Tejas Yoga Collective Knows that EveryBODY, Big and Small, Can Benefit from Yoga
Since I started doing more yoga over the past year (my 2022 resolution was to do yoga at least once every week), I really began to get it. I see the full range of benefits this type of movement offers. There are the obvious physical benefits such as increased flexibility and balance, as well as building strength, that have helped me become a more fit human. But the mental health benefits of yoga have proven to be even more significant for me. Last week, I took a gentle yoga class simply to calm myself and ground me after a busy few weeks of back to school craziness. The class was my therapy. It was a heck of a lot cheaper than sitting on a couch across from someone who charges a few hundred an hour. And it was a lot healthier than indulging in food or wine to boost my mood.
After committing to do more yoga and actually doing more yoga for more than the first half of the year, I can now shout it from the rooftop: EVERY SINGLE BODY CAN BENEFIT FROM DOING SOME TYPE OF YOGA ROUTINELY. I mentioned a few of the very basic benefits of yoga but the list goes on and on… lower stress, improve sleep, ease aches and pains, improve posture, protect your bones and joints, help with circulation, boost immunity, increase your heart rate, boost mood, help you to focus, improve digestion, better lung health, increase self esteem…. .
And guess who else benefits from yoga? Yep, you guessed where I am going with this. Children! Children of ALL ages can benefit from doing yoga. So I strongly believe that children of all ages SHOULD be doing yoga. Yoga helps kids develop body awareness and learn how to use and think about their bodies in healthy ways. Yoga is used in children to help manage stress through breathing awareness and movement. Yoga builds concentration and focus in young people of all ages. Yoga gives the youth a way to feel part of a non-competitive and supportive community.
Our school district has incorporated yoga into the phys ed curriculum. My son takes yoga at his preschool every Monday afternoon. Yoga is being made a part of our children’s lives thanks to a recent push to improve the overall mental and physical health of the youth in our country.
There is a yoga studio that understands just how much every single body, even the smallest ones, can benefit from the practice of yoga. This is evidenced by the variety of yoga classes Tejas Yoga Collective offers young people in our area. Tejas Yoga Collective is a small yoga studio in Berwyn. Tejas’ owner, Regan Marscher, has her own experience with kids since she is the head coach of the Conestoga Girls Field Hockey Team. And I am willing to bet that she has been incorporating yoga practice into her team’s field hockey practice for just as long as she has been coaching.
I recently enrolled me and my son in the Toddler Yoga Series at Tejas. Regan found the most perfect duo to teach this class. Lucy Butler (who teaches Yin and Gentle Yoga at Tejas, both of which I highly recommend) and her partner Lyman Rhodes created this yoga and music, parent/child class last spring. It was such a huge success that they brought it back in two 3-week series this fall. (The second series starts October 15 and you can register here).
Yesterday, me and my son got to take our first yoga class together. I mentioned that he does yoga at his preschool on Mondays (but as I write this, there has only been one Monday of school for him so far) and we often talk about yoga. My kids see me leave with my mat and have joined in on some virtual yoga classes in my home gym. I will read books about yoga to my son, so I knew he understood a little about what yoga was. But I didn’t get to see just how much he gets, until yesterday. And that experience alone— getting to see his tiny hands stretch up to the sky; watching him wobble in his tree pose; and observing how he proudly moved his body into a downward dog— brought such immense joy and love and pride to me.
Lucy and Lyman (along with their two precious little girls) incorporate music into the 45-minute class to really engage the young children. And it works beautifully. Yoga can easily turn silly when there is music and dancing involved, which makes the class a blast for everyone.
Every class has an underlying theme and a story that is told throughout class. Yesterday, we went through a day on the farm. We started by waking up and going into the barn. Each parent-child pair made the shape of a barn out of their bodies by standing on two feet, leaning into one another’s hands and pressing our bottoms out (check out my Instagram to get a better sense of what I am somewhat poorly describing here). From there, the kids saw a few animals on the farm, each of which- you guessed it- was a yoga pose (frog, bunny, duck, cat, cow, fox, chicken, dog). My son’s favorite was the frog pose. Mommy had a hard time getting into the frog pose (yogi squat) after running 18 miles the day before! The kids worked on the farm, danced on the farm, ate dinner on the farm and then went to bed at the end of the day. In between the yoga series and the imaginary tale told by Lucy, Lyman (equipped with his guitar) sang songs and invited the kids to dance, call out animals and shake at various speeds (this was a favorite). The music was a really nice way to change it up and hold the kids’ attention. It also made them more comfortable in this new setting. Mixing song and dance into a toddler yoga class is just the most perfect blend.
My favorite part of class was the breathe work. Class started with a breathing exercise to quiet and focus the little minds and bodies, and class ended the same way it started. In the middle, Lyman distributed percussion instruments, like maracas and homemade shakers of beans in plastic containers. The kids used their instruments to slowly follow the rhythm of their own breath. It was a thoughtful and sweet way to teach kids how to shift focus onto their breath in order to settle their tiny minds and bodies.
My son is now three and had just turned one when the world shut down, so we haven’t had the opportunity to do these priceless mommy and me classes that I got to experience with both of my girls. This class was extra special to me because we spent lots of time posing together, snuggling together and sharing in the fun of it all. And for that, Regan, Lucy and Lyman, I am forever grateful!
In addition to a Toddler Yoga Series, Tejas has historically offered a Teen Series and a Kid Series. The Teen Series with Erin Krasnowiecki is currently going on. This 4-week series is super popular among the high schoolers but older middle schoolers can also attend. Erin uses yoga and mindfulness to teach her students to cope with stress, anxiety, peer pressure, school, competition and self identity. Using their breath and yoga poses, this class creates greater awareness of thoughts, behaviors and emotions. It also promotes intention setting, body acceptance and confidence.
While Erin still uses simple vinyasa yoga in this series, her main focus this time around is on breathing patterns and techniques. Each class focuses on different breath work. During the first class, the students learned about Ujayi breath (sometimes referred to as “the ocean breath”), which is a nose breath that starts in the lower belly and moves up to the throat. Erin knows just how important breathing is in order to manage stress and anxiety, regulate emotions, build confidence, increase concentration and equip young people with healthy ways to deal with life!
Given the success of the teen program, I am sure Tejas will be offering another one soon so be sure to check back.
The Kid Series at Tejas will also return this fall. This series is appropriate for elementary school aged children and focuses on improving concentration, balance and mindfulness.
I applaud places like Tejas for recognizing the positive effects that yoga has on everybody and actually offering yoga to everybody, from toddlers to seniors. To learn more, please visit Tejas Yoga Collective in Berwyn. Your first class is always free!