A little about Lara and YogaDabbaDoo
Hi,
Welcome to YogaDabbaDoo! I am Lara Lawrence founder and teacher at YogaDabbaDoo. I have been practicing yoga for over 12 years and have found it hugely beneficial for both my mental and physical wellbeing.
A little bit of background about me, I have been a teacher since 2002 and through this time I have taught every age group from Nursery to Yr6. These school and classroom experiences have given me the knowledge of the pressures that are the different stages of development for children. Whether it is the physical movement of learning how to hold and pencil through to the stresses of tests as the children get older. I believe that yoga can bring a positive effect to every age group; equipping them with self esteem, creativity, physical strength and flexibility.
I first came across Yoga and its huge benefits whilst working and living in the the "Land of Smiles". It was in Thailand I fell in love with yoga and the feeling of positivity I felt after my regular classes. Yoga retreats were my favourite and throughout my classes I try to recapture the relaxed environment I was able to experience and recreate it.
A few years ago I started an after school yoga club and to help combat common entrance pressure in the infant school i was working in. I absolutely loved it, whilst seeing a huge increase in concentration in my normal classes. However I felt that while there are so many good resources out there a lot were all screen based and I wanted to move away from the screen. This led me to find out about training as a yoga teacher, the seed was sown and I decided to take the step to train to be a children’s yoga teacher and I haven’t looked back. I thoroughly enjoyed my training with Mini Me Yoga and Cosmic Kids and currently I am working on achieving my diploma in Mindfulness in Children. Module One has been passed!
I have loved experimenting with the yoga poses in the YogaDabbaDoo classes. I try to use a wide range of games and activities to engage the children. I follow the Mini Me Yoga Positivity Programme using breathing techniques, yoga poses and fun games. I enjoy creating yoga stories that follow well known stories. For example Dear Zoo, The Hungry Caterpillar or Harry and the bucketful of Dinosaurs have all featured in my classes this term. It has shown me what a positive impact yoga can have on all children and how children love to experiment with wide range of breathing games and poses in the classes.
I love my YogaDabbaDoo classes and in September 2018 I took the step to become an Ambassador for Mini Me Yoga which means I can now train other teachers/educators or anyone who cares for children how to bring yoga and well being into their setting/school/ home. The Mini Me Yoga programme is so adaptable it can be used in schools, nurseries or at home, it is full of positivity and promotes health and mental well being for children. I run monthly workshops covering all age groups from pre school to teens and also a lovely mediation workshop.
Please look at my MMY page for more information.