Children’s Yoga Specialist Training
95-hour Yoga Alliance–Approved Training
This course is open to caregivers, teachers, yoga teachers, yoga therapists, and anyone who has an interest in working with the demographic.
Train to become a Children’s Yoga Specialist (CYS) and start making a difference in kids’ lives immediately. Our comprehensive course of study includes in-depth training and more than 10 hours of in-the-field opportunities and mentor hours—preparing you to teach yoga to elementary, middle, and high school students. The lab component of the training consists of direct contact between students and youth populations, allowing for hands-on translation of theory into practice. In addition, the training includes a 24-hour Yoga for Autism Training course, which can also be taken on its own.
AUM and CYS Training Director Melinda Atkins developed the yoga component of the annual Chill Out yoga program, helping elementary, middle, and high school students relax and focus in preparation for the FCATs. The program, which was supported by a Rachel Greene Memorial Fund grant from Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, has had success not only in reducing stress among middle schoolers, but also in improving their test scores. Melinda also developed a yoga curriculum for a South Florida prep school, which has been taught there for more than a decade.
Join us and learn how to work effectively with diverse student populations, so you can start your own yoga program for children—for Title I schools, after-school programs, special events, even birthday parties!
Yoga positively impacts kids’ scholastic and emotional development. Our Children’s Yoga Specialist training prepares you to work with youth aged 7 to 17, with a special emphasis on adolescents (middle and high school students) and children on the spectrum. The benefits of yoga for children and youth include improved focus and discipline and enhanced self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-esteem—leading to happier, healthier, more productive lives at home, in the classroom, and beyond. Read more on our blog: “What Yoga Can Do for Our Kids.”
Come discover your authentic, compassionate voice as a Children’s Yoga Specialist as you learn:
- Safe and creative methods for making yoga fun for all youth age groups, including stories, group poses, themes, and yoga games
- Trust-building partner yoga poses for teamwork and community
- Childhood through adolescent (7 to 17 years) anatomy
- Breathing and meditation techniques suitable for youth
- Guided relaxation for children and adolescents
- How to structure and deliver age-appropriate classes
- Class management tips for harnessing kids’ energy, and ways to give them constructive feedback
- How to adapt yoga for children with special needs
- Ways to promote your children’s yoga business.
Register now for the Yoga for Autism component of our CYS course.
Please note: Course requirements, schedules, and tuition are subject to change. In the event of under-enrollment, we reserve the right to cancel a program and refund student tuition.
Questions? Contact us.
Dates
Yoga Therapy for Autism Training
- June 24–26 and July 15, 2022
Yoga Teacher Training to Work with Middle & High School Students
This training includes a clinical online component consisting of weekly one-hour protocol reviews plus a weekly one-hour on-site after-school class at a school located in Miami-Dade County. Students outside of Miami Dade County have the option of teaching supervised on-line classes.
- Tuesdays, September-December, 2022 TBD: On-site Clinical classes at school located in Miami-Dade County – 24 Hours
- Total: 40 online hours + 10 distance learning hours = 50 hours
Yoga Teacher Training to Work with Elementary School Students (ages 7–11)
- December 3-4, 2022- 8:30am-5:30pm and Friday, December 16, 2022- 5 to 7:00pm protocol review
The course also includes 2 distance-learning sessions via Zoom regarding aspects of psychological development within each demographic.
Tuition and Payment Plans
Yoga Therapy for Autism Tuition: $575 Early Bird rate until June 15!
Enrolled Shala Student Tuition: $375 Early Bird rate until June 15!
Yoga for Middle & High School Students: $1,025 Early Bird rate until Sept. 1!
Enrolled Shala Student Tuition: $625 Early Bird rate until Sept. 1!
Yoga for Elementary School Students: $525 Early Bird rate until Nov. 15!
Enrolled Shala Student Tuition: $375 Early Bird rate until Nov. 15!
Commit to Full Tuition for the 3-course Certification and $ave!
FULL Tuition: $2,050 Early Bird through June 15!
Full Tuition for Enrolled Shala Student Tuition: $1,225 Early Bird through June 15!
You may pay for each component separately or purchase the full series.
Faculty
Melinda Atkins, M.ED, E-RYT 500, RCYT, C-IAYT, is the founding director of AUM hOMe Shala, where she trains yoga teachers and yoga therapists. She completed her Professional Level training at Kripalu, received her Clinical Yoga Therapy certification at Loyola Marymount University, became certified in the MELT Method® in 2012, and is currently enrolled in the Master of Science program in Medical Cannabis Science and Therapeutics at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy. Her yoga therapy practice focuses on those with MS and other chronic conditions and disabilities. Melinda also develops and directs yoga programs for at-risk youth in inner-city Miami schools. She holds a master’s degree in education from the University of Florida.
Evelyns Gaiti, E-RYT 200, RYT 500, RCYT, C-IAYT, is a certified yoga therapist trained at AUM. Evelyns is a special needs educator who has been working with children and teenagers for more than 25 years. She was inspired to pursue yoga teacher training when she began offering breathing and postures to kids while working as a developmental therapist, and saw how much they benefited. In addition to her 500-hour certification, Evelyns studied Restorative Yoga with Cindy Lee, Yoga Therapy for Children with Loraine Rushton, Children’s Yoga Teacher Training at Karma Kid Yoga, and Yoga Education for Autism Spectrum with Vanessa Khalon, and received her Children’s Yoga Teacher Specialist certification at AUM. Evelyns is also trained in Sensory Impairment and Applied Behavior Analysis, and certified in Sound Bowl Healing and Reiki Master Natural Healing Method.