As yoga students we all know the benefits of yoga for body, mind and spirit. Through yoga we have learnt to connect with our bodies, develop flexibility and strength, learnt to stretch and relax and even find a space to play with going upside down. We have learnt through yoga how to relax and be still, the art of reflection and letting go, how to still our minds and be at peace. We have learnt through yoga how to get through the day, connect with others, open our hearts to everyone and everything in the natural world. We have learnt to be mindful and to manage stress, learnt  how to look after ourselves others and the world. So of course we want to share ALL of this with our favorite humans in the world- our children. If yoga does all the above for adults imagine a generation who have grown experiencing yoga.

At Deva yoga we have a family of specialized yoga and wellness teachers who offer yoga and wellness classes to children and teens throughout the week and during the school holidays. Read on to meet our teachers and see what Deva yoga can offer your favorite humans.

Laura Scott..

What classes do you teach?

I teach a class for Teens at Deva and I run family yoga once a month and during the school breaks. I also run children’s and teen workshops through the summer holidays. I also teach in schools and groups.

What experience do you have?

My biggest learning experience to work with children is being a mum of a teen and a toddler, at the same time! I am also a social worker working with children and young people and specialize with working with young people with disabilities. I have been practicing yoga for 8 years and a keen student as well as a teacher. I have completed training with Special yoga- teaching yoga to children, Teen Yoga, and Universal yoga 200hr. I have a passion for teaching teens and supporting young people as they transition from being children to young adults.  Helping to them by providing them wit the tools to manage the ever increasing, fast past and pressurized world we live in today. I support the teen yoga foundation and you will find me a lot at their conferences and promoting the research they do.

Why do you teach yoga to children and teens?

I was a yoga student working with children in my day job and soon it became clear that the benefits of yoga were so great but I felt that I had missed out on this ‘secret’ when I had needed it most- growing up. I therefore felt that I wanted to share yoga with children and teens and completed my training. I love to teach family yoga as I love watching their relationship build between parent and child and both parties enjoying watching the other practice. Everywhere you look now more research is developing and concerns raised about the stress our young people are under- with exams and future life planning becoming an anxiety for 11 years olds. It feels like our children are having to grow up fast to meet the pace of the world. Yoga offers a pause button.

Best yoga moment?

Teaching an early morning class at a cub camp on a Sunday morning with 30 boys age 8-10 and observing all of them be still and quiet for approximately 1 minute- without 1 fidget! And Pause…….

 

Jenny Carne..

What classes do you teach?

I teach children's yoga on a Monday afternoon at Deva Yoga and Yoga clubs and workshops in the holidays.  

What experience do you have?

I have been practicing yoga for nearly 20 years and i couldn't imagine my life without it.  This is what lead me to take my Children's teacher training with Rainbow kids in 2017. 

Why do you teach yoga to children and teens?

When my two children starting joining in with my yoga practice and asking questions about yoga I realised that yoga can provide such amazing benefits to children as well as to adults and how wonderful it would be to share the happiness that yoga brings with as many children as I could.  So i decided to train to become a children's yoga teacher.  Being a child can be quite stressful and difficult these days with so much competition to be the best and so much pressure from the world around them particularly online.  Many suffer from unnecessary anxiety and I believe that yoga and mindfulness provide the solution to this while also helping them keep fit and flexible and away from technology for a few hours a week.  Yoga has provided huge benefits to my own children and I hope it will also provide these to all those I teach along the way.

Best yoga moment?

Although I have only been teaching for a short period of time I have noticed some amazing changes in the children I see regularly in my weekly classes. Some have become much more confident in themselves and my best yoga moment so far is watching a particular friendship blossom which I wouldn't have suspected at the start.  I also love when they get excited about the 'relaxing bit' at the end which shows that they need this in their lives!  

 

Natalie Yunnie..

What classes do you teach? 

Vinyasa, Hatha, Restorative, Pregnancy, Postnatal, Mum and Baby Yoga, Infant Massage and Yoga, Children (ages 2-12)

What experience do you have?

I have been teaching since receiving my 200hr YTT in 2012. Since then I have furthered my CPD in Prenatal, postnatal, Baby yoga & Massage (2014) and children’s yoga (2017)

Why do you teach yoga to children and teens?

Teaching yoga to children is a beautiful way to encourage children to bring awareness and love to themselves and those around them. It fosters compassion as well as mindfulness and helps children to better deal with their emotions.  There are also the amazing benefits such as supporting and enhancing physical and cognitive development.  In this day and age, we are surrounded by technology and social media. It is important to come back to our roots and connect with ourselves and nature. Yoga is the perfect way to bring harmony and balance to our children’s lives and learn to connect with themselves and their emotions.

Best yoga moment? 

I have many. One that stands out was arriving to teach a cover class at a studio in South Africa, Durban. It was a cold day and pouring with rain. Only 1 student arrived. I taught the class as a one to one. Afterwards, the student came to me to tell me how much she enjoyed the class and how yoga has turned her life around after loosing a loved one. This moment was so special and such a space of honoring and listening. It was this precise moment that everything fell into place and confirmed to me that yoga is my path.  To be able to support others on their journey through life and that it doesn’t matter if there are 1 or 40 people in my class.  It’s about following my passion and giving each and every class my full and whole self.  To be truly present in the moment, enabling others to truly benefit from their practice. 

Namaste!