Blooming Yogis
Blooma offers classes and workshops for kids.
Caris Werden, Clara McKoy, Nora McKoy, and Reese Werden work on their crescent lunges at Blooma.
PHOTO BY:
EMILY J. DAVIS
Blooma is well known among new moms, soon-to-be-moms and veteran moms alike. The prenatal yoga classes and new-mom groups are just a few of the reasons women have been flocking to the Selby Avenue studio for more than three and a half years. Now, little yogis can join the Blooma community, with toddler, kids and tween classes and workshops covering everything from downward dogs and relaxation techniques to menstruation and celebrating what it means to be a woman.
Yoga
Ann Griffin understands the value of practicing yoga at a young age. As a Blooma yoga instructor for kids and tweens, she has seen firsthand how it increases self-esteem, enhances concentration, teaches present-moment awareness, sparks creativity and cultivates a peaceful, relaxed state of body and mind.
Parents agree. When Emily Sevig started sending her 6-year-old to yoga at Blooma, she saw it as a way for her child to burn off some energy. She was happy to find that it offered a lot more. “Yoga supports our efforts to help [our daughter] be aware of her body and give her tools to help when emotions or situations are challenging,” she says.
Griffin begins class with breathing exercises and grounded seated postures, which she hopes will help kids manage stress when away from their mat. From there they warm up with “the Sun Dance” (sun salutations) and then work on poses by playing games and telling stories. “Kids love stories so I tell a story to string the poses together,” Griffin explains. “It sparks imagination as they change and create their own poses and link them together.” The older kids like working together and enjoy challenges, so Griffin includes a “peak pose” for each class and dedicates time for partner poses and group discussions. Class ends with savasana and a mini massage.
At Blooma, it’s never too early to practice yoga. Whether 9 months or 12 years old, little ones are welcome on the mat. “I think that if all children learned to practice yoga, we would have more peace and happiness in our world,” says Griffin.
Movers + Crawlers Yoga: 9-18 months, with caregivers
Tots Yoga: 18 months-4 years, with caregivers
Yoga for Preschoolers: 3-5 years
Kids Yoga: 4-8 years
Tween Yoga: 9-12 years
Entering the Circle
Bridget McGreevy is starting a revolution around periods. She’s a midwife, childbirth educator and prenatal yoga instructor, so women have always been at the center of her work. She no longer practices midwifery but is still serving women through her new focus: menstruation. This summer McGreevy is offering a 3½ hour class, co-taught by her 13-year old daughter Flannery, at Blooma to educate girls and help them welcome this time of transition. “I want girls to celebrate this rite of passage we no longer honor in our culture,” says McGreevy. “We want to honor these girls—their souls, not just their bodies.”
Unlike your typical health class, “Entering the Circle” invites female caregivers to participate, and begins with a ritual that draws connections to family ancestry and the Earth. Then they delve into anatomy and how a woman’s cycle works, but instead of overheads and textbooks they use a felt board and knitted yarn uterus. Other activities include gathering advice from the female caregivers, discussing the importance of self-care, and playing a version of Family Feud. Class ends with a few yoga poses and another ritual that ties the girls together—literally—with colorful yarn, a reminder that women are connected. “I have this strong desire to imbue ritual and metaphor in these girls,” says McGreevy.