This past weekend, Michelle and I facilitated the first 20-hour YoKid Teacher Training in my home city, Richmond, Virginia. We had a group of fourteen awesome trainees join us at Project Yoga Richmond: women of a variety of ages, backgrounds, and interests; from
Colorado, Maryland, New Jersey, Northern Virgina, and Richmond; yoga teachers, yoga practitioners, school teachers, moms, and grandmas.
Every time we do a training, I am amazed and inspired by what I gain from the experience. Here are five things I learned or had reinforced from our Richmond training:
1. Each of us has unique and rich backgrounds
No matter where we’ve come from, each of us brings something beautifully different to our teaching and interaction with kids. No matter how many times we’ve done the training, or how many people attend, I am always inspired by all of the creative ideas and new perspectives each individual shares with the group. And, since the best teaching we can offer to students is that what is authentic and true to who we are as individuals, we always encourage trainees to tap into their background, their interests, and their strengths when planning and teaching kids.
2. People who want to teach yoga to kids have big hearts
One of the reasons facilitating the YoKid Teacher Training is so enjoyable is because of nature of those who attend. People who want to teach kids yoga have a strong desire to offer the benefits of the practice to kids so that their lives can be better. One theme that was echoed by many of the trainees was that they wished that they were introduced to yoga at a younger age. They reflected upon how different and better their lives might be having had the tools of yoga to use starting at a young age. But all of them take it one step beyond their personal reflection and choose to actively bring yoga to kids in their communities. They have compassion and empathy and a desire to make our world a better place through yoga.
3. Community is important
While we all have wonderful ideas and talents as individuals, true impact is made through community. In a community, individuals support and encourage one another, they learn from one another, and they get inspired by one another. The trainees always prove that the sum is greater than its parts. Although, I have to say, all of the parts are pretty fabulous too 
4. Conversation and questions are where the real learning happens
Every single time we do a training, Michelle and I return to our training manual and add, change, and delete. We are constantly evolving our training and materials. This stems directly from the amazing learning that happens when people ask questions and spark conversations in our training. Through work in groups and pairs, as well as through opportunities for reflection throughout the training, the trainees — as well as the facilitators — have an opportunity to learn. So, while this adds some extra work to our plates, we are grateful to constantly be making our training better!
5. Adults love to be treated like kids sometimes
Some of my favorite moments in our training are when we get to see just how much adults love to be treated like kids! Throughout the training we model kids classes, 
read kid’s stories, offer kid-friendly translations to the Yoga Sutras, guide the trainees through a children’s yoga nidra, and teach kid-inspired games, breath awareness techniques, and partner poses. The laughter, joy, and peace of heart and mind that arises during these times is truly magical. It’s also a good reminder for all of us to be a kid every now and again!
A heartfelt thanks to Dana Walters and the whole team at Project Yoga Richmond for hosting us!
