Business Profile: The Children’s School of Yoga, Pleasantville
In a hurry-up world that puts increasing pressure on children to perform, the benefits of yoga can help counter such stress.
Emily Flay at the Pleasantville-based The Children’s School of Yoga certainly thinks so. She works with children in Montessori schools, afterschool programs, community centers, day care organizations, summer camps and other venues to help them learn how to relax.
Flay has been practicing yoga her entire life. As a little girl she would use yoga to de-stress after a long day at school, and because her mother practiced it daily, Flay was well aware of the benefits from an early age.
The Children’s School of Yoga is a franchise that was founded in 2004 by Doreen Foxwell with the intention of offering children a set of skills that they could use in their lives. Breathing and relaxation techniques and posture exercises were developed to help with endurance, flexibility and balance.
Flay, who completed a 200-hour adult teaching certification program along with other rigorous training offered by the franchise, saw the concept as a great business idea. Last July she became a franchisee and currently serves northern Westchester.
While Flay’s 30-minute classes are similar to an adult class, there’s a specifically designed curriculum that she follows. For younger children, she structures her classes around a theme. If, for example, dinosaurs are the theme of the class, she will incorporate yoga poses that imitate the movements of those creatures. A beginner pose like the downward dog, which resembles an upside down V, can easily be compared to the four strong legs and bony back plates of the Stegosaurus.
“The most important aspect of our children’s yoga classes is the fact that we’re telling a story,” Flay said.
To keep younger students interested, Flay will often play music and use balls, bean bags, scarves and puppets to make the class enjoyable.
The school caters mainly to elementary school children, but Flay also works with middle and high school groups, even though older children are capable of doing more challenging poses.
Honing their cooperative skills and reiterating the positive effects of the exercises and of the meditation on the brain is also important, she said.
Like other health-related activities, yoga for children is getting more attention from caregivers and parents, said Flay, who holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and a certificate in health counseling from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She said the reduced stress, the increase in focus and the calming effect it has on children are all positive.
“Creating that space, especially starting it at an early age, is really important,” said Flay, who studied ballet as well.
The Children’s School of Yoga also offers classes to children with special needs and high-risk youth.
“When you teach these kids a breathing technique or a physical pose, they understand that they have control over how they are feeling, and that’s incredibly empowering for a child,” Flay said.
Her mission is to make the children’s yoga classes an enjoyable experience for all students.
“We really do our best to find a way to make yoga something that’s fun and that they will get something out of,” Flay added.
Additional services include family yoga classes, parent/child yoga, birthday parties, private classes and teacher trainings. For more information, visit the school’s website at www.thechildrensschoolofyogaupperwestchester.com or email upperwestchester@thechildrensschoolofyoga.com. Flay can also be reached at 914-579-2222.
Colette Connolly is a copywriter and p.r. expert. She owns Connolly Communications, which is based in Bronxville, New York. Colette specializes in providing content-rich, SEO-optimized press releases, articles, newsletters, brochures, and customer success stories.