Mother's Day read: How one mum decided to get certified as kids yoga teacher during the pandemic
An embarrassing first experience with yoga in her 30s left Esther Tang wary about trying yoga ever again. Fast forward ten years later, Esther has not only completed a 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training (YTT) as a 40th birthday present to herself, she also did her a Children’s Yoga Teacher Training course and is currently onto her second.
We so happy we could chat with Esther (who was one of our first customers to buy mats for her girls!) to find out more about the commitment, determination and motivation involved for such an inspiring undertaking.
Esther shares her love for yoga with her daughters (and yes, they came for our kids yoga workshop too!)
Could you tell us a little bit about how you got started in yoga?
I attended my first yoga class about 10 years ago. However it was a rough start. I’m the most inflexible person I know so I was embarrassed by the yoga instructor during my first lesson. He commented loudly that I couldn’t even touch my toes and everyone in the class turned to look at me! I got put off by yoga — it took me about 3 years to get over it before I gave yoga another try when I was living in Nairobi. I thought I should try yoga again because I find it both fascinating and calming watching how a yogi is able to move his / her body with control.
How did you go from that to taking the plunge and training to teach kids yoga?
Perhaps it’s due to my previous experience volunteering at a girls’ home and my diploma studies in Psychology and Counselling. These experiences gave me an understanding of what children’s needs are and what they are missing nowadays. I learnt that the number of mental issues created by stress in our society is getting higher each year; the age group affected is getting younger. It is sad to see that many people and parents fail to realise the effects of stress; or that they refuse to seek professional help for their kids as they worry about them being labelled as a mental case.
Being a mother of 2, I feel that no child should be going through this. I wanted to do something about it, although I didn’t know how and what to do exactly. To be honest, while I like kids and enjoy being around them, teaching children's yoga never crossed my mind. It was while learning about the yoga philosophy during my YTT that I realised that this could be a powerful way to bridge the gap of what children are missing nowadays. Therefore, I signed up for Children's Yoga Teacher Training where I am currently pursuing my second training course.
Was it a big commitment to do your YTT and the Children’s Yoga Teacher Training one after another?
It was challenging. The entire family routine had to change. I am a full-time SAHM and luckily my husband was still working from home during that period, which enabled me to attend the course without being worried about my children. The YTT was a full time course which took over a month. My days started as early as 4am and the training lessons ended at 5pm. However, I thoroughly enjoyed it. After I graduated from the course, I felt proud and accomplished. This experience changed my way of thinking and my supportive family motivated me to do more. That’s also why I could push myself to do my first Children’s Yoga Teachers Training course.
Distressed by how stress is affecting kids today, Esther signed up for kids yoga teacher training as she believes yoga could be a powerful way to help children.
And now you’ve set up Good Yoga Only for kids while in the midst of your second course!
Yes, I started it early this year after I graduated. It’s just a small platform for me for me to have fun with my daughters and family members’ kids through yoga. My plan for Good Yoga Only is to be able to create a holistic space where kids can practise yoga and feel safe and relaxed without any judgement. Most importantly, I want it to be a fun and creative experience that is not only a great physical workout, it will help bring peace through connecting mind, body and breathe during and after the class.
What do you hope to accomplish with Good Yoga Only?
That I am able to bring some joy to the children while sharing some tools that will help kids manage stressful and challenging situations. Hopefully, me starting Good Yoga Only can also show other mums that being 40 doesn't mean that we have to sacrifice our dreams. We can still strike a balance to achieve what we want. We all need to first learn to love ourselves before we can love others.
Follow Esther and her adventures in kids yoga at @goodyoga_only on Instagram.