73. Opening New Doors in Kids Yoga with Incia Palmieri

Recognizing that children need balance and focus in their lives, Lani first incorporated yoga into her daily schedule while teaching first grade in Coney Island, Brooklyn, back in the late '90s. Wanting to deepen her own yoga practice, she received her 200-hour certification from the Nosara Yoga Institute in Nosara, Costa Rica. Then, building on her extensive experience with young children, she went on to be certified by Next Generation Yoga in NYC and in Kenya, the Radiant Child Yoga Program, Street Yoga, Circus Yoga, Baby Om, Mindful Schools Teacher Trainings, and United We Om, which focuses on training for under-resourced and trauma-impacted communities. In 2003, Lani headed cross-country to San Francisco, and a year later  founded and created Full of Joy Yoga. Over the next four years, she taught yoga to children in preschools, yoga studios, homes, homeless shelters, and after-school programs all over the Bay Area. In 2007, she relocated to Connecticut, bringing her expertise to the East Coast. She discovered after having her own child, Zephyr (who is now 10), that family yoga was one of her favorite classes to teach.  Training others to teach yoga to kids is one of Lani's passions, as she realizes she can reach many more children by sharing her skills and talents with other instructors.  These last two years of the pandemic, Lani has been teaching outdoor yoga in preschools in all kinds of weather (think snow-ga!) and remotely in New Haven’s public schools – all of which feels like a gift during the uncertainty of these times. Most recently, Lani published a book called Yoga Games for Kids and will soon have videos to accompany the book’s games on her YouTube channel. Lani is always striving to improve the lives and futures of children, and to help them laugh, love, and grow.  In this episode, Lani shares powerful insights from her over 20 years in the kids yoga industry. She shares what's kept her in this work over the years, her current passions, and some of her favorite stories. A wonderful and rich conversation, Lani has so much knowledge that we can all benefit and learn from- Listen in NOW!

Marneta Viegas is the founder of Relax Kids Ltd - the UK's leading expert on children's relaxation. She set up her revolutionary relaxation program in 2000 and is the author of 13 books and has produced a range of over 25 relaxation CDs/MP3s. Marneta has over 40 years of experience in meditation and relaxation and runs a training program where she has trained over 5,000 franchisees from 50 countries in her unique award-winning method of relaxation. She lives in Oxford, UK, with her dog Ronnie Barker. In this episode Marneta shares what it was like being a meditating vegetarian way before it was trendy, why she shifted her focus from being on TV to performing for children, and what led her to teach meditation to children. Ahead of her time, Marneta is an amazing example of following your own inner voice even when those around you don't understand. An uplifting and fascinating conversation- Listen in NOW!

Kristi Fischer and Kelly Winkler are the hosts of the new podcast, Mindful Conversations with KAY. Both woman have extensive experience sharing yoga and mindfulness with children and families. In this conversation, they dive into their visions for the future of kids yoga, how we can realistically incorporate mindfulness into our parenting, how their relationships with their children have changed since they found yoga, and all about their new podcast with Kidding Around Yoga. Listen in NOW!

Ashley Fontes is a Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher with the National Association of Iyengar Yoga and a registered ERYT-500 Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance. She is the creator of , the Kids' Read and Yoga podcast, and multiple kids yoga games. Ashley has been teaching children's yoga for 10 years and is a mother of 3 little yogis, and 2 yogi dogis. Ashley has her first yoga book coming out in the next couple of months. In this episode she shares how yoga has helped her on her mental health journey, and how she's presented the practice for her children. Such an important topic, listen in now!

Originally aired in February 2021, this episode features Abigail Wilber. Abilgail is an educator, public speaker, and coach. She wants to make mindfulness inclusive, adaptive and relevant to all ages. Abigail loves teaching kids life skills like how to calm down, pay attention, and problem solve. She shares her experience teaching yoga to large groups of teenagers and how she approaches special needs classes. She also sheds light on some red flags to look for when it comes to navigating the business of kids yoga. A shining gem for kids yoga teachers. Listen now!

Kira Willey, author of Breathe Like a Bear, Peaceful Like a Panda and the Mindfulness Moments for Kids board book series, is also a children’s music artist, kids’ yoga and mindfulness expert, and creator of Rockin’ Yoga school programs. She has released five albums of kids’ yoga and mindfulness songs; her work has won Parents’ Choice Gold, Independent Music and International Songwriting Awards. Her hits include “Colors,” which was featured in a worldwide Dell ad campaign, and “Just Be,” which has been streamed more than 2.5 million times. Kira created and hosts several yoga-for-kids programs which air on PBS TV affiliates nationwide; and her TEDx talk, “Bite-Sized Mindfulness,” can be viewed online. Rockin’ Yoga, Kira’s membership, is a thriving community of open-hearted kids yoga educators bringing mindful practices to our next generation. In this episode Kira shares how and why she began sharing yoga for children, how her first kids yoga music album came to be, the inspiration behind her books, and her hopes and dreams for kids yoga and mindfulness in the next ten years. A powerful and inspirational conversation, the perfect listen for every kids yoga professional. Tune in NOW! Some FREE resources provided by Kira can be found for all KYP listeners here:  Here is a page with some of Kira’s most loved yoga resources for your listeners.

Kids Yoga Gems are key pieces of advice offered by the over 75 kids yoga professionals from around the globe that have been on The Kids Yoga Podcast. In this special two year anniversary episode, Host and Creator of The KYP, Jessica Mougis, shares some common themes she's heard hoping we can all benefit from these words of wisdom from. Listen in NOW!

Cathy Cassani Adams, LCSW, co-hosts the Zen Parenting Radio podcast and is co-founder of the annual Zen Parenting Conference. She is a social worker, certified parent coach, former elementary school educator, and yoga teacher who is a forever student when it comes to breathing and mindfulness. Cathy teaches in the Sociology/Criminology Department at Dominican University, and she lives outside of Chicago with her husband Todd and their three daughters. In this conversation, Cathy shares about her journey with yoga and her decade long experience podcasting. She also talks about her new book "Zen Parenting" Caring for Ourselves and Our Children in an Unpredictable World", explains the chakras and offers wise parenting advice. Listen in NOW!

This episode was originally released in April of 2021. James Woods (@datyogadude) has a passion for sharing the tools he has learned on his personal journey to wellness. He has a degree in marriage and family therapy, is a registered yoga teacher, speaker, mentor, author, organizer, teacher and active community member. He is president of FEEL FREE 2 FEEL FREE a health and wellness organization that provides wellness programs and services. James gets candid about his personal yoga journey and how he now shares those tools with black boys and educators. His perspective is important and must be heard! Listen now.

This episode was originally released in March of 2021. Crystal McCreary is a Lead Yoga, Mindfulness and Health Educator & Teacher Trainer with 13+ years of experience in instructing yoga and mindfulness to people of all ages. She facilitates trainings for organizations that aim to support the social and emotional wellbeing of youth and adults, and currently works full-time in the Health Department at an independent school in NYC. Crystal is also the author of the Little Yogi Deck which focuses on emotional intelligence and guides children towards creating a home practice. In this episode, Crystal shares what it means to embody social justice, and why when we prioritize our own healing (by using the technology of yoga) we can create lasting change in the world. She also offers gem after gem of wisdom. Jessica left this interview so fired up she had to go for a brisk walk! Listen in NOW.