Yoga helps children learn techniques for concentrating, reducing stress, and connecting to their bodies in a loving way while having fun. Yoga supports motor skills, language acquisition, and social-emotional development while helping children connect to their bodies in a loving way.

Classes for children ages 4-12 years incorporate age-appropriate poses, breathing, movement, games, music, and art. Classes often revolve around a philosophical theme and always include some form of quiet relaxation. These creative and fun classes encourage learning through social interaction, repetition, and play.

Training Overview

In this hybrid self-paced and live Kids Teacher Training, Breathing Space offers techniques for teaching child-friendly yoga philosophy, poses, breath work, concentration, relaxation, and mindful awareness practices, along with songs, stories, and games for you to offer in classes.  

Breathing Space has specialized in teaching classes as an extracurricular activity in school, childcare, and community settings and as full-day camps in the racially, ethnically, and economically diverse Washington DC area. Our training features practical ways to implement positive classroom behavior expectations while honoring each child.

By completing the training and optional certification process, you will be prepared to offer group classes in multiple formats for children from 4-12 years or to incorporate yoga into your work with children in an educational setting. You can help children learn healthy habits and social-emotional skills that will last a lifetime.

Learning Objectives

You will learn how to:

• properly teach and sequence dozens of age-appropriate poses, group activities, breathing exercises, and relaxation techniques;
• use games, songs, rhymes and extension activities to keep children eager to participate in yoga;
• create a positive, non-competitive classroom environment;
• manage classroom behavior while nurturing self-respect, friendship and freedom of expression;
• personalize your classes around the unique personalities and needs of your students;
• explore yoga philosophy themes;
• Incorporate special activities and creative props to engage your students and enhance learning;
• share practical ways for families to incorporate yoga activities in their daily routines;
• tap your playful and creative side to build a weekly curriculum that keeps children and returning to class session after session!

Who Should Take This Training?

Anyone interested in offering an enriching experience and social-emotional skills for children. Activities are appropriate in groups, one-on-one, in education settings, and incorporated into family programming. The training is appropriate for yoga instructors, of course, but also educators and school-based professionals, medical professionals, physical, speech-language, or occupational therapists, family counselors, parent educators, and parents.

At least a year of personal yoga practice, including exploration of yoga philosophy, is recommended prior to taking this training. For prospective trainees with less experience, recommended reading and practice resources will be provided.

Trainees enrolled in our certification course (pending – eligible for Yoga Alliance certification) must demonstrate competence in yoga philosophy, postures, breath exercises, and instruction principles. However, certification is not required and all are welcome to attend our live trainings

Upcoming Trainings

All 2023 trainings are offered in a hybrid format, incorporating self-paced online material and live (in-person or zoom) workshops focused on experiential learning and practice teaching. Trainees who complete all for modules and complete certification process may be eligible to register as a Yoga Alliance Register Children’s Yoga Teacher (RCYT).

Next live-modules:

• Friday-Sunday, May 19-21, 2023 – Fri 6-9:30 pm, Sat 1-7:30 pm, Sun 12 pm-4:30 pm – Capitol Hill, Washington DC
• Thursday-Friday, June 29-30, 2023 – 9 am – 5 pm – Capitol Hill, Washington DC
  offered as part of a 5 day immersion of all in-person components of our training, newborn-tween
• Friday-Sunday, October 6-8, 2023 – Fri 6-9:30 pm, Sat 1-7:30 pm, Sun 12 pm-4:30 pm – Capitol Hill, Washington DC
• Saturday-Sunday, January 6-7, 2024 – Sat 8am-6 pm, Sun 9 am-2 pm – Capitol Hill, Washington DC

Self guided content available upon enrollment. Guided assignments and office hours begin approximately one month before the live workshops

Because this training is held indoors for extended periods, we require in-person participants to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Please be prepared to show evidence of vaccination upon arrival. As of Oct 2022, masks are optional Washington DC, regardless of vaccination status. Breathing Space studio policies require masking if community spread rates are medium or high – for early childhood at medium, for all classes at high. Questions?

Note: While there’s some logic to studying the material chronologically, the in-person workshops can be taken in either order. Trainees who enroll in the full training have 2 years to complete all the modules.

Continuing Education & Certification

Training participants will have the opportunity to become certified Breathing Space children’s yoga instructors. All hours are eligible for Yoga Alliance continuing education. We are in the process of getting approval as a YA Children’s Yoga Teacher Training School to offer a YA 95 hr RCYT. Breathing Space trainees may also apply the training toward the RCYT credential through the Children’s Yoga Teacher Training Collaborative.

New info coming soon: Looking for somewhere to stay near our DC training venues? Check out our housing recommendations.

About your Trainers

Jen Mueller (MPM, YA E-RYT 200, YA CRYT, CIEM, IBCLC) has been teaching yoga to families and children since 2008. She has trained with Budding Yogis, ChildLight Yoga, Itsy Bitsy Yoga, Cosmic Kids Yoga, Yoga 4 Classrooms, and YoKid to offer classes to families and children of all ages. Jen’s work with children inspired her to complete adult yoga teacher training at Willow Street Yoga in 2010 and train in Prenatal Yoga with Janice Clarfield (Urgan Yoga) and Jennifer More (Dolphin Method).

Before turning her attention to yoga full time by founding Breathing Space, 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.

Jen is a Yoga Alliance® Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher (E-RTY 200) and Registered Children’s Yoga Teacher (RCTY).  She was a children’s yoga teacher trainer with Childlight Yoga / Childight Education Company for 8 years and co-created their Yoga for Babies & Toddlers training. She is also a Certified Educator of Infant Massage (CEIM) through Infant Massage USA and an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC).

Jen understands that good teachers are life-long students and has long worked to build professionalism within the children’s yoga field. Jen is the former executive director and emeritus board member of the National Kids Yoga Conference.

Jessica Lagarde (RYT 200, RMP) 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. Her 200 hr adult yoga certification is through Ignite: Yoga and Wellness Institute. 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-tweens, 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, with advanced training in CranioSacral Therapy and infant massage instruction and certification in prenatal massage. 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.

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