
I can’t believe it took me this long to get around to writing this post, but I wanted to make sure that I had the time to really think and reflect on my experience in New York. This opportunity came Wednesday night when I found myself walking in the door at 6pm. Me…home by 6pm on a weeknight when I’ve already gotten in my run (30 minutes early in the morning) and it’s raining so I can’t fit in a bike ride…what’s a girl to do?
Well, I’ll tell you…
I spent some extra time loving and brushing Cooper, got started on making dinner, and then sat down to begin Sherlock Season III and blog a bit. But I never blogged a bit and then the rest of the week got away from me. Better late than never…right?!

#nofilter
A little history…
I have been practicing yoga for over 10 years. I took my first class my senior year of college (don’t do the math) and was forever changed. Over the past 10 years, yoga has served many purposes in my life. There have been times when my practice is more consistent than others, but I have never strayed far from my mat.

In my job as a pediatric physical therapist, there has been plenty of room for yoga. It is something that I have often recommended to my patients of all ages and abilities. Even at my first job, I was this close (my fingers are very close) to taking a kids yoga certification. Over the past few years, I’ve struggled to find the right place to refer my clients. This became especially obvious when I started my new job in December. It was during an inspiring yoga class downtown that it occurred to me that I should be teaching kids yoga.

My next step was to talk to the professionals and research some opportunities. I didn’t take it lightly and spent way more time than I care to admit looking for yoga certification courses. I really wanted an affordable, weekend course that I would walk away from with ideas that I could use immediately. After much thought, I registered for the Rainbow Yoga Kids course in Brooklyn. The course was coming to Chicago, but not until December and I was eager to take the class before summer in hopes of starting some yoga classes at work.

I am so grateful to have family in NY along with a close friend from junior high, and I knew Brooklyn would be an awesome place to explore my inner yogi. I flew in Thursday morning and spent the entire day catching up with my cousins and playing in Manhattan. Friday morning, I woke up early to take the train from Washington Heights to Brooklyn.

I was the first to arrive at Scared Yoga and was greeted warmly. I was early enough to grab an iced tea before beginning my first day of training. I had no idea what to expect and the first day impressed and surprised me!



There was playing, dancing, bonding, and fun. At the end of the day, I was eager to see what the rest of the weekend had in store.

One of my favorite things about doing my training in New York was walking to and from the studio each day. I walked 2 miles through the most interesting and eclectic neighborhoods and LOVED the fresh air and exercise.

Day 2, I was again one of the first to arrive. There was a lot more fun as we mastered the steam roller…


And other games, acrobatics, and play ideas. We did more dancing too!
And we got through all of that before lunch…

A group of us went to a local pizza joint. You didn’t think I’d go to New York for a weekend without eating pizza did you?! After lunch, there was more games, dancing, meditation, and plenty of ideas to bring back to the clinic with me!


At the end of the day, we offered a community class for local families. It was profound to see the impact yoga could have on everyone, especially the cutest 2 year old that you ever did see massaging my feet during our relaxation. That night, I walked back to my friend’s house, showered, and began exploring Williamsburg. There are tons of adorable boutiques and delicious restaurants. We had a great night with more incredible food and catching up!

Sunday morning, it was back to the yoga studio for my last day of class. Now that I kind of was getting a feel for the area, I knew where to stop for a chai tea latte on the way. The instructors plan was to not give us our manuals until the last day. Although it was tough not to have everything written out during the first 2 days, it really forced us to live in the moment and learn through movement.

Sunday started with a creative and unique obstacle course complete with…well, everything!



Then we had a snack and a chat…by day 3, I’d say we were all pretty close and eager to share stories and ideas!

It was good to have the energy since we then moved on to the yoga gym and acrobatics.

As an ex gymnast, this was right up my alley and I’ve already tried some of these moves with the kids, which they love. For my last lunch, I went to my new favorite place in Brooklyn, called Scratch Bread.

It has the most delicious food (thinking about the grit bowl has my mouth watering as we speak) and I became addicted to this ‘tonic’, which consisted of citrus, carrots, and ginger. It was so refreshing and perfect for eating lunch out in the hot sun after a morning of yoga fun.

Although I had learned a lot, I still felt like there was more to fit into the last afternoon and I knew that I needed to leave a little early to make it to the airport on time.


The afternoon involved creating poses, vinyasa flows, and stories. It was also our chance to put together a short sample class.

We took our graduation picture and parted ways with intentions to continue on our yoga journey and keep sharing ideas and energy as we grow! I found myself sad to leave Brooklyn, Sacred studio, my friends (old and new) and family…wishing that I had just a few more days to explore, walk, dance, and play!

#rkybrooklyn
So after all of the pictures, I’m sure you can already tell,…
What were my overall thoughts of RKY training?
I loved it! I loved spending the weekend in New York and immersing myself in the Brooklyn and yogi lifestyle! It was special to spend a weekend with like minded people soaking up their energy and creativity. The training itself was practical, functional, and fun. I returned back to the clinic with more than enough ideas to plan the 6 week yoga session we were offering for my youngest two age groups. I did not feel that I got as many ideas for the high school aged group. And the weekend focused more on movement and games than it did on instructing kids into the basic poses (ie Warrior I). I got more than I anticipated out of the weekend and have already found some other trainings that can fill the knowledge gap with the older groups that I am hoping to take soon. We packed a lot into 3 days that takes you through a slew of emotions. For some, this journey was more emotional while others purely educational, but either way it was a life altering weekend and the start to an exciting road ahead.

Namaste!