Children's Yoga Workshops
 and Classes

Samantha has over fifteen years working with children. She began teaching modern dance to 5 & 6 year olds when she was 14 years old. Building upon the body mind connection she learned in dance Samantha later began to incorporate yoga into her classes. Over the years she has taught yoga and movement classes to children in various cultures throughout the USA, Europe, Asia and the Caribbean. Samantha created and directed a USAID funded program in the Dominican Republic that employed yoga and dance to teach environmental consciousness and improved self-esteem.

Samantha is currently the co-chair of the California Kids Yoga Teachers Association (K.Y.T.A.C). K.Y.T.A.C is a collective of kid's yoga teachers from throughout the Bay Area working voluntarily to promote the benefits of yoga for our youth. She is dedicated to bringing yoga to all children regardless of socioeconomic background. Samantha's work with yoga and schoolchildren has been featured in the San Jose Mercury News.

Samantha teaches a weekly yoga class for children on Tuesdays from 4-5 at the Yoga Center of Los Gatos. Ages range from 6-11. She also teaches one-day yoga workshops and injury prevention clinics for young athletes of all ages.

Contact Samantha to arrange a workshop or clinic.

Benefits of kids yoga!

By Connie Blanchard (Founder of the Kids Yoga Teacher's Association of California)

All children can participate in kids yoga, from infancy through young adulthood, regardless of physical abilities or special needs. Yoga is gentle on their young bodies. IT teaches sin a positive way all about themselves. IT IS FUN! There are numerous benefits, such as those listed below, of kid's yoga as formal practice and an informal style.

Physical Benefits:

• Improves circulation and bodily functions so that more energy is available to a growing child.
• Increases their fine motor coordination as well as visual-motor and auditory processing.
• Promotes proper structural development; Helps them have good posture.
• Nourishes and stimulates glands responsible for growth and development.
• Relaxes and refreshes the body and removes fatigue.
• Builds strength, flexibility, and mobility in joints.
• Strengthens nerves so endurance improves.

Emotional Benefits:

• Fun socialization with peers and ort family; brings their scattered energy into a happy place.
• Peaceful, cooperative, noncompetitive activity, with a sense of achievement.
• Helps children build self-confidence and self-esteem learn self-control and discipline.
• Helps calm turbulent emotion and helps them de-stress in a positive way.

Mental Benefits:

• Inverted postures have been shown to improve children's memory and intellect.
• Increases flow of blood to the brain, thereby enhancing mental functions.
• Facilitates many different learning styles, addressing the whole child.
• Helps eliminate toxins from the body for a "sense of well being".
• Positive channeling of mental energy into creative outlets.

One thing that everyone does is breathe. You don't even have to think about it--it just happens! But have you ever taken a deep breath on purpose, say, to smell a beautiful rose? That is called being aware of your breath. When you do it often, you feel happier and more relaxed.