How did you find your way to ChildLight Yoga?
I was presented with the opportunity to volunteer my teaching time at a summer camp for children with specific needs. The head of the foundation that offered the opportunity spoke about a trauma informed training that may be helpful but wasn’t coming to the area for many months. I started researching online and stumbled upon some trainings being offered by ChildLight Yoga locally and signed up on the spot!
Why are you interested in yoga and mindfulness for children?
The idea that yoga can empower children as it help them understand they have control over their own brains, bodies and breath is invaluable. As a mother of four children, two of which have specific needs, I have witnessed first hand how impactful yoga can be as a tool they can use to self-regulate, calm and reaffirm themselves.
Can you tell us about your overall training experience with ChildLight Yoga? Any special details you wish to share?
Training with ChildLight Yoga was magical. The love the team of trainers have for the subject matter, their students and each other is evident. Taking the different modules was not only informative, it was introspective and full of joy, just as teaching to children should be. At this point I think I have taken every single training offered, even after I hit the 95 hour mark for certification, all because the program is soulful and outstanding.
How are you applying what you learned with your community? What are you passionate about sharing?
Over the past year and a half I have been teaching yoga and mindfulness to children in my community at local studios, schools, summer camps and family events. I am super excited to begin offering classes consistently in a small studio space in my home this fall. Seeing children use these tools, or hearing stories from parents and teachers about how they are coming back to them on their own, is priceless. It sets them up for stability and contentment in life when they are able to understand that they may not be able to control all the things that happen in their lives, but they can control how they react to what happens.
What do you find to be the most beneficial yoga and mindfulness tools for the population that you work with these days?
When I begin working with a group or population, whether it will be ongoing on a one time event at a camp or library, I always start with the brain, body, breath connection. Children love to move their bodies, sing the song or play the games we learned through our trainings, but they also like to understand how to use these skills everyday, why they work, and how they are going to benefit from applying them.
Jennifer Csordas is a military wife and mom of four amazing children. She works full time as a Business Development Manager supporting, training and encouraging entrepreneurs to build a business of their dreams. Jenn teaches yoga and mindfulness to children in the Lehigh Valley, particularly in school settings and at local studios, as it is her heart work to empower them with the tools to be their best selves. Her own entrepreneurial dream is to open a facility where alternative therapies; art, music, writing and creative movement, are provided for children on an outpatient basis. She believes whole-heartedly in the concept that it is easier to build strong children than to repair broken adults.