About Grounded Kids Yoga

Grounded Kids Yoga is where heart, creativity, and science meet to help all children and the grown-ups who nurture them truly thrive. Our classes blend the universal wisdom of yoga with evidence-based mindfulness and real-world teaching experience, always taught with an open heart, playful spirit and deep respect for each child’s story.

As one of the first Registered Schools of Children’s Yoga with Yoga Alliance, we offer both in-person and online teacher trainings, along with a curriculum that’s comprehensive but never complicated. Whether you’re just getting started, deepening your practice, or exploring new ways to share yoga in your career or family life, you’ll find resources and support here to help you make a real difference.

Our Purpose

At Grounded Kids Yoga, we believe yoga and meditation can profoundly benefit people of all ages and abilities Our purpose is to inspire belonging, champion inner wisdom, and build mind-body intelligence through emotionally fluent yoga practices.

We equip children with practical tools to navigate real life—embracing both light (joy, love, laughter, success, peace) and shadow (sadness, fear, anger, loneliness, anxiety) as part of being whole. Our structured program creates a secure, inclusive space for self-expression and lifelong habits that promote growth mindset, awareness, and connection.

Our Story

Grounded Kids Yoga was originally created by Cheryl & me, Amy, two newly former classroom teachers and young moms who teamed up in 2005 during our first of many children’s yoga certifications. We taught all of our classes together for over a year because it was wildly fun. After a while, the kids in our classes wanted more than to play yoga. They were, as described by my life and now business partner, Sedef, “hungry for knowledge.” Their curiosity became the foundation for what has become a thriving Children’s Yoga company with Grounded Kids teachers across the globe.

Most days, you’ll find Sedef & me right where it counts: in the yoga studio, on a mat, at the schools, on Zoom teaching actual children. Every class, every age group, every setting is a new chance to teach, refine, create and even let go. We’re not removed from our own curriculum; we’re living it, learning from the real experts (the kids), and sharing in real time. That’s why Grounded Kids Yoga never feels stuck or scripted – it moves and breathes, just like the students who show up and inspire us, every single day.

We’re also running a successful company; one that refuses to gate keep. That’s why, in Step 4 of our teacher training, we pull back the curtain on the business side of this work. We share practical resources, honest conversations about what’s effective (and what isn’t), and flexible models for making this work personally and professionally valuable. That means giving you tools you’ll actually use, support that fits your real life, and the kind of clarity that helps you show up with confidence—not just as a teacher, but as yourself.

Our Approach

Our approach is playful but purposeful, blending social-emotional learning, practical tools for building focus and reducing stress, and grounded connection so every child feels seen, heard, safe, and supported. When you choose Grounded Kids Yoga, you join a community that meets you where you are, then elevates you to become your best self.

Our one of a kind style features 84 yoga poses, age appropriate breathing techniques, mantras and mudras creatively organized around the 7 chakras and 5 elements. Grounded Kids Yoga teachers are highly trained to deliver these practices authentically, blending our methodology with their own wisdom and personality to best serve their students.

Meet the team that makes Grounded Elevation a reality

Our Leaders

Amy Haysman

Founder & Owner

I am Amy Haysman, M.Ed., E-RYT 500, RCYT and in 2006 i was interviewed by CNN at an Elementary school where i taught yoga. After explaining what we do in kids yoga, they asked what i hope for in the future.

"I want it to not be newsworthy enough for a news organization to send a camera crew and reporter to a school because they have yoga." I replied. I think that day has come but it hasn't slowed me down. Since my days as a middle school teacher, I’ve become known for breaking down complex ideas into what is essential, practical, and usable, and for leading with a spirit of generosity and substance. My greatest satisfaction comes from mentoring others as they grow into their own gifts and shine from within, and I value the honest, lasting progress that emerges from meaningful work and genuine connection. The letters after my name represent four years of earning a Masters degree in Education while having two baby boys, multiple 200 hour adult yoga teacher trainings with Anusara in the Hatha Yoga lineage, thousands of yoga teaching and training hours, and over 300 hours in specialty trainings for adults and children.

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Sedef Dion

Lead Trainer

I am Sedef Dion, E-RYT 500, RCYT and I love what I do! Co-creating Pre-Grounded for ages 3–6 was a labor of love, born from my belief that even the youngest children deserve real yoga, not just entertainment.

I’ve been part of Grounded Kids Yoga from the very beginning, and I worked hard for my certification. Yoga has been a part of my life for over thirty years, and I took my first 200-hour training at Peachtree Yoga Center in 1999. Not long after, I fell for Kundalini Yoga and completed my certification in 2004, studying with Mukta Kaur Khalsa. I’m proud to be a member of Yoga Alliance and the Kundalini Yoga Teachers Association (IKYTA), and I continued my studies with a 500-hour training at Bhakti Yogshala and Pankajyogpeeth, along with many children’s yoga certifications. One of the highlights of my journey was becoming a certified Laughter Yoga Leader—yes, leading Laughter Yoga classes and workshops really is as joyful as it sounds. I’m especially passionate about my work with the Special Needs community, where teaching is one of my greatest joys. These days, my calendar is filled with one-on-one sessions for both kids and adults, as well as group classes, public workshops, and Grounded Kids teacher trainings across Atlanta and beyond. I have two wonderful adult children who continue to inspire me, even if I occasionally embarrass them by doing yoga poses in public. I share my life and my work with my partner, Amy Haysman, founder of Grounded Kids. She keeps me striving for excellence and growth, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

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Our Artists

Dylan & Hanlee Laakmann

Pose Illustrator & Momager

Dylan Laakman is an original Grounded Kid and his mom, Hanlee, is one of our earliest Certified Grounded Kids Teachers.

At just 11 years old, Dylan agreed to be our illustrator, bringing to life all 84 poses with nothing but the names—no artistic direction, only his own imagination and very creative, supportive mom. Hanlee Laakman, truly the embodiment of artistry, encouraged and helped Dylan as he took on this enormous project. Today, Dylan creates art in his birthplace of Germany, while Hanlee has returned to South Africa, where she continues to share her love of yoga, art, and cats.

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Ruth Meagher

Mandala Artist & CGKY Trainer

Ruth Meagher is the artist extraordinaire behind our elemental mantra and mandala affirmation card set. After Amy was dazzled by her her intricate designs, she knew her work belonged at the heart of this project.

Ruth created more than 65 completely original, hand-drawn mandalas, each one deeply aligned with the elements and emotional tone of the cards. Her artistry brought a level of beauty, and intentionality that continues to resonate with everyone who uses them. Ruth’s work is more than visual—it’s visceral.

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Pia Orellana

Bandana Designer

We have Pia Orellana to thank for the stunning mandala design or our Quest for Elevation bandanas.

During her Step 4 teacher training, we mentioned wanting to move away from 7 colored bandanas with chakra symbols to imprinting our 7 signature pose series on white bandanas with their associated color. Pia had an idea and went on to graphically design our poses into a gorgeous mandala that is a testament to the powerful energy each of these bandanas posses.

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Our Yoga Club Teachers