This is coming up quick so clear your schedules! We’re super excited to announce this scholarship giveaway for kids yoga teacher training with NYC’s Yogi Beans. Because, firstly, we believe the children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the…oh you know the rest. Secondly, this is first time YD has hosted a FULL scholarship for continuing ed. training, and for such an admirable mission (as per Yogi Beans): to honor the innate energies of children’s bodies, minds and hearts through yoga.
Yogi Beans was formed in 2010 and since then they’ve built an educational and fun program offering yoga to kids ages 2-10, and even adapting their syllabus to meet the needs of children in over 30 private and public schools throughout New York City, Westchester, New Jersey, and Los Angeles. Their teaching is designed to “develop children’s abilities to focus (attention), stand up straight (posture), move their limbs with control (coordination) and grace (flexibility), and find inner strength (self–confidence).” Read more about YB and their specialized TT program here.
WIN: FULL scholarship to Yogi Beans 25hr yoga teacher training program for the weekend of March 2-4. (yes, next week!) And a first runner up will receive a $250 scholarship. (regular training cost: $675) No prior yoga experience is required. If you’re a teaching professional this may be a perfect way to start incorporating yoga in the classroom.
There are a few stipulations before entering:
1. Firstly, we hope you’re interested in learning more about bringing yoga to kids! And learning stuff like this:
- Child–appropriate Pranayama (breathing exercises), asanas (poses), and meditation
- Focus and concentration games and activities
- How to make yoga philosophy accessible to a child
- Incorporating stories and songs into your class
- Sequencing class for ages 2 to 10
- Disciplinary techniques
- Practice teaching and feedback
- Teaching techniques for parent and child classes
2. Winner must be able to attend the weekend of Mar 2-4. The training is being held in Upper East Side Manhattan FRI & SAT 9am – 6pm; SUN 10am – 5pm.
That’s it!
TO ENTER: OK chillins, you knew this was coming. In the spirit of kidlets tell us in the comments your favorite game to play growing up (or now, if you’re still a big kid). Then, however you like, share with us why you’re interested in taking the training.
Entries accepted until noon on Sunday, February 26th. Winners will be chosen at random and announced by Monday morning the 27th. Good luck!
Heads up NYC yogsters: Yogi Beans is opening a brand new studio on the Upper East Side March 5th offering a schedule of FREE classes for kids of all ages and one adult class per week all month long. Space is limited and classes are filling up so reserve a spot for yourself or your bean by emailing info@yogibeans.com. Check out Yogi Beans online, on facebook and twitter to stay informed.
AND THE WINNERS ARE… MaryAlice for the full scholarship! And tk wins the $250 scholarship!
As a bonus, Yogi Beans felt so grateful for your responses so they are extending a $100 discount on the March training to anyone who entered! Contact Yogi Beans at teachertraining@yogibeans.com to get a registration form and mail it in/drop it off within the next 48 hours (by Wednesday 2/29).
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Earlier…
Wow!! This sounds amazing! My favorite childhood game has to be Nancy Drew/Charlie’s Angels/Lady Detective!! Yes, a la Bloodhound Gang, we solved crimes. I would be so honored to receive this scholarship. Been a practicing yogi for a year now and have looked for ways to get involved in kids yoga in the DC area just recently. Can you say serendipity? I taught swim lessons back in the day and love working with the wee ones. Thanks for this chance!
My most favorite game growing up was Kick the Can which we played at dusk in the backyards of our suburban Connecticut neighborhood. I am interested in this training because I took a big leap by leaving public school teaching last year to start my own kids’ yoga business and I am always in need of more training ;).
Oh, I loved Pretty Pretty Princess! But, who didn’t?! The idea of wearing fabulous jewels and eventually taking the reign of the crown was the highlight of my early days! (honourable mentions go to my cabbage patch dolls & playing secretary at my grandmother’s house!)
As the auntie of some babes who think it’s SO cool I teach yoga, I would love to have this opportunity to teach them at their level. Little babes are so impressional, so it’s key to speak and yoga with them at their level. I also LOVE that Yogi Beans is floating into the public schools – it’s a true dream of mine to get into the schools to teach the yoga, in order to help better future generations of hopeful future yogis 🙂 it’s never too early to FEEL your first down dog! Namaste!
Yay!
This is such an amazing opportunity to be able to show other’s the great benefits that can come from doing yoga! Best of luck to the winner!!
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Without a doubt, my favorite game was called ringalevio. It’s basically teamtag mixed with hide and go seek and jailbreak. Crazy amounts of fun.
Now I teach yoga to kids in at-risk environments, and hope to add teaching adventure skills into the mix to provide a fullrounded in-the-body and in-the-world program.
Growing up, I loved anything to do with water… so I’d have to say my fav game was Marco Polo – around, through, and/or under a floating doc in the lake I grew up near.
What a wonderful opportunity!
Growing up, I loved playing baseball, riding bikes, and keeping up with my six siblings. The training would be a fantastic learning experience combining two of my favorite things in life: yoga + kids!
Good luck everyone and congratulations to the winner!!
I loved playing anything where I and my friends could imagine our own worlds. My friends and I would perform “talent” shows for the parents and charge 5 cents for admission to the performances. I also loved playing veterinarian with my sister. We would gather all of our stuffed animals together and “heal the suffering”. 😉
I would love to learn how to guide children in discovering their own bodies and breaths, helping them to understand how to nurture and love themselves through movement, breathing, and play.
Growing up my favorite game was playing house and make believe games. I used to love to dream and let my imagination run wild. I used to love to mimic things in my play time that I saw around me .
I have completed my 200 hour yoga teacher training. I am now a volunteer teacher for kids yoga at different schools in my neighborhood, especially trying to reach those kids who cannot afford or access yoga. So I would love to add this training to further help me reach those children.
Love this opportunity for training!! My favorite game growing up was underwater tea party. My sister and I would try to stay underwater as long as we could to have a pretend tea party. So much fun.
I would love this training to help me continue teaching and guiding children with social and emotional issues to develop awareness of breath and their ability to love and take care of their feelings and emotional health.
Wow. What a wonderful opportunity! When I was really little my favorite games were Freeze Dance, Telephone and imagining I could talk to all of my animal friends (stuffed animals and animals in my backyard), like Snow White! I still get to play these games now when I share yoga with little kids…except its Yoga Freeze and Yoga Telephone. We also love to make up our own yoga nature adventure stories together as we practice yoga…I start the story and each child adds an animal pose or nature-related pose to the store as we go along (preschoolers get extremely excited when we play this game!). I’m a 200 hr trained yoga teacher, but this training would be a wonderful tool – as I’m passionate about serving as a yoga guide to young children (ages 3-9) of all abilities and much of my work is done as a volunteer. Good luck everybody! Shanti.
This is Awesome! will definately spread the word 🙂
My favorite game as a kid was hide & seek! I loved finding creative places to hide and the anticipation of someone coming nearby, but not finding me!
I would like to do this training because I’d like to work with at-risk children. I have done some yoga instruction for kids of moms who live in shelters, and it’s totally different teaching to kids than it is to adults. Would love to learn more so I can be of service. Namaste.
This may seem boring, but my favorite childhood game was Pictionary. Growing up as an only child, it wasn’t easy finding playmates to interact with, and imaginary friends only took me so far. But I could always count on Pictionary to bring my loud and crazy Mexican family together. My Dad was an artist and thankfully his love of drawing was handed down to me by blood. I have wonderful Pictionary memories of Dad teaching me how to draw my first basic figures and shapes.
I believe creative expression is lacking in most educational curriculums as budgets and funding become tighter and tighter. Children need breath work, movement, playful awareness, and confidence-building more than anything right now. They are living in a world of stress and conflict where mindfulness is rarely encouraged as the primary coping method. I want to show kids that they don’t need ipods, television or video games to be entertained. As a yoga teacher in DC, I always refer to myself as a “giant child” in my style of teaching. My goal in each class is to make sure everyone laughs at some point while practicing. I’m not afraid to sing, do impressions, make jokes, funny faces or even do a few face-plants for the sake of good laughter. I worked with children in my high school and college years when I was an education major, and have deeply wanted to reconnect with the Bambinos in this new role. I would be honored to be a student of Yogi Beans and offer this gift to the coolest demographic out there! Thank you for the opportunity.
1. My favorite childhood game was Kick the Can. We played almost everyday in the summer with all the kids in our neighborhood. We took the game very seriously so aside from a few arguments here and there, we always had a blast!
2. I have no formal training at this point. I have; however, been intersted in completing training in order to become certified to teach yoga to kids. I began practicing yoga a few years ago and have really made it part of my life (2-3 times a week) over the last year and a half. I have found such benefits from regular practice, both mentally and pyshically. I’m 29 years old and I wish I knew 20 years ago what I know now when it comes to practicing yoga. I want to be able to share that with children and give them the opportunity to love it just as much as I do 🙂
My favorite game to play growing up was “mermaids.” My friends and I would make it up at summer camp in the pool. We would be mermaids who had to find creative ways to save the ocean…by catching the “Ursulas” of the pool (I was into The Little Mermaid). So, it’s no surprise that now, my favorite pose is the mermaid variation of pigeon.
I want to teach in the public schools when I graduate from my middle-of-nowhere college so I really, really want to do a kids yoga teacher training so I can start by teaching at the local elementary and middle schools where I tutor. I see the difference it can make to integrate mind & body in the classroom and it is my philosophy that that difference should be available to kids everywhere, not just in places where yoga is popular.
I grew up Poland in the 1980’s and I loved playing hide-and-go-seek with my two brothers and the other neighborhood kids. We lived in a large apartment complex with a playground and lots of trees between rows of towering yellow-orange buildings. The playground seemed massive at the time and the hiders took advantage of all the nooks and crannies the buildings and playground had to offer. I think I liked the game so much because I’ve always loved searching and seeking something out. The mystery of where everyone could possibly be hiding peaked my curiosity and the sense of reward for finding the hider was elating!
Kids have an innate curiosity. Their minds are like sponges. They see the world clearly without filtering it through the lens of past experience. They’re souls are open to possibility. They play. As part of my yoga business I teach affordable classes to groups of adults in their homes, I would love to expand the concept to kids for all the aforementioned reasons. And as part of my goal to integrate nutrition and yoga, I want to begin with kids and give them tools they can use while growing up in an ever stressful, fast-paced, technology-oriented world. I want to teaching kids how to be better connected with their bodies through fun and accessible ways and equip them with the means that allow them to bring a better sense of well-being into their lives as adults. Thank you so much for this wonderful opportunity!
I’d LOVE to attend the YB training! I am a relatively new yoga teacher and have 2 grandbabies I’m looking forward to sharing my yoga practice with. From there – who knows where that will lead?
Growing up my favorite game was kickball. We used to all meet doing at the corner and used the sewers and man hole covers as the bases 🙂
Hi! I just read about this opportunity now, and I am responding, because I say, “Hey, carpe diem. Have to give it the good ‘ol college try!”
The first game that came to mind was red light, green light, one, two three! I don’t know if that was necessarily my favorite, but I loved it, and it was the first one that popped into my head. I also played it recently with a young boy that I babysit for.
I would love the kid’s yoga training! I have been looking into this for some time now. I am a newly certified yoga instructor, and have been teaching since November. I am also a teacher, and a coach, and would love to add in another dynamic to my giving of service to others and to share the yoga experience with the little kiddos! I have ten nieces and nephews and would love to assist in their development and growth as well. As I further my own practice and my teaching experiences, I understand the value of growth and expertise in an area to share with others.
Good luck to all, and I know whoever will win will receive a fantastic gift! So enjoy!
Namaste!
OH! Also, I actually just sent an e-mail to one of our managers at the studio earlier this evening about offering a kid’s yoga class at the same time as a regular class to provide mother’s with the ability to participate in yoga as well as their kids!
Yes, that manager was me! And I am so excited for Maryalice to have this opportunity!!
My favorite game as a child was Chinese jump rope 🙂 We played it on the playground all the time. I think I loved it because there were no rules to memorize:p
I would love the opportunity to learn more about yoga for children. As a therapist, I work with children of varying ages who could benefit from mindfulness and stress relief. Children who have experiences death and/or trauma often need a different approach to therapy and yoga is a great opportunity to show children how to understand their mind and body connection.
If given the opportunity, I would bring my knowledge back to my practice, helping children connect the mind, body, and spirit. This will be a wonderful experience! Thanks
Thank you sooooo much! I can’t wait! 🙂
Awesome MaryAlice!! You deserve it!!!
My favorite game to play when I was growing up was red light, green light! It was a treat whether you were “it” the person trying to catch your group advancing toward you or part of the group trying to tag the one that was “it”. I loved closing my eyes, spinning and shouting “red light, green light, counting 1,2, and …3! Next, opening my eyes to see who forgot to stand as still as a statue or getting tagged before I got to #3. I also loved being part of the group creeping up to the first to “tag” the person who was “it” without being caught moving!
An exciting game of wit and action. I am smiling now, it was so much fun.
I am interested in Yogibeans training because I have practicing yoga for 3 years and truly believe in the transforming power of yoga. I want to teach children the gift of connection to their inner spirit and outer self. I am an early learning Coach and a professional development instructor to child welfare workers in NJ but I was born and bred in NYC. I had caring adults that enriched my community and I want to be trained to teach children yoga in NYC as a way to provide enriched community to others.