How to Find Your Unique Niche in Kids Yoga (Interview with 25 Year Experienced Kids Yoga Teacher)
Are you a kids yoga teacher and wondering how to find your unique niche and voice in this rewarding role impacting children’s health and wellness?
Today, we’re talking with Kathy Aruna Humphreys from Ambassador Yoga. An experienced yoga teacher, she’s here to guide us on how to discover our own niche in kids yoga. Kathy’s inspiring journey began 25 years ago, when she transitioned from a social worker to a yoga teacher. You’ll hear how her yoga business has adapted and changed over the years.
Initially, Kathy taught yoga to adults, but it was her love of working with children and the appeal of a daytime schedule that steered her toward kids yoga. As her kids yoga classes gained traction through word of mouth, she soon realized her calling was bigger than herself, so she started to train other kids yoga teachers.
Then, as her young students gradually transitioned to the teenage years, Kathy identified a market gap and seized the opportunity to offer teen yoga classes. Alongside her partner, Claire Louise Smith, she developed a Teen Yoga Teacher Training program, enabling teenagers to become yoga instructors for children. Kathy ingeniously merged her teaching experience with her program development skills, carving a unique niche in the world of kids yoga.
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How to Discover Your Niche in Kids Yoga: Embracing Your Ikigai
Finding your niche in the vast expanse of kids yoga is similar to discovering your own “ikigai,” a Japanese concept that explores one’s “reason for being” or sense of purpose in life. The term itself comprises “iki,” meaning “life,” and “kai,” meaning “worth.”
Kathy’s journey perfectly embodies the essence of ikigai as she continually adjusted her niche to align with her skills, passions, and the demands of the market. Her niche “sweet spot” was the intersection of these three areas:
1-My Skills: What I Can Do
2-My Passion: What I Love to Do
3-Audience: What the Market Will Buy
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3 Essential Tips for Finding Your Niche in Kids Yoga
Kathy from Ambassador Yoga shares her top tips for finding your kids yoga niche:
1-Research Is Key: Ensure Your Vision Is Viable
Before embarking on your journey as a kids yoga teacher, conducting thorough research is essential. Ensure there’s a genuine interest in your offerings within the market. Kathy suggests that you start by engaging with your community through social media or surveying local groups to gauge interest. After all, it’s crucial to hear a resounding “yes” from your potential students before investing significant time and effort.
2-Flexibility Is Your Strength: Embrace Change
Kathy’s journey is a demonstration of the power of adaptability. She shares a story about her participation in a year-long business incubator program aimed at launching an Ayurvedic food business. Though the venture didn’t materialize, the experience was not in vain. Kathy’s pivot to teaching children’s yoga proved to be her true calling. As time passes, your preferences and life circumstances may evolve. Therefore, be open to changes and ready to adjust your niche to reflect your present reality.
3-Anticipate Change: Reflect, Plan, and Adapt
In her interview, Kathy emphasized the importance of spending quality time each year reflecting, journaling, and planning for the changes that lie ahead as your kids yoga business grows and expands. To maintain success, it’s imperative that we continually revisit the sweet spot where our passion, skills, and market demand converge. The needs of our communities are ever-evolving, and by mentally and emotionally preparing for these shifts, you can ensure your unique voice continues to resonate in the world of kids yoga.
Kathy Aruna Humphreys’s story shows us the transformative power of passion, adaptability, and the pursuit of one’s ikigai. As kids yoga teachers, we can draw inspiration from her journey, using these insights to not only discover our own niche but to thrive and make a lasting impact on the young minds and hearts of our students. Remember, in the world of kids yoga, your unique voice is a precious gift!