One thing we say quite frequently in our home is โWhat team are you on?โ This question gets asked during times of bickering, but also general discontent. The correct answer is โI am on team Ruggieri.โ We have teams in all areas of our life: family, friends, sports,...
Creating a Community in Your Kids Yoga Class
Creating a yoga community is essential to starting each yoga class. I love to emphasize positivity and building each other up to make each student feel empowered! Positive Language Oftentimes you hear students say โI did it! Itโs easy.โ or โI canโt do it!โ Whenever I...
R-E-S-P-E-C-T (Find Out What It Means to Me)
With a nod to the great Aretha Franklin, we all need a little respect ("just a little bit"): respect for others, for the earth, for ourselves. As a children's yoga teacher, I have found that teaching about respect in its various forms takes more than a quick...
Kids Yoga at the Beach
I love the beach! My favorite thing to do is to go to the beach. The ocean, the breezy air, the warm sand, and the bright sun in the skyโฆ being at the beach is blissful. Now add some yoga to a beautiful beach day, and there is nothing better than that. Yoga at the...
The Importance of Learning Through Play
**Today's blog post was written by Whitney James, an all-grown-up KAY kid, currently a graduating senior at Elon University** All play is a significant action, according to John Huzinga, one of the top researchers of play in the 20th century. Meaningful play, however,...
Full-Blown Pranayama Putt-Putt
I grew up loving miniature golf. My grandparents have had a camper at Alleghany Mountain Resort at Rainbow Lake since my mother and her brothers and sister were young enough to enjoy the fresh air and open spaces. Much of summerโs free time was spent with aunts,...
Keep Your Shoes On!
I'm the first to admit it - one of my favorite parts of teaching yoga to children and adults is kicking off my shoes and being barefoot! Not only is it more comfortable, but going shoeless is good for you, too! You gain better control of your foot position, it...
Kids Yoga on a Plane
*Today's blog was written by Whitney James, a former KAY kid and current student at Elon University.* Plane rides are normally not very fun for kids (or adults). Thereโs usually no wifi, no on-demand movies and tv, and not much movement. Although there are perks, like...
What Color is Your Butterfly?
The image of a butterfly is the PERFECT symbol for a children's yoga class. Think about it for a second. Our little ones start out as little eggs (infants), begin to crawl and explore (caterpillars), then continue to change and grow into beautiful butterflies...
Yoga for Your Feet
Did you know that our feet have 26 bones and 25 joints? Not to mention, they also have over 20 muscles and tendons. Feet are the basis of many yoga poses. It makes sense that we should focus on them. According to one yoga expert, we know the importance of healthy feet...
Shine Like the Sun
Near the end of each yoga class I teach, whether to children or adults, we all bow to each other. I was taught that the bow has three parts, each of which aligns our hearts and minds with our bodies, and my favorite bow instruction is this: "Sit Like a Mountain...
Healthy Mom Means Healthy Child
Are you one of those people that are committed to making sure your child is healthy and has access to some of the best programs out there for inspiring creativity or promoting cognitive, social, and emotional development?ย If you are like most parents, the answer is...
Meditation Rehab for a Recovering Perfectionist
Confession: I am an office supply junkie. The Container Store is the closest I've ever been to imagining what Heaven looks like. Back-to-School sales of sharpened #2 Ticonderoga pencils and never-opened glue bottles make me swoon. There's a closet in my bathroom,...
Yoga Brings Generations Together
Most all Jewish folks know the tune โHava Nagila.โ If you donโt remember the words, youโll definitely remember the rhythm of the song. And if youโre not Jewish, youโll catch on really, really quickly! Kidding Around Yoga made a delightful Yoga spin of the song, Yoga...
Everyone’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day!
YAY! Itโs finally March and one of my familyโs favorite holidays is fast approachingโSt. Patrickโs Day. Even if youโre not Irish, as my Dadaiโ (DAH dee in Gaelic), or Da for short, always said, โEveryoneโs a little bit Irish on St. Patrickโs Day!โ And heโs rightโjust...