Yoga for teens in Seattle

Is your daughter not a girl, not yet a woman?  Fortunately, there's yoga for that.  Several yoga studios in Seattle offer classes tailored specifically to teens, including some that make me *almost* wish I was young enough again to attend.

We asked Annie Price, who teaches several of the area's teen yoga classes, about teaching to folks this age.  Annie got her start teaching yoga to teens when she was a teen herself, using classmates from her French class as guinea pigs for new poses she'd learned.  Later, when teaching classes for all ages, she noticed the usual class format didn't work well for the teens who attended - the pace wasn't fast enough, and they'd often get bored.  She wanted to start a class where participants could talk about the poses as they tried them, rather than be silent while the instructor prattled on.

When asked what she likes best about teaching teens, Annie says, "I like the newness of it all. As adults we tend to get set in our ways of thinking and being, so trying a new way to think about the body and how it moves can be difficult. But teens still have years of experimenting before getting set in themselves, so trying new things comes easily."

Yoga classes for teens in Seattle:

Punk Rock Yoga Doesn't it sound cool?  Taught by Annie Price at Sutra Yoga in Wallingford, this teen-only Punk Rock Yoga class features music (not just punk) and an informal atmosphere ? no chanting or Sanskrit here.  (Annie also teaches a monthly Punk Rock Yoga class for all ages at the VERA Project in Seattle Center.)

Teen Yoga OmTown Yoga in Bryant offers a weekly teen-only class that focuses on the basics of yoga and the mind-body connection.  Also taught by Annie Price, though not in the aforementioned punk format.

Taj Yoga in Crown Hill offers weekly classes for teens taught by Mary Kay Bisignano-Vadino, who also teaches yoga at Whitman Middle School, and volunteers as an instructor for Street Yoga.  Taj often holds separate classes for kids and adults at the same time, so you go to one class, while your offspring head to another.

Tween Yoga 8 Limbs Yoga offers classes for girls aged 10-13 at their Capitol Hill, Wedgwood and West Seattle locations.  The Capitol Hill and Wedgwood sessions, taught by Dawn Jansen, feature poses, meditation and breathing exercises.  The West Seattle location features a program dubbed YogaGirlz, which incorporate both yoga and art.

Sport Yoga for Tweens and Teens Village Yoga in Magnolia offers a class designed to help teens and tweens who play a lot of sports.   Poses are selected based on the sports participants play, and prevention of injuries through body awareness is emphasized.

Yoga for Trauma Recovery The Samarya Center in the Central Area offers a yoga program specifically designed for girls aged 9-16 who have experienced ?any kind of trauma, including abuse, assault, neglect, bullying, out of home placement, death of loved one, injury or illness.?

Special Needs Youth Yoga Taj Yoga (mentioned above) also offers classes for youth with developmental disabilities, focusing on gentle stretching and strength building through postures, breathing, and relaxation.  Ages range from 10-21, with most of the students in high school.

We've listed the profiles and contact details of the relevant yoga studios below.  We also have a round up of kids yoga in Seattle for the younger set.