Teens & Yoga: Teacher Q&A

CorePower’s purpose is to power love from the inside out by empowering everyone to experience the transformative benefits of yoga. This summer – from July 1 through September 5 – we are encouraging members to bring their older teens to class with them for FREE. With its emphasis on mindful movement and use of breath, yoga can support the mental and physical health of our youth.

As part of this effort, our CEO, Niki Leondakis, sat down with Kaileigh, a CorePower studio manager and teacher in Northern Colorado, who has been practicing yoga since she was a teen and understands the positive impact it can have on people during these formative years. In their discussion, Kaileigh shares her experience starting a consistent yoga practice at a young age, how time on her mat gave her a sense of self and a sense of belonging, and she offers advice for parents and their older teens on why getting started now could make all the difference. Enjoy their conversation below!

Niki: Hi, Kaileigh. It’s so nice to meet you. I appreciate you joining me for this discussion.

Kaileigh: Thank you for thinking of me. I’m really excited!

Niki: Absolutely. Where are you today?

Kaileigh: I’m in Denver. I actually live here, but I oversee the three CorePower studios in Boulder.

Niki: That's wonderful. How long have you been with CorePower?

Kaileigh: I've been working for CorePower for a little over five years now. And I’ve been practicing here for much longer than that.

Niki: You know, I started with CorePower as a student as well, but I didn’t start at a young age, so I want to hear more about your early introduction to yoga and how you got started. How old were you when you took your first yoga class?

Kaileigh: I was eight years old. My mom was a personal trainer and has always been a little obsessed with fitness. The way she always tells the story is that she really needed a yoga class, because I was driving her a little crazy. Since I refused to stay with a babysitter, she just brought me along.

She went to a Power Vinyasa studio in Littleton, Colorado, and the one rule was that I couldn't talk the entire hour. I loved it, and my mom and I used to go all the time. We eventually moved away from that studio, and I practiced at home for a few years. When I turned 15, I took my first class at CorePower and I never stopped. I would go every single day after school. In fact, I went so consistently that I actually got asked to prom in a Hot Power Fusion (HPF) class my senior year. My prom date knew that’s where I would be. So CorePower Yoga holds a very special place in my heart. I’m just so happy to be here.

Niki: Oh my gosh, that's incredible. I love it that your mom took you to yoga so she could find her quiet space from you. But she had to bring you to get that quiet.

Kaileigh: I’m very thankful for her. She’s been so supportive of my passion for yoga. I did two Teacher Trainings in high school as well. During my senior year, I completed the Hot/HPF Training and the Power Training. All because my mom helped encourage me, telling me how being a yoga teacher would be a great job for me to have while I was in college. And now I manage three studios for CorePower. So it stuck.

Niki: I’ll have to thank your mom personally. Does she still practice?

Kaileigh: She does, yes. She doesn't come to class in the studio as frequently, but she is a fan of Yoga on Demand. She loves doing the online classes.

Niki: Oh, that's great to hear.

So you started yoga when you were 8, with CorePower at 15, you took two different Teacher Trainings when you were in high school, and now you’re managing three studios?

Kaileigh: Yeah, I was 17 when I completed the first Teacher Training so I wasn't even old enough to teach. I enrolled in the next Teacher Training that was available, which was a Power training, and I turned 18 during the last week of it so it felt kind of perfect. I started teaching right after.

Niki: Amazing! That is incredibly intense passion and focus to have at such a young age. I mean, these trainings are 200 hours. It takes a lot of commitment. And you were in high school. Wow!

Kaileigh: I remember I would go to school from 7:30am to 3pm. Then I would have a break to eat dinner, before going to Teacher Training from 5:00pm to 9pm every night for about four months. So it was a big commitment.

Niki: At 17, kids are usually all about their social life. Do you think you missed a lot of social things to do yoga teacher training at that age?

Kaileigh: I made so many friends in Teacher Training (TT), friends I still have. So maybe I didn’t have the same social interactions as an average high schooler, but I still made wonderful connections that I hold very deeply today.

Niki: Teacher Training is such a powerful experience to go through; it's common for lifelong friendships to be made. I hear that a lot.

Looking back, Kaileigh, at starting yoga at such a young age, how would you say it's affected your life or affected you personally?

Kaileigh: I mean, in so many ways! Yoga is the path that I've chosen for my life and my career. Whether it’s my personal time on the weekends and evenings, or my commitment to being an employee at CorePower, yoga is a huge part of my life.

When I first started yoga, I didn't know why I needed it. I was really young and was just excited to be there with my mom. By the time I found CorePower, it was a really pivotal time for me. I was 15 and going through all of the emotions that a 15 year old goes through. I had a little bit of an eating disorder in high school, and definitely struggled with my mental health. CorePower just really grounded me and had such a positive impact on my mental wellbeing. Honestly, the only time that I didn't think about my eating disorder – that I didn't think about anything stressful – was when I was in a yoga class, which is why I went every day after school. I craved the feeling of ease that I got from my practice.

Truthfully, I don't know what my life would be like without my yoga practice. I think I would have gone down a much darker path. The older I get, yoga is still there for me. Life's stressors may have changed from when I was an adolescent, but the world’s kind of crazy and there are so many other things happening. I need the calm and stability that yoga gives me. Yoga always just meets me wherever I need it. It’s always there. I’m so genuinely thankful for that.

Niki: Wow, that’s pretty significant. It sounds like no matter what you've gone through or have been through in your life, yoga has been there to help you find peace and space and solace and help you with any mental anguish or stress that life serves all of us.

Kaileigh: One hundred percent. Whether it was high school or college challenges, or heartbreak, my yoga mat was there.

Niki: It's like a dear friend, isn't it? I've found myself at times in my life where I just want to hug my yoga mat.

Kaileigh: Sometimes after a long day, nothing feels better than literally laying on your mat. You don't even have to move, just lay there and let it support you.

Niki: I couldn't agree more. It’s like a big hug! I have shared that same feeling many times.

Kaileigh, what advice would you give to parents who want to support their teen’s mental wellness?

Kaileigh: I’d give them the same advice that I give my yoga students, which is, yoga can be one hour away from communication, our phones, and technology. We are very plugged in as a society, and an hour away from not having to communicate with anyone else, and simply connect with yourself is such an amazing gift to give yourself.

I think that as a young person, a teen, you're spending a lot of time searching for who you are. And it can be really challenging to find that when you have so many external distractions. To take time for yourself, to just connect with your thoughts and your breath, and your own mantra, whatever it might be. I think it's just an amazing gift for a parent to share with their teenager. The gift of yoga is like the gift of self-exploration.

Niki: Beautifully said and I think that's so true. Young people are often searching for who they are and yoga provides a safe space to explore.

If you had an audience full of older teens, say people who are 16 or 17 like you were when you were going through teacher training, what would you say to encourage them to try yoga?

Kaileigh: When I was trying anything new growing up, like a new sport or something, my mom would tell me that if I didn’t like it the first time, that’s okay, try it at least three more times. And if I didn’t like it the fourth time, then I could quit. By the fourth time, though, if I found something that I liked out of the experience, then there was probably more to explore or understand in it and I should stick with it.

I think when it comes to yoga, trying it for the first time can be scary. You don’t know the poses, you don't know exactly what you're doing, and that's okay. It's intimidating to come to a space that typically has more adults, and it feels like everyone there is already more grounded. And as a teenager, the unknown can feel really uncomfortable. It's okay, though, breathe into the space of not knowing. Breathe into the scary side of it because the more you breathe into that intention, the more you're going to find yourself. You’ll connect to yourself through that fear. So I would tell any teen to just give it a try. And if it scares you, great, try it again. And keep trying it until you find something that fits. Maybe that's a different style of yoga, or a different teacher. There is something out there for everyone and I truly believe yoga can help you just find you.

Niki: I think that's brilliant advice, Kaileigh, for yoga and for life as well. You can't go around what's uncomfortable, you can't avoid it. You kind of have to relax and breathe into it and experience it, in order to move forward, no matter what it is.

I think a lot of people go to one yoga class, and they're so intimidated – or anxious - walking in the door, that they can't relax and appreciate what's really happening. So they have to try it again, maybe a few times, to shed those layers of angst and fear and self-judgment or self-doubt, and actually appreciate it.

It’s typical for people to go to a yoga class several times, before they really understand the benefits that it can bring.

Kaileigh: And it’s like that for anything new you want to try, right? The first time you kick a soccer ball, you’re probably not going to score a goal. The first time you jump in a pool, you’re not going to know how to swim. And that’s okay. It takes time to do these things, we just need to take the first step and try.

Niki: I think that’s so true! That’s such good advice, Kaileigh.

So, as you know, we're offering free yoga for older teens of our members this summer, from July 1 to September 5, and I'm super excited about this. I think it’s so important, and I’m curious, based on your experience practicing yoga as a teenager, why you think this is important.

Kaileigh: I think it’s so amazing to let teenagers practice for free over the summer because it makes yoga accessible. When I was a teen, I was broke. And I actually joined the Studio Experience Team (SET), which was cleaning the studio spaces for a discounted yoga membership, but it still cost money. To have the opportunity to try yoga for free, at a place like CorePower, where we put so much effort into education, is such a value. I might be biased, but I think our teachers are the best in the industry because they are dedicated, they are knowledgeable, and they're going to help you get started and support your practice. You might find free yoga at a park this summer, but to get free yoga at the level you'll find with CorePower, is a really unique opportunity for teens.

Niki: I think so too. I hope we get a lot of teens who come in and by the end of the summer have really felt the impact of what yoga can mean for them in their lives.

Kaileigh: Yes. We hear so much about the struggles of teens in this age of social media and all the stressors they are dealing with. To teach them the tools that yoga provides, like how to use your breath when things are challenging, and how to connect with yourself rather than rely on something external to tell you who you are.

Niki: You’re so right. I use my yoga practice to help me through my daily life in so many ways. Knowing how to slow and calm my breath, and in turn my mind, has gotten me through really challenging work and life events. My wish is for all people everywhere to have access to these tools, and if we can help people discover and practice what yoga offers at a younger age, I think the impact can be immeasureable.

Kaileigh: And I think as yoga teachers we can be mindful of really embracing these young people in our classes. They’re eager to learn, so if we see someone who looks like they're on the edge of figuring it out, we can directly connect with them and help them. I remember finding my first Crow Pose, and the second that it clicked, I could feel that connection to my body. And that understanding of what I was doing, that I was making the shape that I wanted. As teachers, we can be a part of this for someone, helping them find the pose or find their edge. We can be the bridge towards finding yoga for themselves.

Niki: Kaileigh, I think this is so important. Our teachers excel at supporting students and customizing the experience. They can really lean into the role of ‘teacher’ and recognize someone younger who’s just starting their practice and being a part of their journey with them. Supporting them and helping them feel successful.

I've got to imagine that it's a little bit scary for a teen to walk into a studio, like walking into a C2 class full of people who are a lot older than they are. And a lot of our practitioners have been practicing with us for a long time. So they know the sequences, and they all look so confident and strong and self-aware. And then you have this young person who's like, I don't really know what to do. So I think it's great advice for teachers to not be afraid to really teach and help these young people.

Kaileigh: It can also make them feel seen and a part of something, which everyone needs, but I think older teens even more so. For me, what stands out the most during the time I’ve been practicing yoga is finding my community. I found my people here. I showed up every day after school for the same teachers because I wanted to see Mary's face, I wanted to see Sarah’s face. I knew they were going to ask me how I was doing. They knew about my homework, they knew I had finals coming up, and they were there to support me. I think we can create that space for so many other teens by being there for them, being a community they can feel a part of. Giving them encouragement and a space to feel seen and heard. When people notice you, it really makes an impact, and things that are intimidating can feel less scary because you don’t feel alone. I think young people need this so much!

Niki: I agree. Giving young people a sense of belonging can make all the difference in their mental health. I love the idea that CorePower Yoga can be the third place for them, outside home and school. A safe place for them to focus on self-discovery and self-love.

This is important work, and I’m so grateful to you for sharing your story and for the work you’re doing to support this initiative.

Thank you, Kaileigh!