Yoga for YOUth

Our Mission

To create a safe a friendly environment for students to focus on their mental health by practicing yoga and mediation 🧘

About Me & Yoga for YOUth

Ever since I was a child, I've watched my father practice yoga every morning and night. He practices deep breathing, sun salutation, relaxation, and meditation. After seeing and him telling me about all the health benefits yoga has had for him, I was inspired to practice yoga myself. It wasn't until I entered high school that I became serious about my yoga practice. I attended yoga classes at a local art museum every day for almost 3 years. And then the COVID-19 pandemic came. I couldn't go to yoga, see my friends and family, or go to school. Staying at home all day made me upset and led me to become anxious about the uncertanties caused by the virus. My mental health was declining rapidly, and I needed to find a solution. It was then that my yoga instructor announced he was organizing a virtual yoga teacher training program. So of course, I immediately signed up. For 7 weeks, I practiced yoga for 6 hours a day, 6 days a week. I practiced yoga asanas (asanas means "poses" in sanskrit ), learned about the history of yoga, practiced meditation and yoga nidra (means "yogic sleep" in sanskrit; lying down and moving into a deep state of concious awarness sleep), and learned the importance and health benefits that yoga has. After over 200 hours of yoga teacher training, I received my certificate and began teaching classes for my friends and family. Then, for my Girl Scout Gold Award Project I decided to create a program called Yoga for YOUth to teach free yoga classes for youth ages 5-18 in Hunterdon County and surrounding counties in New Jersey. I partnered with The Thinkers/SHE, a wellness community for teenage girls to teach free, virtual yoga classes. I also partnered with The Hunterdon County Library to teach free classes for elementry, middle, and high school students. I also led yoga classes for my classmates in my Physical Education/Health classes. Over this summer, I have been teaching in person and virtual classes for my friends, classmates, younger girl scouts, and young children. I have taught over 50 hours of live classes, and have made my project and program sustainable by creating this website and posting yoga videos that children/teens can access and watch at any time. I have also included podcasts with fellow yoga instructors, videos and photos of me teaching, pictures of my Yoga for YOUth social media account, flyers and posts, and mental health tools on my website.I will continue to update this website as I continue onto college. I will also continue teaching virtual yoga classes for people in Hunterdon County throughout the school year, and in person classes when I come back home for breaks. Additionally, I have found another qualified yoga instructor to help me teach classes for The Thinkers/SHE and potentially take over my classes once I graduate college.

Contact Information

Founder & Yoga Instructor: Nisha Kakwani

Email: nisha.kakwani@icloud.com

Instagram: yoga.for.youth