Our 15 hour, 9 session online video course follows a read-watch-quiz-grade flow.
Get comprehensive training from an instructor with two decades of experience with teen yoga.
An official certification is beneficial to growing your student base.
For many years, I gave small trainings to adults in how to teach teenagers yoga. People came from around the world; Mexico, Ireland, Venezuela, Argentina and all around the United States. The trainings were so powerful and helpful to those in attendance that I wanted to offer it more broadly. I developed this online course (with video recordings of a live training) to jumpstart more people to learn from home which has become even more relevant post pandemic. Plus, I included ALL of my teen yoga resources to give as much content as possible.
I gave a lot of thought to setting up the basic framework for a teen yoga teacher to be comfortable and confident in their role. The nine-session course covers a wide variety of topics that are critical to the foundation for teaching teens yoga. As a result of taking this course, a teacher will have access to tools and templates that apply to any teen yoga environment.
Upon completing the course including the nine quizzes, a teacher will receive an official YogaMinded certificate signed by Christy (downloadable file). In addition, a teacher will receive the yoga for teens logo to use for their own teaching purposes.
Teaching Teenagers Yoga during a Pandemic How do you share yoga with teenagers during a pandemic? This is not a question we would have ever considered relevant prior to last March. When schools closed for in-person learning and many governors enacted stay-at-home orders, we were all faced with a new reality. At the time, I was teaching yoga to three classes of middle schoolers at Mountain Academy in Jackson, WY. Our classes changed to an online format and my s...
A couple of days ago, I took a major fall. I hit the ground HARD as I was taking a light jog. I had shared this news with friends and dear yoga students this week. And, I am sorry it caused alarm. What I meant to convey is that I had a shock to my system that was a lightning rod experience. It was a noticeable event that made me very alert. Thankfully, I was not seriously hurt. Here’s the story. My plan was to enjoy a sunrise mellow run around Je...
Are you wanting to be better in your body...You know movement is good for you and you probably already incorporate some form of exercise and/or yoga in your life. Do you realize your potential? Do you challenge your balance, explore range of motion and strengthen the places where you’re weak?I can help you reach new levels of ability, no matter what your age. You can feel better and move better. My method of working with the body integrates mindful movement with...
I am starting online yoga classes in the Yoga Barn using zoom April 6. Soon, I will have WiFi in the yoga barn and a big screen so I can see everyone participating.This will be so awesome to re-engage with past students and friends, to accommodate my local quarantined students, and to connect with new people. I was recently described as a "fabulous and fun teacher" by my student here in Jackson Hole who had taken several months of classes with me. My classes will include...
We had a successful zoom call on Wednesday, March 11, 2020. It was sweet to connect with other teen yoga teachers. I presented a few points on how make a teen yoga class meaningful, how to make it fun and how to help teens make the practice their own. We all agreed that we were uplifted by the connection. We will be doing these virtual meetups again… I love learning who is out there and I am happy to offer up what I’m learning in my classroom.Purpose of the...
Paula A.Brooklyn, NY 2/24/20 From 1-5 stars, how would you rate the course? I give "Yoga for teens course"?a 5-star rating.? I highly recommend anyone who is interested in teaching teens to connect with Christy. Why were you interested in the course? As a high school teacher teaching yoga, I wanted to have fresh ideas how to teach teens.? My yoga training was for adults, I have adapted a lot of my training experience...
We're big believers in the benefits of yoga for children and teenagers. If we weren’t, we wouldn't be doing what we do. Seeing teens become stronger and more confident as they progress with their yoga practice is rewarding for us as teachers. When it comes to teens with physical disabilities, yoga can be a powerful tool to help them become more comfortable in their bodies. Here's why:Yoga Is for Every BodyYoga meets us where we are. Yoga is versatile by its very nature. It works for every...
By Christy Brock Miele Last week, I had the honor of witnessing a new high school yoga class taught by Emily Barro. Emily is a high school biology teacher (22 years teaching) who is pioneering the first ever Yoga course at her school, Fountain Valley High . She has witnessed her students’ mental health decline and wanted to provide tools for students to manage their stress. Luckily, her school agreed and the administration approve...
By Christy Brock Miele Every time I teach teenagers yoga, I learn from the experience. When you put yourself in front of a group of students in the t(w)een years, you never know what's going to happen! And yet, with some advanced planning and anticipation, you can achieve that teen yoga magic you're hoping for. My hope with this blog is that by sharing my recent experience of teaching 22 thirteen-year-old girls I might help other teen yoga teachers have...
By Christy Brock MieleIf you are an adult teaching teenagers, chances are you have been baffled by your students’ response (or lack of response) on more than one occasion. Even if you’re an experienced teacher, what you have previously taught that was gratefully embraced before may not go so well with a different student group. How you respond as a teacher provides a lot of information to students. If students are resisting your leadership of the class wit...
From the first YogaMinded training hosted in 2001 to the last hosted in 2016, I've delighted in the certain magic that happens amongst a group of caring adults who share the purpose of wanting to teach yoga to teenagers. In that vain, I will host a one day gathering to keep stoking the fire of teen yoga teacher intention. Teachers in attendance will present to the group and describe how they created (or responded) to a situation that had powerful teaching impact. Christy will also pr...
By Christy Brock Miele Whether you are currently teaching teenagers or are planning to do so in the future, there is one important teaching technique that I'd like to remind you of today.That is, I'd like to remind you to use eye contact with your students. Take time to literally see your students with eyes open. Whether you implore words along with your eye contact is optional. The fact that you acknowledge each teen student's presence, silent though it may be, is what matters....
Announcing an In Person Yoga 4 Teens Teacher Training with Christy Brock Miele Aug 11-13, 2016 Thursday, Aug 11, 2:00-6:00 pm Friday, Aug 12, 11:00-7:00 pm Saturday, Aug 13, 9:00 am-1:00 pm San Juan Capistrano, CA. Lodging searches should be targeted to Dana Point or Capistrano Beach. Other close cities include Laguna Beach, San Clemente, Newport Beach. Closest airport is Orange County airport (code SNA). Location: TBA to participants, private location. T...
By Christy Brock Miele Summer is all about getting outside and enjoying nature. I love to hike, especially in beautiful places and of course, I love yoga. While in the past I've kept these two endeavors separate, I am now a convert of my own experiment to include some yoga poses into my hiking. Some pictures along with my commentary follow this list of benefits you might receive from blending yoga with your next hike: Benefits of incorporating yoga poses on your hike: Makes...
By Christy Brock Miele This week, I had the honor of being a private yoga instructor for a birthday party. Typically, I hear of yoga birthday parties being hosted for children. What a wonderful thing, I often think, for children to come together with their friends to physically and imaginatively express themselves as an alternative birthday honor.This party had a different target age, women in their sixth and seventh decade. This special group of 65-70 year old women gave me goo...
By Christy Brock Miele Did you ever avoid something because it WAS trending? SUP Yoga is hot right now. If you doubt the challenge or enjoyment of it, I challenge you to give it a try.I've enjoyed Stand Up Paddleboards ("SUP"'s) since 2007 when my husband and I bought two boards. What fun to be on the ocean, connecting to nature. I regularly go out on my 10 ' SUP, usually with a friend. I've even learned to surf with it, which makes catching small waves a treme...
In the context of reporting about Jaysea DeVoe, a 13-year-old yoga teacher from Southern California, our Instructor's Guide gets a mention by The New York Times. The article reports Yoga 4 Teens: An Instructor's Guide to Teaching Yoga to Teenagers to be a “popular manual”, which is a boost for teen yoga and teen yoga teachers everywhere.YogaMinded is pleased to see Jaysea making a difference in her community. Articles that highlight her teaching serve to role model...
Teenagers are particularly attuned to social dynamics. This aspect of their nature should not be overlooked by teen yoga teachers."Adult yoga" is experienced both inwardly and individually. However, teenagers love to enjoy and relate to each other. Though it need not be noisy or even include talking, there are many easy ways that teen yoga teachers can teach to the group dynamic.Here are 3 Simple Ways to Include a Group Dynamic to Teaching Yoga to Teenagers:Discu...
By Christy Brock MieleI'm a believer in knowing the big picture. If someone asks me to do something, I do a lot better when I understand WHY I am doing it. When my daughter struggles with her homework, I explain that her frustration is a sign that she is building her brain "muscle" and strengthening her ability to learn. (For more, see Mindset by Carol Dwek.) Because she understands the benefit of the struggle and how the process unfolds, she can continue her work without...
It was a busy day, a busy week, a busy month, a busy life. I can choose to be less harried, though that choice is often obscured by the tasks before me. I made a choice yesterday that I want to share and celebrate. First, here’s a little more background to lead you to today’s short story. The tasks for taking care of my two daughters (ages six and two), my husband, and our home are never-ending. Ordinarily, I joyfully engage in what has to be done because my eyes are o...
Today I had an encounter that has me thinking about how we treat people and how it relates to the teen yoga classroom. It was a classic day for longboarding– sunny and beautiful with waist-high gentle waves and very little wind. (Longboarding is a style of surfing with a board that measures somewhere between eight and eleven feet in length that has more stability than shorter boards and is best for waves that are not too steep.) The waves were coming in sets and the conditions w...
This simple meditative flow is a great tool for immediately captivating teenage attention. It involves the hands, arms and a block and prepares anyone for a meaningful seated mediation. With this hand/block dance, teens can quickly create a mind/body connection. Plus, there are many other points of education that can relate to other school subjects. Once students are sitting in Simple Crossed Legs (Sukhasana) they can begin the "hand/block dance". N...
Announcing an In Person Yoga for Teenagers Teacher Training with Christy Brock MieleAug 11-13, 2016Thursday, Aug 11, 2:00-6:00 pmFriday, Aug 12, 11:00-7:00 pmSaturday, Aug 13, 9:00 am-1:00 pmSan Juan Capistrano, CA. Lodging searches should be targeted to Dana Point or Capistrano Beach. Other close cities include Laguna Beach, San Clemente, Newport Beach.Closest airport is Orange County airport (code SNA).Location: TBA to participants, private location. The training is held in a relaxi...
It’s that time of year — Spring Break is here. But before teenagers can enjoy a welcome break, most of them must endure test-taking and exams first. Studying hard brings many benefits, among them getting smarter! However, the pressure to do well in limited time with great expectations often creates a great amount of stress for teens. Christy Brock Miele, found of YogaMinded.com and teen yoga teacher trainer, has some suggestions for how teens can ward off exam stress, kee...
I was recently asked to provide three meditation tips for beginners by a person who is compiling a grand list of tips to help motivate people to meditate. Great cause, I thought. And great reason for me to record my thinking at this moment. Below this lovely picture of tree in bloom, I present three tips. Your feedback and responses will be enjoyed, if you’d like to comment on this blog.Do some enjoyable light body movements first.I refrain from calling it exercise...
From your website, yoga4teenagers.co.uk, I see your mission: “Our mission is to prevent the next generation from becoming stressed out hunchbacks in later life.” That’s a great way to put it, especially when you’re talking to teens. How do they respond upon hearing your mission? They normally laugh as perhaps they don’t realise the reality yet… our classes are designed to be fun so this is part of it. I love how when I’m talking to teens, I need to make my la...
Having just wrapped up another teen yoga training for teachers, I’m reminded yet again of how valuable our book, “Yoga 4 Teens, An Instructor’s Guide for Teaching Yoga to Teenagers“, is as a classroom resource and preparatory tool for teaching yoga to teenagers. This complete resource and “how to teach” book addresses everything you would want to know to prepare for a yoga class of teaching teens. Teen yoga training participants have said this about the book:“Yoga 4 Teen...
Have you ever thought how your life might have been different had you discovered yoga earlier? Avalon Cobb was one of those lucky teens who took up yoga as a teenager and even started a yoga club at her school. She also appears on YogaMinded.com and throughout the our Yoga 4 Teens Instructor’s Guide Book .While I have such fond memories of the eight teenagers who appear in our Yoga 4 Teens Instructor’s Guide Book, teenage lives swiftly change and I’m not in currently i...
Delfin Spa makes three lines of clothing with ground-breaking fabrics. This is my FIRST EVER blogpost on yoga clothes because it is the first time I’ve ever been inspired by something new made by a small company that I think could help other people. The line of clothing that I personally own and love is the Bio Energy collection. I have both thecapri tights and the mineral infused exercise shorts. Most important to me me is that they are super comfort...
By Mike CroyThe bell rings, doors open, and you can hear the squeaking of tennis shoes and the crackling of adolescent voices as they make their way down the hall. They file into the “studio” and know to take off their shoes, place their electronic devices on the window ledge and grab a mat. The school psychologist wanders in, spraying the still, soon-to-be musky air with lavender spray meant to pleasantly stimulate the air and then slides out unnoticed. Our studio, in reality is...
Have you considered life from a teenager’s perspective? While adults may easily dismiss adolescent problems, the life of a teen from a teen’s perspective likely includes a great deal of stress. Let’s consider a few generalities about teenagers and how yoga might address their needs. Many teenagers struggle with difficult and painful situations. They can use some tools and techniques that alleviate the pressure they are under or soothe the pain the...
I began giving to a highly worthy non-profit, Ecology Project International. (EPI) in 2001. It’s been such a rich and satisfying experience for me to be a contributor to EPI that I’d like to encourage others along a similar path. I’ll present six general reasons to give to any well-run non-profit and then elaborate regarding the personal relationship that I have with EPI (fondly pronounced “EP-EE” by many). Perhaps you’ll also consider supporting EPI, whose mission is to inspire the next g...