Pretzel Kids yoga launches first web platform for kids yoga and mindfulness

Platform brings together kids yoga community of parents, teachers, and aspiring teachers to deliver one-stop shop for those passionate about teaching yoga and mindfulness to children.

By Robyn Parets

It all started almost 15 years ago – in my former community yoga studio in suburban Boston.

That studio was called Breathe Joy Yoga and from 2005 to 2016, I ran a kids yoga program under the umbrella of BJY.

It was called Pretzel Kids.

Over the years, Pretzel Kids classes expanded and Breathe Joy Yoga trained dozens of other yogis to teach the Pretzel Kids method.

We knew we were onto something – something pretty great.

In 2017, after I sold and closed the studio, Pretzel Kids was launched as its own company. Mindfulness was no longer just a buzzword. Parents everywhere wanted to find kids yoga classes. Schools wanted to hire skilled yoga teachers.

And, we had the brand and curriculum to solve this problem.

So, this brings us to the here and now.

We are so excited to announce the next evolution of Pretzel Kids yoga: Our new web connector platform.

We hope you will join us in Spreading Joy from Head to Toes, it all Begins in Pretzel Pose™.

Here’s the official press release:

BOSTON, Mass., November 6, 2019 — Pretzel Kids®, the leading kids yoga and mindfulness company, announced today that it has launched a new engagement platform to serve the kids yoga ecosystem of parents and teachers.

“The popularity of kids yoga and mindfulness has exploded in our society as we look for options to promote good health and wellness in our children,” said Robyn Parets, Founder and CEO of Pretzel Kids. “However, it can be a challenge for parents to find classes, and prospective teachers to get trained. It is likewise difficult for businesses and schools to find and hire qualified kids yoga teachers.”

“In launching this new platform, it’s our goal to form a community that streamlines and simplifies the process. We want to alleviate the challenges that exist in the market: demand is sky-high for yoga and schools don’t know where or how to find instructors; parents are looking for classes and often coming up empty; and stay-at-home moms and others in the gig economy are looking for training – but don’t know how to get started. Pretzel Kids eliminates those challenges, so we can put the focus where it should be: getting kids engaged in an activity that hopefully will be an ongoing part of their health and wellness.”

A first-of-its-kind in the expanding kids yoga space, the Pretzel Kids web platform is hitting the growing $16.8 billion yoga and mindfulness market at a pivotal time.

By 2020, 55 million Americans are expected to practice yoga, up 170% from 2012, according to Yoga Alliance and Developmental Psychology. And, 37% percent of adult yoga practitioners want their kids involved in yoga as well.

Bottom line: mindfulness is no longer just a ‘buzzword’. Children who practice mindfulness had 15% better math scores, were 24% less aggressive, and considered themselves 20% more social. All told, kids who practice yoga and mindfulness outperformed other children in cognitive and emotional control, as well as empathy.

Meeting the needs of the growing kids yoga ecosystem

The new Pretzel Kids engagement platform features three distinct offerings:

Become a Teacher

It is easier to get certified to teach kids yoga than adult yoga – making it a perfect “side hustle” for entrepreneurial stay-at-home moms and others seeking to make a career out of it. There is also higher demand for kids yoga teachers than adult yoga teachers.

Pretzel Kids offers parents, educators, fitness enthusiasts, retirees and side hustlers a way to become certified in the Pretzel Kids teaching method in either a weekend or a 10-hour self-paced online course. Once teachers become certified, they can then become branded Pretzel Kids teachers by joining the “Start, Build & Grow a Pretzel Kids Business” subscription membership. This gives those teachers access to ongoing teaching resources, lesson plans, webinars and more.

And perhaps the best perk: all member teachers can use the new Pretzel Kids web engagement platform to book jobs and enroll kids directly in their classes.

The online training, coupled with the web platform and licensing program, is a solution for both individual teachers seeking to grow a kids yoga business and schools looking to instantly offer Pretzel Kids classes.

“Pretzel Kids, with its online offering and deep experience in kids’ yoga, offered a proven solution,” says Mia Pritts, Head of Education at San Francisco-based Wonderschool.

Pretzel Kids conservatively estimates that teachers can make $85 per class and $350 per birthday party. Depending on how much a teacher wants to work, leading a couple parties a month alone could net nearly $6,000 per year. And, if a teacher wants to make kids yoga a part- or full-time job, it conservatively could lead to $37,000 to $75,000 in revenue.

“The Pretzel Kids teacher training course gave me the tools to share my passion for yoga with my own children as well as the children I teach. As both an educator and yogini, I was amazed by the high quality of the Pretzel Kids approach, which combines the best in age-appropriate pedagogical practice with genuine yoga principles and techniques. I got all the tools necessary to begin teaching right away and all the kids I have worked with have loved the Pretzel Kids experience,” Sarah Bierman, a Pretzel Kids teacher in Israel, said.

Hire a Teacher

Schools, daycares, camps, gyms, studios, and recreation centers are eager to offer kids yoga classes, whether it be for their students, members, or employees’ children. Pretzel Kids has an extensive database of certified kids yoga instructors. With a simple ‘Hire a Teacher’ search on the new web platform, organizations can readily find and hire a skilled Pretzel Kids teacher.

“Pretzel Kids is an amazing program. Our students thoroughly enjoy this after-school yoga program,” said Debra Buckley, assistant principal of the Holy Name Parish School in Boston. “The teachers were professional, nurturing and treated each child with kindness and gentleness. They taught students the importance of healthy exercise and taking care of themselves.”

Find a Class

For busy parents on the go, finding a kids yoga class is not as simple as say, signing a child up for soccer or baseball. Because Pretzel Kids now serves as a hub for certified instructors, the web platform is the ideal community for parents to find classes in their area that fit their tight schedules.

“My five-year-old daughter took Pretzel Kids yoga classes and loved them,” said Lauren Angelico from Boston. “She loved all of the creative activities the teacher used to teach the poses, and the teacher was so patient and in tune with the children.”

Teachers can become a certified Pretzel Kids teacher for as little as $498. Once certified, teachers can take advantage of the Pretzel Kids licensing program and subscription-based platform for $29/per month or $290/per year.

About Pretzel Kids®

Pretzel Kids yoga is the one-stop shop for all things kids yoga and the go-to children’s yoga brand in the burgeoning mindfulness and yoga space. Pretzel Kids offers a proven curriculum, a branded teaching system, and a platform for parents, school administrators and other businesses to hire children’s yoga teachers and find Pretzel Kids branded classes. To learn more, visit: https://www.pretzelkids.com.

Media Contact

Phil LeClare
PR for Pretzel Kids
phil@leclarepr.com
617-209-9406

Robyn Parets
Founder, Pretzel Kids
press@pretzelkids.com