We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Candace Rhoill a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Candace thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.

I have worked with young children for most of my life. In 2022, as the world was trying to return to “normal” after COVID, I noticed an alarming increase in children lacking social and emotional skills. They lacked the tools and capacity to regulate themselves. I knew I had to do something to help solve this problem, not just watch this generation struggle. So I started The Little Yogi, a yoga class for kids that is fun, engaging, developmentally appropriate, and teaches social and emotional skills while getting their bodies moving.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I have a degree in Early childhood education and hold a level 2 early childhood trauma credential. I have worked with all ages from birth to school-age from various socio-economic status in many different types of settings. When starting The Little Yogi, my goal was to provide a developmentally appropriate, engaging yoga and mindfulness class that would teach students how to reduce their stress, boost their self-esteem, increase body awareness, focus, strength, flexibility and encourage social and emotional intelligence. When the student is equipped with those skills they are more likely to have compassion and gratitude in everyday situations. They will be able to be more present and cope with challenging circumstance with more resilience then if they weren’t involved in a yoga and mindfulness practice. I believe it is my background in early childhood eduction that allows me to offer a class that is appropriate for the students age developmental level, it is not an adult yoga class that has been simplified for kids, it is a yoga class designed with kids in mind. When my students leave my class, I hope that they feel empowered with the ability to control the only thing we always have control over and that is themselves. The knowledge they have learned by taking my class, no one can take away and the skills can be used with little to no materials making them accessible in any situation.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

The biggest lesson I have had to unlearn is my expectations . I love a theme and when my yoga music, book, game and postures all come together, it makes my teacher heart happy and most of the time my student can also appreciate digging deep into a topic but the days when I had zero inspiration and handed control over, have been some of the most successful! I have to remember that children are more competent and capable then we typically give them credit for and they really can be co- creators of their own knowledge and my job is to simply guide the experience.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

It has always been important when growing the Little Yogi to remain accessible to all clientele despite the ability to pay. Before COVID, I was attending yoga through PriceHill Wellness Community action team. They offered free yoga classes in my community and once I became a certified kids yoga teacher, I asked if I could join them. This opened up the ability to partner with many organizations in our city including the public library and the community college. Offering my services in different spaces allowed me to reach people that were outside my circle of influence. I feel my most successful strategy has been to focus on the impact of The Little Yogi and not the money the business could make.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thelittleyogi.yoga/classes/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelittleyogiyoga/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thelittleyogi

Image Credits

Kash Images