account profile, sign one up, and join us.  If you are bringing two adults, you must register both children. Sibling discounts will apply.

Nanny shares are treated like twins for pricing purposes, but registration is different (see below).

Tot Yoga

Yes, twins, siblings. and nanny-shares are welcome, however all children between crawling-24 months must be registered and all children present must have accounts in the system.

Sibling discounts automatically apply during checkout. See below for nanny-share registration and discount.

No need to register non-mobile infants – whether younger siblings or share partners. They are welcome to tag along with parent/caregiver, just note them on the registration form (and have their parents create an account for them if they are not attending with a paying sibling).

Little Family Yoga, Toddler Family Yoga, or Art Explorers

Again, twins, younger siblings, and nanny-shares are welcome. This is the age range we most often see younger siblings. All children older than 1 year must register for class.

Sibling discounts automatically apply during checkout. See below for nanny-share registration and discount.

No need to register non-mobile infants – whether younger siblings or share partners. They are welcome to tag along with parent/caregiver, just note them on the registration form (and have their parents create an account for them if they are not attending with a paying sibling).

Family Yoga

Siblings up to one year younger or older than the target age range are welcome to register for Family Yoga classes. For example, 3-year-olds are welcome in classes with the stated range of 4-8 yrs. If you have any questions about the appropriateness of class for your child, please contact us. Sibling discounts are automatic.

Please contact us with any additional questions or to discuss situations that don’t fit the above scenarios.

Nanny Share Registration

All children must be added to their own parent’s account in our registration system to attend class. Please do not add an unrelated nanny-share child to your profile. Their parents must set up an account and accept our terms & conditions.

If a nanny-share misses a class, the whole share is welcome to make up class on an alternate day or parents of the enrolled students my bring the child to do a makeup on the weekend, with or without their share partner.

Class specific policies:

• Tot, Toddler or Little Family Yoga and Art Explorers – Families registering as part of a nanny share (one caregiver bringing multiple unrelated children) are are eligible for a 20% discount with the code NANNYSHARE20. Discounts must be taken during registration and cannot be applied retroactively.
• Baby Yoga & Play – Because so much of this class hands on we charge the same for two babies as one baby if there’s only one caregiver attending. However both families in a Nanny Share registration must create accounts and be reachable in case of emergency, so both families can use the discount code NANNYSHARE50 to take half off registration.

Each family in a nanny share should sign up with the discount code and note their share partner during registration.

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.

Breathing Space does not allow single class drop-ins for children’s or family classes. Why?

Semester Commitment is Best for Both Students and the Program

We’ve written before about the benefits of committing to a weekly yoga class. Children, even more than adults, benefit from the consistency and progressive teaching enabled by full registration.

We understand that may be different from what you are used to with yoga classes. Kids yoga operates in an unusual context. While adult yoga classes are very often drop-in based, you cannot just occasionally show up to any other kind of teacher-directed children’s class. There’s no drop-in ballet, gymnastics, music, art, karate, etc. All of these programs require registration in a series of classes or monthly membership. This creates a stable class and allows lessons to build upon on each other.

Session Commitment Encourages Consistent Attendance

As a parent, there are tons of demands on my time and regularly attending a class requires commitment. Paying ahead of time gives me that sense of obligation to actually go every week. This is true for me with my own classes and it’s doubly true for me to motivate my child out of the house, even for activities she (or we both) adore.

Session Commitment Enhances the Student Experience

As a children’s instructor, I find:

1. Drop-in classes are not in the best interest of the child. It often takes 3 or 4 classes for a child, especially a toddler, to feel comfortable with a new place, new people, and a new routine. Children benefit from repetition and structure. Since drop-in students tend to only show up once or twice a semester, they miss out on the full benefits of the experience.
2. Drop-ins detract from the experience of the students who have committed to a full session of classes because my attention is drawn to the new student – on everything from taking payment and filling in the parent on policies, facilities, and expectations, to making the new child feel comfortable.

But . . .

There are two major objections that we hear from parents to registering for an entire session:

1. That they aren’t sure if class will be right for their child. We get that. It can be hard to even imagine a toddler or preschooler yoga class if you’ve never attended one.
   
   That’s why we offer a No Risk Refund Policy – Not sure if class will be right for you or your child? Register and come to the first class. If you notify us in writing within 24 hours of class that you will not be able to continue the session, you will pay only $20 for the class you attended. (See refund policies for more information.)
   
2. That they have travel or other schedule obligations that prevent full attendance. We understand schedules can be tricky. We intentionally skip holiday weekends and other high-travel times and offer a very generous make-up policy. To make up a missed class:
   • Any family member may take any other appropriate class during the same session – this means a similar kids class or parents can take an adult class;
   • If there is space in your class, you may bring a friend as your make-up class. Please confirm space availability with your instructor.
   • Read our full make-up policy here.

We offer classes in multi-week series. There are lots of benefits to committing to a weekly class but we understand that life happens. We have a very generous makeup policy. We allow students to make up in nearly any other class on our schedule in the same semester and allow family members to take makeups in the registered student’s place.

This is quite flexible. For example, if you miss a baby yoga class and there isn’t another that suits your schedule, you may bring your toddler to Little Family Yoga as a make up. If you miss Little Family Yoga you may take a prenatal yoga class or come to Baby & Toddler Singing Time (weekly class, not weekend workshop). Parents of children enrolled in a class make take any adult mat class on our schedule as a makeup. Students may make up in any location.

Note: Due to space constraints and safety considerations, students may only makeup in a trapeze class if they are registered in another trapeze class.

Makeup Scheduling Online

There is a makeup scheduler in the MainStreetSites registration system. You must be logged into your account for the makeup scheduler to appear and you must be enrolled in a class for makeup spots to be available.

Once you are logged in, simply choose an appropriate makeup from the classes that appear. The student drop-down must match the enrolled student. If you are sending a different student than the original enrollment, just note that in the text field.

Note that toward the end of the semester, there may not be any available makeups in your desired class. We recommend scheduling your makeup as soon as you know you will miss and when you can attend instead. Makeups do not carry over to the next semester.

Yoga Trapeze Makeups

Note: Due to space constraints and safety considerations, students may only makeup in a trapeze class if they are registered in another trapeze class.

Students who miss a trapeze class may make up in any other appropriate class, trapeze or mat-based.

• Use the makeup scheduler to reserve another Yoga Trapeze class or
• Use the discount code “trapezemakeup” to drop-in to any adult-mat class – all levels, prenatal, etc;
• Email us to let us know you’d like to attend a family class.

Workshop Makeups: Infant Massage, Birth & Baby Series

Many of our workshops are one time events and there is no makeup option if you do not attend. See our workshop enrollment and refund policies for details.

For short series classes such as Infant Massage, students may attend the same class in a subsequent series as a makeup. Those makeups are not in the scheduler. Email us to confirm.

Our registration system automatically creates waitlists for any fully enrolled camp or class. To get on the waitlist, you complete the registration process but do not submit payment.

If a camp fills way in advance, we will consider expanding staffing to accommodate waitlisted families.

If a spot opens up, we will contact you about submitting payment or for confirmation before we charge the payment method in your profile.

It is impossible to predict waitlist movement: In some camps, we have several families change plans, sometimes at the very last minute. Sometimes when a spot opens, the first waitlisted family takes it. Other times, we call through the whole list, and everyone has made other plans. So while we always recommend getting on the waitlist if you want to be called, we generally cannot make likelihood predictions.

We do not maintain waitlists for aftercare. Please do not sign up and pay for aftercare when you join a waitlist. If a spot becomes available for your child in camp, they will be able to enroll in aftercare at that time.

Speed things up upon confirmation by saving a payment card to your account profile. We use NMI which is a secure, PCI-compliant merchant processing gateway to store payment information.

Please Do Not Pay for Waitlisted Enrollment

You should not be asked to choose a payment method when you submit a waitlist-only order and your receipt will reflect “(pay later)” status. If your waitlist registration requests payment, please reach out; don’t submit payment.

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 $20 per day until two weeks before camp. After that, it’s $25 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.

Details about our classes can be found at breathingspacedc.com 

Any “register” link will take you to our class registration system.

Step 2: Contact us to apply your certificate value. 

Simply send an email indicating the certificate number and your name and email to inquiries@breathingspacedc.com

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.