Mindful Conversations with KAY

Deven Sisler has been teaching yoga and meditation to children and families internationally since 2005 as well as offering kids yoga teacher trainings since 2016. She loves sharing the tools of yoga with people of all ages and believes that everyone can benefit from investigating kindness, honesty, generosity, wisdom, and self-liberation.

Deven joins Kristi and Kelly on this week's episode of Mindful Conversations with KAY to discuss her new book, The Yamas In Pajamas: A Guide to Yoga for Kids and Their Adults, which dives deeper into the first limb of yoga for kids in a fun and accessible way. Each chapter includes reflections, guided meditations, breathing exercises, journal prompts, some activities, and mindful movements or body shapes for each Yama, so kids and their adults can experientially explore these concepts. Listen in as Deven shares more about:

Deven reminds us that the practice of yoga is available anytime, anywhere...even in our pajamas!

The Yamas in Pajamas is available at Target and Amazon, or purchase a signed copy directly from her website.

Connect with Deven: www.devensisleryoga.com

IG: https://www.instagram.com/DevenSislerYoga

FB: https://www.facebook.com/DevenSislerYoga

For further reading and learning:

Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life: Life-Changing Tools for Healthy Relationships, by Marshall Rosenberg

The Secret Power of Yoga, by Nischala Joy Devi

“When little people are overwhelmed by big emotions, it's our job to share our calm, not join their chaos.” ~L.R. Knost

From the moment they’re born, children need safe, consistent, and responsive relationships with the adults around them. Most often, the primary relationship is with a parent, however other adults, such as grandparents and teachers, play a crucial role in a child's overall development and well-being.

Through stable relationships with caring adults, children are able to develop a sense of trust and safety in the world around them. They learn to regulate their emotions, foster positive relationships with others, and develop a strong sense of self.

In this week's episode of Mindful Conversations with KAY, Kelly & Kristi continue the conversation about mindful relationships with a focus on adult-child relationships.

Tune in as Kelly & Kristi dive deeper into the topic, including:

This episode is part of a series. Be sure to tune in all month for thoughtful conversations about relationships.

For further reading & learning:

Nurturing Healthy Relationships in Children through Yoga and Mindfulness: https://kiddingaroundyoga.com/nurturing-healthy-relationships-in-children-through-yoga-and-mindfulness

Whether you are a parent, caregiver or educator, you can introduce the power and peace of traditional mindfulness practices into daily routine.

Parents, check out Mindful Parenting: https://learn.kiddingaroundyoga.com/p/mindful-parenting.

Teachers, check outEduKAY Online: https://learn.kiddingaroundyoga.com/p/edu-kay-online

If you think back over the course of your life, you can probably name different friends from different periods of your life. You may even have certain friends that you rarely see but, when you do, it seems like no time has passed at all. And, if you're lucky, you are still in contact with a childhood best friend. Through school, sports, our neighborhoods, and more, we'll cross paths with many people and these people will have a tremendous impact on our wellbeing. This week, we continue our series on relationships with a focus on another influential relationship: friendships.

Friendships are an important part of childhood and growing up. They build a child’s sense of belonging and significance in their world, make a child feel cared for and cared about, and in turn teach them how to care for others. Healthy friendships play a key role in a child’s emotional growth and their development of important life skills.

Tune in this week as Kelly & Kristi discuss the importance of connecting with others and how we can support and nurture meaningful friendships for our children, such as:

This episode is part of a series. Be sure to tune in all month for thoughtful conversations about relationships.

For further reading & learning:

Building Friendships through Yoga: https://kiddingaroundyoga.com/yoga-friends-community-health-kids

Social Emotional Learning – Yoga and Emotional Intelligence" https://kiddingaroundyoga.com/kids-yoga-social-emotional-learning-sel/

Sangha: A Community of Yoga Kids: https://kiddingaroundyoga.com/kids-yoga-community-team-sangha/

Introduce the power and peace of traditional mindfulness practices into your family's daily routine with our course, Mindful Parenting: https://learn.kiddingaroundyoga.com/p/mindful-parenting.

This week, we kick off a new series on relationships and the role of mindfulness in relationships. Kelly and Kristi begin the conversation with the most important relationship: the one we have with ourselves.

Self-connection means knowing and accepting who you truly are, including strengths and weaknesses. It's about being in tune with your emotions and thoughts without judgment. It means developing self-compassion, self-acceptance and allowing growth. Young or old, having a deep relationship with oneself is vital to a balanced and fulfilling life.

Tune in this week as Kelly & Kristi share their personal experiences with self-connection and offer suggestions including:

This episode is part of a series. Be sure to tune in all month for thoughtful conversations about relationships.

For further reading & learning:

Yoga Builds Self Esteem: https://kiddingaroundyoga.com/self-esteem-yoga-kids-children

Modeling Self Care: https://kiddingaroundyoga.com/modeling-self-care/

Building Self-Confidence Through Yoga and Mindfulness: https://kiddingaroundyoga.com/building-self-confidence-through-yoga-and-mindfulness/

Introduce the power and peace of traditional mindfulness practices into your family's daily routine withour course, Mindful Parentig: https://learn.kiddingaroundyoga.com/p/mindful-parenting.

Transitioning to high school is a big change for teens. As they enter another new building, with new teachers and peers, they'll gain greater independence and access to a wider range of classes and activities. They'll also be faced with more academic and social pressure as well as pressure to start thinking about the future (...ready or not!).

Like the previous school transitions, you can expect feelings of both excitement and anticipation. As parents and caregivers, there are many steps we can take to help kids adjust to the new school environment and academic standards. In this episode of Mindful Conversation with KAY podcast, Kelly and Kristi conclude the conversation about mindful transitions with the final move to high school.

Listen in as the discuss:

This episode is part of a series so be sure to listen Part 1: The First School Experience, Part 2: The Start of Kindergarten and Part 3: Middle School for more engaging conversations and suggestions.

For further reading & learning:

Meditation in the High School Classroom: https://kiddingaroundyoga.com/kids-yoga-meditation-high-school-teens/

Reconnecting to your Family with Yoga: https://kiddingaroundyoga.com/family-yoga-connect-children-parents/

Intuition: Learning to listen to our inner voice as a guide: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kidding-around-yoga/episodes/Intuition--learning-to-listen-to-our-inner-voice-as-a-guide-e234kmd

To gain more knowledge and practical skills to teach yoga and meditation to this age group, check out Teen KAY: https://learn.kiddingaroundyoga.com/p/teen-kay

The transition to middle school is a big step on the road to maturity. Regardless of what specific grade marks the beginning of middle school in your community, your child may be feeling both excited and afraid. (And you, too!) The transition is often complex. As young adolescents are changing school buildings they are also changing hormonally, mentally, and physically, but like all transitions, with some advance planning and open discussions, you can substantially ease your child's mind and ensure a smooth shift into this new space.

In this episode of Mindful Conversation with KAY podcast, Kelly and Kristi continue the conversation about transitions with the 'big leap' from elementary to middle school. Listen in as the discuss:

This episode is part of a series so be sure to listen Part 1: The First School Experience & Part 2: The Start of Kindergarten for more thoughtful conversations and suggestions.

For further reading & learning:

Connecting with Teens through Yoga: https://kiddingaroundyoga.com/kids-yoga-teens-children-tweens-meditation/

Social Emotional Learning - Yoga and Emotional Intelligence: https://kiddingaroundyoga.com/kids-yoga-social-emotional-learning-sel/

Virtual Workshop: Pre-Teen Yoga: How to Adapt a Kids Yoga Class for Growing Yogis: https://learn.kiddingaroundyoga.com/p/how-to-adapt-a-kids-yoga-class-for-growing-yogis

To gain more knowledge and practical skills to teach yoga and meditation to this age group, check out Teen KAY: https://learn.kiddingaroundyoga.com/p/teen-kay

The start of kindergarten is a major milestone in the lives of young children, maybe the biggest one! The start of kindergarten can be a stressful time for your child as they enter a world filled with new rules and routines. Longer days, academic expectations, eating lunch independently and navigating a new school building can bring about feelings of excitement as well as fear for children and families. In this episode of Mindful Conversation with KAY podcast, Kelly and Kristi share and review ideas to help your child feel safe and secure during this transitional time. These include:

This episode is part of a series so be sure to listen Part 1: The First School Experience for more thoughtful suggestions.

For further reading & learning:

Why Should Children Practice Yoga? https://kiddingaroundyoga.com/kids-yoga-children-benefits/

Kids Can Blow Their Worries Away https://kiddingaroundyoga.com/kids-can-blow-worries-away-pranayama/

Every Little Cell in my Body is Happy https://kiddingaroundyoga.com/every-little-cell-body/

Change is hard regardless of age, but children particularly struggle with transitions. Especially the big ones like heading off to preschool for the first time. They may be leaving you for the first time and entering a new space with a whole new set of rules and expectations. Exciting? Yes. Scary? Of course! As parents and caregivers, there are many steps we can take ahead of time to make this transitions as smooth and tear-free as possible.

In this episode of Mindful Conversation with KAY podcast, Kelly and Kristi kick off a new series on age-based transitions and share simple mindful strategies and techniques for transitioning to preschool:

For further reading & learning:

Anxiety in our Children: https://kiddingaroundyoga.com/anxiety-in-our-children/

Calming Anxiety in Children with Yoga: https://kiddingaroundyoga.com/anxiety-children-yoga-breathing/

Yoga in the Car Line: https://kiddingaroundyoga.com/kids-yoga-car/

Creating Space For Children to Regulate Their Energy and Emotions: https://kiddingaroundyoga.com/creating-space-for-children-to-regulate-their-energy-and-emotions/

Find many more mindful strategies like these for this age group in our course PreKAY.

Laura Bean, writing specialist, educational wellness consultant, and creator of Write to the Core curriculum, which integrates social-emotional learning with reading and writing joins Kristi and Kelly on this episode of Mindful Conversations with KAY.

During this thoughtful interview, Laura shares more about her work which promotes self-reflection, empathy, compassion, and creativity while addressing Common Core Standards.

Listen in as they discuss:

Laura lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and teaches English Language Development and mindfulness to high school students. She shares powerful poems and writings from her students.

Connect with Laura!

Learn more: www.mindfulliteracy.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laurabeanmindfulliteracy

Instragram: https://www.instagram.com/laurabeanmindfulliteracy/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurabeanmindfulliteracy

For further reading and learning opportunities:

Amy Saltzman, https://stillquietplace.com/

Go With the Flow – Let Creativity Clear the Path: https://kiddingaroundyoga.com/go-with-the-flow-let-creativity-clear-the-path/

Compassion Through Yoga: https://kiddingaroundyoga.com/compassion-yoga-children-patanjali-sutra/

Yoga as a Social-Emotional Tool: https://kiddingaroundyoga.com/yoga-social-emotional-play-based-movement/

Bring yoga & mindfulness into your school with our EduKAY School Workshops. Learn more: https://kiddingaroundyoga.com/school-workshop/

Jobs can be fun and rewarding. How do we know? Because we teach kids yoga!

On this week's episode of Mindful Conversations with KAY, Kelly & Kristi discuss the business of kids yoga and their personal journeys offering yoga and mindfulness to children in a variety of settings.

Tune in as they dive deeper:

Is it possible to find a job you're passionate about? Kristi sums it up perfectly: "Bottom line, this is the greatest job ever."

Be sure to follow Kelly & Kristi on social media to see all the ways they share kids yoga and mindfulness in their communities and worldwide.

For further reading & learning opportunities:

Starter’s Guide to Teaching Kids’ Yoga: Business Edition: https://kiddingaroundyoga.com/kids-yoga-business-teach/

Get certified! https://kiddingaroundyoga.com/kids-yoga-teacher-training-courses-certification/

Virtual Workshop: How to Make Money Teaching Kids Yoga:

https://learn.kiddingaroundyoga.com/p/how-to-make-money-teaching-kids-yoga

KAY Yoga Card Deck: https://store.kiddingaroundyoga.com/products/kay-yoga-deck

Play Games With Your Yoga Card Deck: https://kiddingaroundyoga.com/cards-games-yoga-kids-deck/

Episode 53: Fun-Ways-to-Use-Yoga-Cards: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/pod/show/kidding-around-yoga/episodes/Fun-Ways-to-Use-Yoga-Cards-e23nhcu

BeYogi Insurance: https://beyogi.com/yoga-teacher-insurance