Lately, probably due to the season, I have been practicing Yoga Nidra. Yoga Nidra or yoga sleep is a state of consciousness between waking and sleeping. It can be a practice on its own or done at the end of a “traditional” yoga movement class, Vinyasa, Hatha, Kundalini, Ashtanga, whatever style you prefer to practice. […]
What Lights You Up?
Most of the December holidays center around LIGHT. The lights of the season serve to brighten up the darker days, warm us when we feel chilly nights and bring a little twinkle to this reflective time. YoPlay Yoga For Kids “Shine Your Light” lesson plan celebrates the light inside of us and all the things […]
6 Tips To Help Your Child With Change
The only thing in life that is constant is change. ~Heraclitus It may be constant and it may be happening all around us and everyone does experience it every day. But we all don’t feel the same way about change. We may be more of a Sheldon character where change is very scary […]
Fantastic Fall Stories & Yoga For Kids
Growing up in eastern Canada, Fall was always a magical time of year for me. With its vibrant red and orange maples to the yellow birch and all the hues in between. I remember hiking through the woods, building forts and of course jumping in a huge pile of leaves. Fall has been one of […]
Why Teach Mudras To Kids?
Why Teach Mudras To Kids? Children love mudras! Many children and people around the globe use mudras. Mudras (pronounced moo-drah) are usually practiced with yoga, breathing exercises, relaxation or meditation. Mudras can be used for self-regulation and body awareness and are typically and can be done anytime and anywhere. What Is A Mudra? Mudras are […]
Out of this World Yoga & Stories on Space
My youngest daughter is all about space these days. It all started on our camping trip last month when we slept under the stars and saw the Milkyway while having a bonfire on the beach. Naturally, I ran with her interest and incorporated it into our homeschooling and of course with yoga. As part of […]
Five Reasons Why Families Should Go Camping
My family never went camping but my husband being the Eagle Scout he is has a plethora of experience. I love the outdoors, being in the woods, smelling the pine trees, taking in the colors of the wildflowers and feeling my feet on the uneven dirt paths, fill my cup.
We spent 7 days in a tent, cooking over a Coleman stove and campfire and peeing in the woods and I loved it!
5 Reasons Why Every Family Should Go Camping
Yoga is a Laughing Matter
When was the last time you laughed like this…. where you snorted, or were doubled over in a belly laugh? With Summer in full swing, it’s time to let loose and have fun! And you can’t help but have fun when you’re laughing. Children laugh up to 300-400 times a day during their formative years, […]
Five Reasons Why Kids Need Time Outside.
Springtime just makes me want to play outside. I want to explore everything that’s new, smell all the fresh flowering blooms and listen to every new birds’ song. This is what inspired me for this month’s lesson, “Let’s Go Outside & YoPlay”. “On average, American children spend four to seven minutes a day in […]
Put Down Your Electronics!
There is so much I love about technology. It allows me to stay in touch with my friends and family from all over the world, especially when we’re traveling in far away places. I use it for my business, obviously. I use it to homeschool my 3 kiddos. And just like everyone else I use […]
3 Books to Get you Moving & Playing Yoga Mindfully this Spring
There are so many things I love about Spring. The changing weather, the smell of fresh cut grass, the sounds of birds chirping and seeing all the new growth. “Things in Spring That Make Me Sing” is the title of this month’s YoPlay lesson plan and it is full of mindful yoga play of all […]
New Year, New Mindset, New Results
Bears, turtles, and snakes, this is the time of year where animals hibernate and slow down. So why do all of us want to start the year with the “GO GO GO, DO DO DO” laundry list mentality? The holidays are such a hustle and then New Years comes and we’re rushing to CHANGE ourselves […]
I AM GRATEFUL FOR YOU!
I am grateful for all of you who support my passion for the work I do to bring mindfulness and yoga to children to help improve their lives. To show my gratitude I want to share a few things with you for the holidays. I love bringing mindfulness to the classroom and mindful movement to […]
Change is our Constant
It’s fall, my favorite time of year. Especially when I get to be up north to see all the colors. As we transition into this new season I am fully aware of the change that is happening around me with the season, the leaves, the air getting cooler and even the smell of the […]
Like a Boat in a Storm
For today’s blog post I invited my dear friend and colleague Lani to be a guest blogger and share something very personal and intimate with you. It is her story of loss, grief and how she got through it. Sharing this brings to mind the Buddhist Parable of the Mustard Seed. Everyone experiences loss, trauma and things […]
Let’s All Be Bored This Summer!
Let’s all be bored this summer Bored, I’m so bored, bored bored bored. I’m bored to death, audible heavy sigh. Bored,bored bored. Is this a common and recurring chorus in your home this summer? Being bored is boring. Or is it? “Children need to sit in their own boredom for the world to […]
Mindful Walking
Our family just spent 2 months in the country of Bhutan. If you are unfamiliar with our wanderings you can check us out at Byers Without Borders and if your geography needs help, you can find this little gem of a country nestled between India and China. You may also know Bhutan as the happiest […]
Let’s Go yoPlay Outside
Here is a fun lesson you can do with a friend. Partner poses are fun, they’re a great way to connect through movement. Look into each other’s eyes, connect through communication, trust and teamwork and use your creativity to go on a little outdoor adventure. Spring is in the air so let’s get outside and […]
How Do You Spend 27 hours on a Plane with 3 Kids and Not Lose Your Mind
As many of you know we left the comforts of home to travel to the other side of the world to do volunteer work with the organization Health Volunteers Overseas in the country of Bhutan. My wonderfully talented husband, Bill, has been writing (his true passion) about our adventures and experiences on our blog Byers […]
New Intentions, New Year!
As the new year begins, people tend to try to fix what they think is wrong with them by declaring a new years resolution. It’s that quick fix- going to the gym, starting a new diet, doing those superficial things that we think will make us feel good about ourselves in the moment. “I […]
Your PRESENCE can be the best PRESENT
How Your Presence can be the best Present ever! It’s that time of year when it’s all about buy buy buy and getting more stuff. Right now you may have already finished your online orders, wrapping and your trip to the post office for shipping but in case you need some last minute ideas. Here […]
Breathe Your Power!
When you think of holidays you think of joyous times, happy memories, family, friend food and gift giving, but along with it, there is the hustle and bustle and STRESS that comes with all that good stuff. What better way to enter this holiday season than with LESS stress and more JOY? You can achieve […]
Farewell & Thank you!!!
And just like that it’s over. A decade of wishing, a year’s worth of hard planning and scheming, and here we are looking out at the frighteningly short and narrow runway of the Paro airport, awaiting our departure. None of us want to leave, the time went too quick, evidence that our life here was […]
YoPlay Away! Kids yoga can go anywhere.
Prior to my arrival in Bhutan, I reached out to the Early Learning Center, in Mothitang, to organize some volunteer work for the girls and myself. Having spent two years teaching English in Japan, volunteering in ELC’s English Literacy class was a no-brainer. However, when principle Madam Kueron discovered my current passion, YoPlay, my true […]
Bhutan, Advanced Settings:
Bhutan, Advanced Settings: Bhutanese consider it impolite to say no. So they have many different forms of yes ranging from “very unlikely” to “it is certain”. If they say yes three times it’s definitely not happening. Bhutanese Ngultrum is the local currency. A one Nu bill is the smallest denomination; there are no coins. So […]
Bhutan Basics
Bhutan basics: National Bird- Raven Favorite Food- Anything with chilies Fridge settings-Winter, Summer, Monsoon Toilets- squat (bring paper unless adept at the Asian bidet, water bucket and a scoop) They drive on the left, so step off a curb and look RIGHT not left (that lesson comes quickly). At day 23, life here is starting […]
Lunch with Lamas
The snows held off. This past weekend we finally made it out of Thimphu, our guide, OR nurse Sonam. I couldn’t be more proud of the girls. They stoically endured hours of vomit inducing mountain roads (Jen and Lily were the only ones to avoid a purge) in a tiny car that smelled oddly of […]
Shangri-La 2.0
In Dzongkha, Druk Yul is the name Bhutanese give their country. It translates to Land of the Thunder Dragon. They should call it Land of the Thunder Dog. Packs of stray dogs infest Thimphu. To my torment, they sleep all day and bark all night. The four that camp out at our apartment entrance have become […]
Springtime Snow
We had planned a weekend excursion to Punakha, the former capital of Bhutan. But the Himalayas had other plans, and surprised us with a spring snow. With the 10,000 foot Dochu La pass to Punakha closed, we bundled up and headed out for the girls first ever snowball fight. This was actually the first snowfall […]
We’re in the News!
Thank you, Gabby Cullen for writing a great article about kids yoga and mindfulness and including YoPlay Yoga for Kids® as it’s feature. Check it out! Click the picture of the blog or HERE to read the article.
Himalayan Adventure: Our First Few Days
98% of a big fat Himalayan adventure is figuring out the mundane. How do you charge a laptop, make a local call, find bathroom cleaner. Our first days in Bhutan are behind us and we’re starting to get our sea legs. The kids have learned to sleep with vests over their PJs and everyone congregates on […]
We Made It!!!
We made it! 41 hours total travel time from our driveway in Rockwall to our apartment in Thimphu. Dallas-Seoul-Bangkok-Calcutta-Paro. 22 hours actual time in flying metal tubes. As you can imagine we were all getting pretty fuzzy near the end. But a view of Everest on our leg from Calcutta to Thimphu perked us up. […]
V-Day is for Visas
This blog post is written by talented husband Bill……. V-Day is for Visas At two weeks to departure and still no travel Visas, I awoke again with knots in my stomach. My hospital liaison has been steadfast in her insistence that they will arrive. She reminds me that Bhutan is a Buddhist country and that […]
30 days to Bhutan!
It’s hard to believe. Our family’s big Himalayan adventure was first dreamt up 6 years ago. But it was just a year ago when we took the first step and applied to go. And it was only 3 months ago that we bought the tickets. So much time and planning and fretting, and it’s almost […]
Discover the Power of Group Yoga
One of my favorite things to do is get my students involved in each other’s success! When the kids are helping each other perform the movements and encouraging each other, it helps me to see just how powerful yoga can be – and that I’m on the right track! Here’s a quick video of what […]
Why Stretching Means Everything
Stretching is the absolute most important thing for growing and developing bodies. With less children being active throughout the day, it becomes increasingly important for them to get their stretches and exercise time. When muscles grow, they add strength and stability to the body, but without stretching, their ultimate range of motion is restricted, which […]
Welcome to YoPlay Yoga for Kids
YoPlay Yoga For Kids® incorporates playful yoga poses, breathing exercises and relaxation techniques helping children learn to stretch and strengthen their bodies, be mindful, release stress, feel better about themselves and calm their emotions – all of which makes them healthier and happier. And let’s face it: don’t we all want to learn how to be happier […]