Teacher Feature: Elizabeth
The Yoga teacher planned a seated activity but the kids are bouncing around like jelly beans…
so you pivot and do what they want or need.
No matter what you do, there are always opportunities to plant seeds in their awareness.
-ESG
The Notorious ESG
Two years ago, in the darkest days of the pandemic, The Yoga Buggy (TYB) had some new sunshine! Elizabeth Seminoff Grenon applied to teach with us.
Elizabeth brought with her over 10 years of teaching, curriculum development and mindfulness practice and was serving as ED for another local yoga nonprofit.
Elizabeth quickly revealed herself to be professional, curious and fun! She asked great questions about TYB and generously offered time and support where needed.
Within a year, Elizabeth had taken on the role of admin. She got to work sorting out budgeting, schedules, spreadsheets … all the things that do my head in! and also diligently and lovingly supporting our team.
At that point it had become clear to me that TYB would benefit from fresh leadership, and I knew Elizabeth would be a great fit.
We first began discussing it in autumn 2022, and have been slowly transitioning the role since. It has been a true pleasure to have this opportunity to work closely with Elizabeth and to be able to watch her ideas and work blossom.
I am delighted to report that we are now experiencing the most financial stability TYB has ever had. We had a strong foundation in many ways, but a lot of our recent success is due to special magic Elizabeth has added to the Buggy’s gas tank. Our bookkeeper Anoo is so impressed that she honoured Elizabeth with the name The Notorious ESG 😃
We are so excited to officially welcome Elizabeth to our team as ED! And of course we had to have a chat with her.
TYB: Elizabeth, please tell us about your journey to teaching kids' yoga.
ESG: This is a tough one to know where to begin because it's not like this is its own journey; rather, it is just a part of my life journey. Do I begin when I was born? HA! Don't worry, I'm not going to relay my life history.
I love kids. I love helping people. I love making connections. I love doing what I love. At some point I realized I wanted to teach, but the 'what' of the matter hadn't emerged yet. I tried a few things but if it wasn't boring to me, it was boring to the student. No fun.
The thing I did like, however, was relating to my students. Talking with them, joking, helping them when things got difficult. Slow down, focus, take a breath. I wanted to help them with the real challenges they faced, not just grammar or geography. Emotional challenges are some of the biggest we face in our lives. If we sow the seeds of emotional intelligence in our children, we help them cultivate self-reflection and potential tools for navigating life in a human body.
I didn't know kids' yoga was a thing until a few years ago, and I happened upon it serendipitously, as the best things usually arise. It was the topic of a small portion of my basic (200h) yoga teacher training and there was a little feeling that pulled me to investigate further. I'm pretty sure I'm the only one in the cohort who actually enjoyed that section, but I soon found that there was a whole lovely group of humans who were pulled to it as well - the Yoga Buggy!
TYB: Congratulations on your promotion to Executive Director of The Yoga Buggy! How does it feel? What are you focusing on in your first year of leadership?
ESG: Thank you! I'm happy to be here! It feels like when you have a birthday and everyone asks you if you feel older, but the transition has been happening for a while, so you really don't feel any different at all.
Really, the transition has been very smooth and deliberate, over a good amount of time. Miri slowly passed things over and has remained in charge of others. Miri is incredibly supportive, as is the entire operations team, and it feels very comfortable to be in a place where there are always people to bounce ideas off of, ask for advice, vent, and lean on in times of stress.
What I'm working on is getting Yoga Buggy programs into more schools, moving forward on the after- school care project, getting more grants and bringing the team together more frequently! If we get a few more programs rolling, we might be able to hire our first employees!
TYB: You have been immersed in the tai chi tradition for a long time. How does Tai Chi inform your yoga teaching?
ESG: Tai Chi is rooted in Daoist philosophy, which is laissez-faire in nature. Go with the flow. Don't force things. Let things do themselves.
It's really important when working with kids to lead from behind - that is, you have a plan, then they want to do something else, so you pivot and incorporate what they want or need. You thought you were going to do a seated activity, but the kids are all bouncing around like jelly beans - do you force them to sit and listen, which just makes everyone frustrated and tired, or do you play a game where they can bounce around and maybe try the other activity later/another day? They have fun, you have fun, and no matter what you do, there are always opportunities to plant seeds in their awareness. Spontaneity is powerful.
TYB: If you could tell people one thing about yoga for children, what would it be?
ESG: Yoga for children, like yoga in general, is not really about learning poses or becoming so calm that emotional waves never rock your boat; it’s about exploring the connections between mind and body, between inside and out. If I push this, what happens to that?
The more you explore, the more you develop awareness of and compassion for yourself and others. One day, after countless explorations with mindful patience, you might find that what you thought separated the mind from the body, you from others, is actually what connects them. You might even discover that there is no separation at all.
But let’s not put all of that on a child’s shoulders. They are new here, learning to run and tumble, get excited and feel anger, find out what they like and what they don’t - that’s a big job. What they really benefit from is having exploration guides without a set agenda. It’s all self-discovery - let them discover themselves!
Playing Yoga