Tanja has been teaching yoga for children and children with additional/diverse needs in yoga studios, communities, preschools, primary & secondary schools, kids camps, libraries, at festivals, for children’s organisations and in independent classes nationwide since 2014. Qualified as advanced therapeutic yoga teacher and certified with SpecialYoga UK, Tanja also incorporates therapeutic soundmassage and soundyoga after the Peter Hess method in her classes. Due to her expertise in applying yoga as therapeutic intervention with children, teens & adults with additional needs, Tanja provides workshops for educators, SNA’s and parents on sharing mindfulness, meditation, body awareness practices & stress relief techniques with children. As a mindfulness practitioner in the Plumvillage Buddhist tradition and certified Reiki Teacher, she knows that yoga, mindfulness and relaxation are skills to help live balanced and healthy lives. in body, mind and spirit.
Her background as a mother of a child with additional needs has motivated her to become a children’s yoga teacher and to work with children and families in a one to one therapeutic setting.
Meeting children where they are at, trusting that all children are capable of learning to find a place of calm within themselves, providing a safe and loving space and giving them support that meets their individual needs through practicing yoga is central to Tanja’s approach in sharing yoga with children.
In her classes, Tanja combines yoga poses, breath work, meditation and relaxation in a child friendly and accessible way. Children learn to breathe with their noses and bellies (the healthy way), their bodies get all the benefits of the physical yoga poses improving sleep, balance, coordination, muscle tone, strength and flexibility, and children learn meditation and relaxation techniques to be able to regulate their emotions and breathe through everyday stresses. Very importantly, their nervous systems become balanced and calmed through particular relaxation, breath and meditation techniques. Tanja also works with instruments for sound play and sensory integration which children love and which helps them to come out of overload and overstimulation back to their bodies.
“Yoga helps children to discover their light and beauty within themselves. It helps them to find their self confidence, to connect with who they are inside and to feel comfortable with their bodies. A child who grows up with yoga, mindfulness and relaxation develops life skills for a happy, balanced and healthy life in body, mind and spirit.”
