You can search high and low and never find your perfect parent tribe. Some parents just stop looking and rely on family to support and care for our children. Some families don’t always have those resources and rely on a crew of parents navigating this wilderness of parenthood to help guide some of those difficult decisions we as parents are all too often faced with. 

You can call it a pandemic pod, social bubbles, homeschooling, virtual learning, or a one room schoolhouse. Whatever you call it, it’s a group, a “tribe” of parents putting our lives on hold to band together for our children. In yoga we like to call this parent group a Kula. Kula is a Sanskrit word that can be translated to mean “community” or “tribe”. 

Like it or not, that’s what we have become: a Kula. We have formed groups of parents weighing every option; private schools, home schools, in-person class, virtual learnings, learning pods, hybrid options and the list goes on. Does anyone have the right answer? No, the only right answer is the one you come up with for your family. The support your Kula provides may be the most valuable asset you have these next few months, and probably beyond. Thinking about educating our children at home or with other parents at home can be exciting if you look at the possibility of creating a learning environment where you can cultivate peace, reinforce mindfulness and create a community of like-minded families. This is the perfect place to insert yoga, more specifically Kids Yoga, into your at-home learning model. Being mindful and cultivating that self awareness is just as important for children as it is for adults in this anxiety-filled world.

There is a fear that home learning will stunt some social and emotional development in children due to the lack of social interaction they receive at school. The “pandemic pod” provides an answer to that idea, creating a family-like learning environment. This is the perfect place to insert yoga into a child’s daily routine. Much of our “normal” routine has been thrown out the window months ago, so why not start a new routine of incorporating yoga, mindfulness and self care into daily activities and learning. 

As yoga practitioners, we seek out that feeling of community when selecting a studio to practice at or an instructor we gravitate towards, so why not give the gift of Kula to our children? Selecting your at-home learning tribe can be a step towards inviting yoga into your family. Some questions you might ask when looking to select this learning pod might be: Are any of you yoga practitioners? Would you be open to virtual or private Kids Yoga classes once or twice a week? Is teaching mindfulness important to you? Another line of questions could revolve around movement, like: Do you think yoga is a form of healthy movement? Would you be open to incorporating yoga into some physical activities to help the children burn off some energy during the day? 

Selecting a children’s yoga instructor who is in touch with the needs of your families will be critical in planting the seeds of yoga into your Kula.Yoga and mindfulness are not limited to movement, breathing and meditation. Being mindful about how you set up your learning space can be equally important. Creating a mindful homework space and taking brain breaks can all be new to the new homeschool or learning pod parent. Creating an overall healthy, safe and mindful learning environment will provide our children with some of the opportunities and resources they need to cultivate peace, mindfulness and a sense of self. For more tips and techniques for bringing yoga and mindfulness into your homeschool learning pod (or online classroom), look into EduKAY, a virtual workshop specifically designed by educators to share yoga in academic settings.

To grow your Kula you are going to need the love and support of everyone around you. In searching, you may discover you have several Kulas already, each one supporting you in different ways. Yogis young and old benefit from having a strong tribe of peaceful, compassionate, caring peers to help them on their journey of discovery. Now, more than ever, the world needs yoga, our children need yoga, and YOU need yoga. Finding peace in your family decisions opens the door to endless possibilities and your Kulas can help with these decisions, big or small. Carpe Diem and don’t look back! Find your Kula, find your peace and know you and your children are not alone.

Like what you read here? There’s so much MORE to explore and learn with Kidding Around Yoga. Check out our website for our live and online teacher trainings, Yoga Alliance-approved 95-hour RCYT trainings, specialty online courses, original music, merchandise, and beyond! KAY even offers a 6-hour workshop designed to teach school educators and homeschool families how to bring yoga and meditation right into their classrooms (EduKAY).