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Darcy Alban, LCSW, MSW, RYT 500, RCYT

Certified Elevated Grounded

Yoga Teacher 

Darcy loves teaching family yoga and children, adolescents, and adults of varying abilities and yoga experience. Her classes and private instruction promote strength, flexibility, consciousness, and a sense of inner calm. She is a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) at the 500 hour level and a Registered Children’s Yoga Teacher (RCYT).  She has been a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) since 2001 and a mom since 2004.  When she’s not teaching yoga, you may find her taking a yoga workshop, or playing games, hiking, or traveling with her family.

Retired Architect, Certified Substitute Teacher, Certified Yoga Teacher and Certified Grounded Kids Yoga Teacher, with interest in growing a new career in teaching kids. Working with children is a great responsibility and a very rewarding experience. As a mother of twin boys, aged 7, patience, compassion, and respect, plays an important role in growth and a learning mindset. Physical and Mental health is a crucial part of an overall sense of wellbeing.
May there be peace in your hearts,
May there be peace in your words,
May there be peace in your thoughts.

I have been a certified Kids Yoga Teacher with Grounded Kids Yoga since December 2016. I started teaching kids yoga since July 2016. I have taught at local libraries and businesses in the local Charlotte, NC area. I am fluently bi-lingual in English and Spanish. I enjoy sprinkling Spanish words with poses as a fun way for children to learn a new language. I recently moved to the Santa Monica area in sunny California. I am excited to grow and learn with the community here and to be able to continue my teaching here.

Started out my yoga journey over 10 years ago after a sports related injury and never looked back.

In June 2013, I completed my 200 hour teacher training at Tough Love Yoga and immediately began the

next phase of my journey by beginning at Tough Love, my Grounded Kids Program.

Katherine completed her 200 hr RYT in Kundalini Yoga. She is also a Grounded for Kids teacher currently teaching a Kids Yoga Series at Mind, Body, Heart in Cumming. Studying Chair Yoga for teaching Seniors and those who can’t get down to the mat. Excited to be taking Yoga for Warriors training in October.

Mary Beth has always had a love for children. Ever since she was a small child, she knew that she wanted to be a teacher. She began babysitting at the age of 10 and her senior year in high school, she did her senior project in a 3rd/4th grade classroom. It was her intention to study Elementary Education in college, but life had other plans for her and she studied Creative Writing & Fine Arts. In 1995 her father passed away suddenly and through her process of deep grief and sadness, she discovered yoga. It was when she discovered yoga that she was reminded of her childhood and the contemplative moments that she often experienced outside under trees or through laying on the grass and looking up at the sky. She was able to rediscover her sense of ahh and wonder, which then reminded her of how much she loved and adored children. Mary Beth also grew up with ADD/ADHD and multiple learning disabilities. She took Ritalin, which eventually lead her to struggle with her body and the emotions that she felt around being diagnosed as learning disabled. She found that yoga helped her to focus, which eventually lead her to stop Ritalin.

She has always felt that her story about the struggles she went through as a child in school would someday inspire education to shift. Mary Beth used to substitute teach in both the Montessori and Public school classroom. Her experiences with children taught her that teaching young kids was part of her purpose.

In 2005, Mary Beth was working at Kripalu Yoga Center when one day she overheard 2 of her co-workers talking about a kids yoga class that they were leading that day. She became very curious and started asking a lot of questions, which then lead her to researching a program where she could become a certified kids yoga teacher. At that same time, Mary Beth  already had experience teaching yoga to adults, but knew that she really wanted to be teaching yoga to children. In that same year, she flew to Los Angelos for a training/certification with Yoga Kids International. She then began teaching yoga to children at a day care and a small studio in New Hampshire. In 2006 Mary Beth moved to Charlotte, NC where she eventually began teaching yoga to children all over the city. She has taught hundreds of classes in various environments such as community centers, a church, studios, schools, a gym, a toy store and even a grocery store!

Mary Beth is a 500 hr RYT with an additional 95 hour Children’s Yoga teacher certification. She is pursuing another 95 hours with Grounded Yoga. She has studied with Yoga Kids International, Asheville Yoga Center, Little Flower Yoga and Grounded Kids Yoga and continues to see inspiration in the work of others.

Mary Beth is a child at heart and has an infectious love and warmth for children. Children enjoy her boundless energy and her youthful spirit.

The Lovett School, class of 1999

Auburn University, BA in Communications

Western Governors University, MA of Arts in Teaching

Grounded Yoga Training (Introduction to Methodology)

Trinity School, 1st grade lead teacher

Hobbies: Running, cycling, hiking, yoga, reading, cooking, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation volunteer