Meet Brynn DiScipio | Yoga Teacher for Kids – Children’s Yoga and Wellness

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brynn DiScipio and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brynn, maybe we can start at the very start – the idea – how did you come up with the idea for your business?
The idea for BeeMindfulKids Yoga was born at the height of the pandemic! I had just graduated college and was working full time for an educational technology company. As I was talking to teachers everyday, I was hearing the tremendous amount of stress and burnout they were experiencing. My background is in education and early childhood development so I was familiar with the everyday joys but also chaos that comes with being an educator. I had also just wrapped up implementing an approach to social-emotional learning out of the Yale Center For Emotional Intelligence in elementary school classrooms for my last two years of college. The experience had proved when students can identify their emotions and strategies to work through anxiety, stress, and anger, they are able to perform better academically and socially within their classroom and community! In turn, teachers are better able to manage the classroom, instill a love of learning in students, and prioritize their wellbeing when students can better manage their emotions. When we were in the middle of the pandemic, I knew teachers were maxed out like never before and needed tools to teach students how to work through big emotions and develop healthy coping strategies. Parents needed the same thing in their homes and communities. I also credit taking a kids yoga class myself at age eleven to combat childhood anxiety that cultivated the idea to create BeeMindful Kids Yoga! I acquired my certification to teach yoga to kids right after college and BeeMindfulKids Yoga was created in 2020 with the mission to support all children ages 4-12 with stress management tools and mindfulness techniques through creative movement yoga classes that deliver personalized, differentiated, and engaging instruction.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I was a Sophmore in college when I realized I no longer was going to become a teacher, I felt stuck and unsure of where I’d end up and the pressure to figure out what I needed to become and do at nineteen years old was tremendous. Then, I finally had a conversation with a mentor at the time on a rainy Wednesday afternoon. She said, “Brynn, no one has it all figured out at 19 or even 90 year old. You’ll figure out your path, try signing up for a class next semester that sounds interesting.” So I took her advice. For fun, I signed up to take a Psychology 101 class and by the first day in I knew I was right where I needed to be and everything “clicked.” I began blending what I was learning from the psychology class with childhood development studies in the social-emotional work I was leading in an elementary school classroom. I was implementing an approach to social-emotional learning for a kindergarten and 1st grade classroom and would come up with a lesson and activity to run through with the students every Friday morning. To discuss combating anxiety with a group of six year olds, I’d read a children’s book where the main character feels worried. At the end of the story, I’d ask students to recall the strategies the characters used to feel better and solve the problem.  To extend the learning, I’d have students recall a time they felt worried and then share strategies with one another to feel better. I’d finish the lesson with a writing, drawing, or movement activity such as yoga! BeeMindfulKids Yoga exists from all the interactions I’ve had with hundreds of students and teachers over the years. It stems from the anxiety I experienced early on as a child. I looked to educators to help me work through big transition points so I could do better academically but also emotionally. BeeMindfulKids Yoga classes work to lower stress hormones, stress responses, increase academic performance, and decrease inflammation in the brain and body to teach children healthy coping skills to carry into adolescence and adulthood. BeeMindfulKids Yoga delivers instruction online through Zoom, in person classes in Charleston, South Carolina and provides personalized instruction to classrooms online or in person! Private family classes at a location of your choice and birthday celebrations are also offered! Every class is personalized to meet the needs of the student while blending relaxation, love of movement, and creativity through 50 minute -1 hour instruction!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’d take them to Charleston, South Carolina! I just moved here and getting to know a new city has been exciting, challenging but amazing all at once! I’ve met some amazing friends and mentors here and continue to explore all the city has to offer. If a friend came to visit, we’d stop by the beach and swim with the dolphins, do yoga under the warm sun, drink a beverage of choice and read a favorite book on the porch swing, go purchase a pineapple plant from the flower shop down the road and head downtown to grab dessert at The Honey Hive and then stargaze on a rooftop!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My shoutout goes to teachers everywhere for the work you continue to lead, for caregivers juggling 9-5 jobs, parenting, and everything else in life, and to my family and friends for their continued love and support, thank you for reminding me all storms eventually run out of rain and a rainbow is always right around the corner.

Website: https://www.beemindfulkidsyoga.com/home

Instagram: @beemindfulkidsyoga