I hear the words “teaching children’s yoga is not really teaching yoga”, my heart breaks a little. As a kindergarten teacher, I hear a lot of people say “oh, your a kindergarten teacher, how cute”, I always laugh and say that the kids are very cute, but my career is not (writing a thesis for my Masters Degree in Elementary Education is the last thing from cute). Or I hear “kindergarten teaching is like being a glorified babysitter, because the children are not really capable of doing a lot at that age”. I am always disappointed in how many people underestimate children’s physical and mental abilities.
You can challenge a 4 year old to be the best that they can be and give them the confidence to believe, that if they put their mind to it, they can achieve it. I am very passionate about my teaching career, I believe that as a kindergarten teacher I am laying the foundation for a child’s education. For some children, I may be their very first teacher and as a first teacher, I have the great responsibility to create an educational environment that will have a positive impact them. If my teaching has a negative impact, it could possibly affect the child’s learning and their desire to go to school.
When it comes to teaching children’s yoga, my main concern will not be their alignment in the asanas, but teaching them certain yoga concepts such as, YAMA & NIYAMA. As a teacher, I will forever be a student, always trying to learn how to improve myself as an educator and a person. Yoga is a way of life, not just about learning poses. I feel truly blessed that I am able to mold young minds into being great global citizens and I truly believe that my experience and training with yoga will help me achieve that.
