Heallist Podcast
A space to explore the many paths of holistic healing. Hosted by Heallist founder Yuli Ziv, each episode dives into powerful conversations with practitioners, teachers, and thought leaders across a wide range of healing modalities — from energy work and herbalism to trauma-informed care and quantum healing. Whether you’re a healer, a seeker, or simply curious about alternative approaches to wellness, tune in every other Wednesday to learn, expand, and reconnect with what it means to truly heal.
Heallist Podcast
Mindfulness & healthy habits for kids with Mary Montague
In this episode of the Heallist Podcast, Mary Montague, founder of The POGA Method, discusses the importance of introducing mindfulness and healthy habits to children from a young age. She emphasizes the right age to start these practices, the techniques suitable for different age groups, and how to create routines that foster mindfulness.
Mary shares insights on empowering children through independence, goal setting, and the significance of movement and yoga in processing emotions. The conversation also touches on the balance of positive reinforcement and the role of food in habit formation. Overall, the episode provides practical tips for parents to help their children develop a mindful and intentional lifestyle.
- Start mindfulness practices around age three.
- Self-awareness and breath connection are key for young children.
- Mindfulness can be integrated into daily routines.
- Creating a habit checklist can motivate children.
- Involve children in creating their own routines.
- Downtime is essential for self-reflection and creativity.
- Empower children by allowing them to manage their own time.
- Goal setting helps children become self-aware and responsible.
- Positive reinforcement should be balanced with expectations.
- Food should not be used as a reward; promote healthy eating habits.
Access Mary's #1 Mindfulness tool: FREE 3 minute video: https://mailchi.mp/16f1a04b2e2f/fancy-fingers-freebie
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Welcome to the Healist Podcast, where we unpack the many layers of holistic health. I'm Yuli, founder of Healist, your portal to holistic healers worldwide. Now let's go deep. Hello, dear friends, and welcome to another amazing episode of the Healist Podcast, so excited to have with us today Mary Montague. She's the founder of Poga Method, a former special education classroom teacher, turned wellness expert, specializing in Pilates, yoga, meditation and mindfulness for preschoolers through adults. Her business is built on teaching healthy habits from a young age and carrying them through to adulthood for an intentional, feel-good lifestyle.
Yuli:Mary supports families in establishing systems and routines for mindful behavior and I'm just so excited today to talk as a parent. This subject is so close to my heart and when I found you, mary, I was just thrilled to bring you in because I think so many more parents or anyone who has access to children, right we're. I'm personally so curious to really talk about some of those habits that we have such a hard time changing right Once later in our lives and how important it is to install them from this early age. So I'm super excited for this conversation and give our listeners some practical tips and really talk about mindfulness in this early age. It's such a wonderful subject. So thank you for being here.
Mary:Thank you for having me. I'm so excited to sit down and talk to you.
Yuli:So let's start from the beginning and I'm going to dive right in because I have so many questions for you. Let's talk about age. When we talk about children and wellness and mindfulness, a lot of people might be thinking well, this is maybe later in their life, maybe it's a little too early to introduce some of those concepts talk about. Let's talk about the age when is the right time to start and how does it change throughout different stages of our human evolution?
Mary:I think around age three is normally the time that I recommend to start. We definitely implement our program into a lot of preschools. So at age three or even in elementary school, you're starting new subjects like music, art, science, lab, pe and everything is new to you, so you don't have a resistance to it. You would almost assume if you were taking a mindfulness class or a yoga class or whatever as a child. You would assume that everyone does this.
Mary:You wouldn't know that this particular method is unique or new and progressive. Kids just do what they're taught to do right. They're experiencing life for the first time, so they're very receptive to it and very open to it. I would say that the resistance might build as they get older, which is also an okay thing, because as kids become teenagers maybe they go more into dance or soccer or that they want to become a professional swimmer or something right, and then the other extracurriculars fall to the wayside. But if they had these skills from a child, from a young age, then it's always going to be embodied within them that then they can use them as needed as they navigate life and maybe they come back to it at a later stage.
Yuli:I love that. So what is the right mindfulness practices to introduce at this early age of three?
Mary:Self-awareness is definitely number one and to be self-aware you can connect to your breath, which is the easiest thing to do so with kids. We like to make it as fun as we can, so we could do a bumblebee breath that really, really helps you calm down, promotes feelings of happiness. We could do a lion's breath, where we talk about when you're so angry and mad and frustrated and you just want to get out your angry feelings. Or we could do generalized box breathing you breathe in for three, you breathe out for three. Or we could just try to sit in silence and notice our breath by putting one hand over our heart, one hand over our tummy. So there's a lot of different breathing exercises we can do for kids, but the more fun and engaging you can make it, the better.
Yuli:Amazing, and do you recommend starting it as a group exercise or as a personal one-on-one practice with a parent? What works best for this age group?
Mary:I think both can be equally beneficial. I wouldn't say one is better than the other.
Yuli:Amazing. And as they grow, let's talk about some of the next stages. Like you mentioned, it might change as they grow older, so let's say more of like an elementary school age. What is the right approach? What are the practices that you can layer on the breath work?
Mary:the biggest struggle as they get older, I think, is just time. I think that as adults we have this illusion that we don't have time for things right. So I would say that that's maybe the struggle. Is someone going to put time and money towards a practice like this and we kind of create roadblocks for ourselves. But if we just realize that a mindfulness practice, a breathwork practice, a movement practice or any sort of health and wellness habit can be integrated into your lifestyle, then you can do it at any time. So maybe if you're a little older, you're a fifth grader, you're about to do a test, then maybe you're doing a simple breathing exercise before a test. Maybe you're about to go to sleepaway camp for the first time and you're having some anxiety about that. You're talking to your parents about it. Then maybe you're processing your emotions through movement or through breath work. So really they're just kind of life coping skills that you continue to practice, and if you practice them in a preventative way, before something becomes an issue, then it's the most beneficial.
Yuli:I love that. And how about general routines? So I understand, like the usefulness of before tests or um in any other kind of life events, but do you suggest to have a certain routine with kids in this age?
Mary:Yes. So I'm really big on sticker chats and I have a sticker chat for myself and I will probably create a sticker chat for myself for the rest of my life and it's just basically a goal chat of all the things I want to do throughout my day. So anything from brushing my teeth to putting my phone in a separate room when I go to do throughout my day. So anything from brushing my teeth to putting my phone in a separate room when I go to bed at night and everything in between. And I give myself little points for all of my goals. So maybe my goal is to take 10,000 steps a day. Maybe a goal is to do a workout class five days a week. Maybe a goal is to meditate for five minutes a day. Maybe your goal as a student is to read before bed with your phone out of the room, anything like that. So just decide what your goal is and what's reasonable for you, and then, if you can create a habit checklist which I love creating with my clients and for myself to just effortlessly incorporate it right, so that way you're building healthy habits.
Mary:And it's my favorite tip to tell parents is that let's say kids, you know your child really wants a new pair of shoes or they really, you know, there's some clothing brand that they really really like.
Mary:Maybe they're getting it for their birthday, maybe they're getting a gift for Christmas or Hanukkah or a celebration, right, but maybe they can work on these healthy habit checklists with some sort of incentive in mind, rather than just giving them gifts and shoes and clothes kind of you know willy-nilly. So I love to tell my parent clients that, and I even do it for myself, where I kind of check my list of my sticker chat every day with all of my healthy habits and then I save for something that I really really want. It's very motivating. So that way, if you see it on your list and you think reading for five minutes before bed, doing breath work for five minutes in the morning, doing a workout class three times a week, going on a walk to see the sunlight earlier in the day if you just incorporate it effortlessly, then it doesn't have to be that big of a deal, but you can reward yourself in the end so that it is intentional and you're continuing to work towards a goal.
Yuli:No, it definitely works. As a parent, I can admit that the reward system the reward system?
Mary:Yeah, it's amazing.
Yuli:And what kind of mindfulness activities, let's say, you would recommend for an eight-year-old right let's pick kind of an age in between. Give us some examples that would be realistic, that this age group is going to be excited about and they can definitely incorporate into their day.
Mary:Okay, so I would let your eight-year-old be a part of creating this, right? So talk about it with your eight-year-old and say hey, I noticed sometimes at night we're kind of fighting a little bit before bed. Let's talk about that and let's come up with some systems to help with that. Or I notice in the morning it's so hard for you to get ready for school where I'm always yelling at you in the morning hurry up, hurry up, hurry up. I want to stop doing that. Let's talk about it. What could we do together? And your eight-year-old would probably have ideas about how to make those transition times easier, right? So maybe your eight-year-old might say okay, in the morning it's just so stressful, I'm tired and I'm hurrying to eat my breakfast and then I always forget my homework folder or this and that. Figure it out together as a system to just add more presence, more mindfulness to that morning routine and set yourself up for success.
Mary:So maybe it's okay, let's work together. What do you think about putting your homework folder in your backpack the night before? Yeah, okay, that would make sense. So maybe you add that on your sticker chart and he earns a point for that, right? Maybe in the morning he decides I don't really like this kind of breakfast, I actually want something else that's going to help me focus better. And then you experiment with that for a little bit and you talk about hey, how did your breakfast make you feel? And he might say, yeah, it was so much better. Having a smoothie was actually quicker, it gave me some of my time back.
Mary:Or maybe at night, the eight-year-old is playing a video game before bed and then he's kind of annoyed when the video game is disrupted because it's time for him to go to bed. So maybe you say, hey, I want you to have that video game time. How about we do it before dinner? That way at nighttime we have a little bit more time to read a book and do something a little bit more gentle before bed. So I think it's really just about the parent and the child creating a system together that feels good for both people, that really creates healthy habits for success.
Yuli:So in terms of the do's and don'ts and I know, for me definitely no screens after dinner is the absolute must, because I feel like that sets such a bad habit in terms of the sleep quality and everything kind of snowballs from there, and it seems like you're in agreement with that. But anything else that is quick tips that will help improve the overall well-being throughout the day morning, evening time, weekends.
Mary:Yes, two things come to mind. What about sunlight? First thing, in the morning, depending on where you live, can breakfast be outside. If the weather is appropriate, can you go on a little walk around the block before school starts? Can you walk to school? Can you put your feet in the grass? Can you just open the shades and open the windows? First thing, just some sort of transition to have the day start with a more vibrant energy would be really, really helpful. And then it's something you almost look forward to is opening the blinds every day or stepping out for the fresh air every day. That could just be a simple wellbeing tip that really benefits your life overall and kind of can change the energy of the home. Kind of can change the energy of the home. And then the second thing um, I lost it. Let me think for a healthy habit throughout the day, our weekend, yes.
Mary:Another thing is that kids are being told. Tell me if you agree with this as a parent. Kids are being told what to do all day, every day. From the moment they wake up, they're probably getting woken up by their parent telling them to wake up. Then they're being rushed out the door breakfast, you know the whole transition to get to school. As soon as they get to school, it's like teachers, administrators, telling them what to do all day long. Then they might go to an afterschool class or meet with a coach. Then they're being told to do their homework. Then they're being told it's dinner time, brush your teeth, go to bed, etc.
Mary:Right, so when do kids ever get an opportunity just to think to themselves and think with their own brain and self-reflect on their own day and just have a moment of silence and stillness and pause? Or when do kids ever have a time to be bored? So I would advise having just some downtime to self-regulate and just have free time to be bored. So I would advise having just some downtime to self-regulate and just have free time to be bored and just allow for there to be a little bit of flexibility through the schedule. And also, if you're a parent and I know this as a teacher sometimes we kind of get into the habit where we're constantly telling the student or the child to do the next thing. If you can just say it once and then just allow for a little bit, rather than the constant follow-up, and just see how they do with a little bit more space, because they probably are very capable of doing it and we're probably, as adults, inserting ourselves a little bit too much.
Yuli:Oh, my god, you really hit a nerve here because it's something that I noticed myself. How um and I have been without kids for the last few days because they're on vacation, so I noticed that a lot when they're not around. How much less I just have to tell people what to do and stay on top of things. Right, it's so liberating not to have to do that. But it also highlighted the contrast how much I'm constantly, throughout the day, basically busy telling them what to do. And I had the same exact thought.
Yuli:And sometimes, you know, it's frustrating too, because most parents we have to say things at least five to ten times before they actually happen.
Yuli:And it's like this vicious cycle, right, and then you really find yourself and you know there are certain days that you need to move through the day and there's a schedule and there's a lot of things that need to be accomplished, but you find yourself just repeating directions all day long. And you know, part of me think, sometimes we did an experiment with our older son, who's a year old, just to make him in charge of his own morning, and that was such an empowerment exercise because we said listen, you know, you need to catch the school bus at 8 o'clock. You know, you know how much time you have. You have a watch. Can you try and manage your own time? And these are the things that need to happen. And it was rough, you know, for a few days and you know we had to kind of direct him a little bit but slowly it definitely created like more responsibility and less of a need to give constant direction, because as a parent it's just exhausting, right.
Mary:I love that. That is so self-empowering. The feeling of self-empowerment, I think, is one of the best feelings ever, and I think that when we tell kids to do something five times in a row, they're going to expect you the next day to say it five times in a row. They're going to ignore you the first four times because that's just the routine now. But if you can say we're leaving at 8 o'clock, it's now 7.55, look at the time, I'll be back here at 8 o'clock, and then you give yourself five minutes to do what you need to do and then you come back right at eight o'clock and then doing it in that much more calm way, then they realize oh, I can actually look at the clock myself, which is what you just taught your son. So I love that approach thank you.
Yuli:Any other tips for empowerment specifically because I'm really this is one area that at least I'm trying to. My goal for my kids is to raise them independent, self-sufficient, empowered, you know, confident, and I do think it's part of their well-being package right, Because everything starts in the mind. Any other ideas or tips how to make them self-empowered and make those good choices for themselves?
Mary:Yes, mindset is so important and self-awareness is so important. So that's when guided meditation and visualization would come in, and also just having that downtime for them to be able to think themselves. So, whether you do this through conversation, through journaling, through writing, through drawing, through meditation, just giving them an opportunity to almost learn how to goal set for themselves, so you might say, okay, you're going into fourth grade this year. This is a great time because kids are going back to school and say, hey, you're going into fourth grade. I want to sit down with you for 30 minutes and let's talk about who you wanna be in fourth grade. So, who do you wanna be on the first day of school? What kind of person are you? And they might be a little bit uncomfortable.
Mary:I tend to find that students are probably more comfortable doing this with me or an outside coach than they are with their own parent. But you could adapt the modality draw a picture, you know, write a note, talk about it, visualize. You don't even have to share, you can just think of it privately. But to feel self-empowered, to say, okay, who do you want to be on your first day of school? Who do you want to be this year in fourth grade what's your goal with your schoolwork? What's your goal with your friends? What's your goal outside of school? What's your goal at home? And just kind of let them visualize who they want to be and then you could say Okay, well, in order to be that person, what kind of things do you think you need to do every day?
Mary:So if your goal is to get your grades up in math this year, what do you think would help you do that? Tell me, as a parent, how I can help you. Do you need a math tutor? Do you need me to buy you math flashcards and we practice in the car every day? What could we do to help you get to those goals? So that way they're self-empowered, because it's not goals that you're putting on them, it's goals that they've actually become self-aware enough to think for themselves. And then the whole concept of your identity like James Clear talks about this a lot in his book Atomic Habits is, if it's your identity, where you're the kind of person who does this and they start to show up as that kind of person, then they're more likely to do the habits to get them to the goal. So really teaching that from a young age, I think is absolutely possible.
Yuli:Amazing. And when it comes to changing habits, I'm curious from your experience how long does it take to kids to reshape their habits, their behavior?
Mary:I think it depends on consistency and the reward. So it could be really simple If you had a really simple stick, a chart. Maybe there was one thing on your sticker chart on the fridge that your child was going to. What would be a good example of a simple thing that a child could do like one habit um, like maybe, or tidying up their room yeah, okay.
Mary:so every day before dinner they have to tidy up their room and and that's their one and only goal, if you put a sticker chart on the fringe. Every day for seven days they had to tidy up their room before dinner, and every day maybe you gave them one little reminder and then afterwards you gave them a comment of positive reinforcement and then at the end of the week they got to earn a prize. That seems so simple, and the prize doesn't have to be anything crazy. I mean, it could be something that you were going to do for the child anyway. You know, like, maybe on Sunday you have plans on the calendar to take the kids on a play date, to go get ice cream. You're going to do that anyway.
Mary:Just you know, pretend like, oh, this is your prize for reaching that habit goal for seven days. And then like, oh, this is your prize for reaching that habit goal for seven days. And then you know the amount of time it might take for them to be able to do it without a sticker chart, might be a few weeks. But then maybe you could just say, okay, now that you've met this goal for one week, now let's put two goals on the sticker chart. So then they keep on doing the first habit, but then you're able to add in a second habit and just give a lot of positive reinforcement to that.
Yuli:So, since you mentioned positive reinforcement in every word, so this is another subject that I'm really curious about, because I feel like, especially in the American culture in general, we're so great with positive reinforcement, right, it's almost like everyone is doing an amazing job, everyone is a genius in what they do. What's the right balance to empower without maybe creating a false sense of accomplishment constantly?
Mary:Yeah, I think that there's things that, as humans, we're just required to do, where you know we should be sharing, we should be kind, we should be helping out around the house. Those are just requirements, so it doesn't necessarily have to be wow, you put your dish in the sink. Amazing, you're such a big kid, you know. It could just be thank you for helping out or that really helped me. So instead you're sending two messages where you are giving them the positive reinforcement, but you're also just saying, yeah, you're being an active participant in the household. So it doesn't have to be an over-the-top thing, but just kind of noticing. We all like to receive a compliment, right? So just noticing, giving a compliment here and there when you know that they're really trying their best, I think can go a long way, but it can also still be expected behavior.
Yuli:Love that. And since we're talking about wellness overall and well-being, and I think food and nutrition is a big part of it, what is your point of view on food rewards? Because this is one of my pet peeves when people say, well, if you do this well, you're going to get an ice cream. Right, I feel like, personally, that it creates this unhealthy relationship with food as a reward system instead of it being kind of the nourishing, nurturing element of our wellbeing. Um, what is the? What is the do and don'ts, um, in your opinion?
Mary:I agree with you and I think it could be. It could go either way, I do see it. I do agree with you where you don't want food to be this reward thing where we're constantly, you know, kind of depriving ourselves of an ice cream and we only get an ice cream if we earn it. It should be a little bit more intuitive than that. So that's kind of entering a dangerous zone. So I agree with you there.
Mary:It could perhaps be where you talk to your child about, you know, healthy eating. So maybe you have a meal plan, you know. You talk about what's. We're going grocery shopping on Sunday. Here's what we're going to be cooking this week. You know that kind of thing.
Mary:And you're just talking openly about food. How did this food make you feel I love this kind of vegetable? What do you like? You know, just having open conversations about food and then having open conversations about treats and just saying there's treats out there that are so delicious but they're made to be treats and you could say my favorite treat is mint chocolate chip ice cream, but I know that if I ate it all the time it would make me feel sick. So I don't really eat it all the time. But I know that when I go to Maine every summer there's this particular ice cream shop where I just love their mint chocolate ice cream. So that's a time where it feels like a good choice for me, so you can actually just introduce treats in a way and explain to them that they are treats and then that way it's a more realistic approach.
Mary:But I do agree that if you are choosing a reward system and they're constantly asking every week they want their reward to be a cupcake, then maybe you have to lead them. Lead them down a different path, and I mean, I think, as a parent not not to totally trick your child, but as a parent give them a reward that you almost would have given them anyway. You know, let's say, they're really into books and they want the next book in the Harry Potter series. You, you would probably give that to them anyway, but they really are so excited about it. So make that the reward. Or you're noticing that they really need a new pair of pajamas, you know. So instead, you're going to buy it for them anyway, but make that the reward. That way it's not actually costing you more money, but it is something that every time they look at those pajamas, they might think oh, I earned that. That was really, that was really cool how I earned that.
Yuli:I love that. Yeah, I love especially, I feel like when we go to back to school there are so many things to that we need to get for kids. But use it as a instead of just kind of automatically buying it. Make them part of the process and make them actually earn it.
Yuli:I love that yeah and let's talk about movement, because I know this is a big part of what you do and I'm really curious. My kids were really fortunate to get yoga classes in their amazing school and you know me myself, I've had those amazing yoga cards from the very early age that I got for them and now they know the poses. It's like a game and has different like animal drawings, and it really got them into yoga. So this is like one accomplishment that I give myself a sticker for as a parent. Yes, all the flowers, any other tips, um you know, with yoga specifically um to help get kids into it. Let's say, if they don't have um an opportunity to to do through school or through other after school activities or other movement practices that really um connect the body, mind and spirit my biggest philosophy with movement is it just helps us process our emotions and it stops us from rumination right.
Mary:So I'm sure everyone listening has experience where you're ruminating about something and you go on a walk and it completely clears your mind, or you come up with a creative idea on a walk, or you're super frustrated about something in the morning. You received a work email and then you go to your daily workout class and by the end of the workout class that email is not that frustrating and you know exactly how you're going to handle it. So having kids identify that movement can help with their mood is a huge self-awareness realization and the younger you can learn that the better. And to illustrate an example, I was teaching a first grade classroom. This experience happened a couple years ago. This example I was teaching a first grade classroom, my poga method and I was walking into the classroom at 8 30 in the morning for their weekly Thursday morning lesson. So the kids know the drill as soon as they see me they go to the rug and they sit in a circle and we get started with that lesson.
Mary:And on this particular day I walked in and this little boy was in full rumination and he came up to me and he said that something happened this morning with roblox and he was so stressed about it and and all this stuff. And I'm not a parent yet, so I don't exactly understand what roblox is, but I could sense that he was anxious and it was really fogging his mind. So I said, ok, it's OK. You know, I kind of just put my hand on his shoulder and guided him over, you know, with the other 20 kids to the circle and we did our whole lesson, which incorporates mindfulness, movement through yoga and Pilates and meditation. And at the end of the whole movement exercise, which lasted for about 20 minutes, I often ask the kids raise your hand if you want to share how you feel.
Mary:And kids are often saying I feel calm, I feel good, I feel happy, I feel peaceful. And this one boy was almost in disbelief where he said, wow, I had so many thoughts in my mind before, and now I just feel nothing. And he just identified that all of those anxious thoughts about Roblox just kind of drifted away and he said, yeah, I feel really good now. So that made me so happy because no matter what kind of movement it is, it's just giving your body an opportunity to work through those emotions, process those emotions and get them out, and then, with a clear mind, you can move forward with your day. So any kind of movement, whether it's a walk, a soccer class, a yoga class, anything incorporating movement throughout your day is just unbelievably beneficial amazing now, what a story.
Yuli:So can you share a little bit more about the Poga method, because I think it's really incredible what you're doing and so unique. Thank you.
Mary:Yes, so I. My background is a dancer. I was a ballet dancer growing up. I grew up in Australia and then I moved to the States for college and I studied to be a special education teacher. So both my undergrad and my master's degree is in special ed and I became a special education teacher for kindergarten through fifth grade grades at the Beverly Hills Unified School District for eight years and I loved the job. So now the school district is actually one of my clients.
Mary:But when I was teaching I got super into Pilates. That's kind of the common pipeline from a dancer to Pilates, right. So I would take a Pilates class every morning before work, from seven till eight. I would be at work by 8.10 and I would just feel incredible walking into my classroom. So you know, you know the feeling after any sort of workout or just prioritizing myself first thing in the morning. I just felt great.
Mary:By the time I got to work I would sit on a big, huge Pilates ball, one of those massive balls that you see at the gym, instead of a desk chair, a teacher chair, and I highly recommend that. I know that standing desks are very popular. Another alternative if you want to sit is sit on that pilates ball because it engages your core and that gentle movement just kind of keeps your mind alert. So I would sit on a pilates ball. So all of my students would say, teach us some pilates, miss Montague. We want to learn pilates.
Mary:And you know, at first I kind of thought, okay, it's an avoidant behavior. You know they want to avoid their work and you know, distract me and learn some pil. So it was just kind of an inside joke for a little bit. But I noticed that the first 30 minutes of the day in my classroom were our least productive time. I always felt that the kids needed a little bit of a warm up period to get really focused for their academics and the academic output wasn't as good for the first 30 minutes.
Mary:It just took them a little time to settle in. So one day when they were particularly unfocused and granted, these are kids who have mild to moderate disabilities, so maybe ADHD, a learning disability, they're on the autism spectrum, etc. One day I just said, okay, everyone, get out of your desks, come to the rug and I'm going to teach you some Pilates. And they were like finally, you're going to teach us some of your Pilates. So we spent probably about 10 minutes just gentle stretching, a few little core exercises, some breathing together as a group, and they loved it.
Mary:And this was my light bulb moment for my business, where I just realized how connected we were, for those 10 minutes where they all just breathed together with me and got so focused on their mind-body connection and they were so centered that after 10 minutes when we went back to their desk, we didn't waste any time. We had just caught up and were able to 2x the amount of time moving forward. So from that point on I realized, okay, these kind of modalities of movement, breath work, mindfulness, stretching within the classroom for little tiny breaks to help kids focus and self-regulate and really to help with transitions, is going to be hugely beneficial. And that was 10 years ago. So now, luckily, a lot of schools have caught on to this and I think every adult agrees. Everyone says I wish I had this when I was a kid. So really, that's how it began. It was very, very organic.
Yuli:I love that so much and I mean it makes so much sense. Uh, I mean it makes so much sense. I mean, again, watching my kids after some of those practices, it's, uh, it's really that you see a huge difference and uh, how did it grow since then? So you had this light bulb moment, but you were still teaching. Can you fast forward us to today?
Mary:yes, step by step, and that's something I have to constantly remind myself is you don't know what you're doing when you're building something and you just have to take one step and then the next step and then it's a compound effect. So at the time, I wasn't certified yet. As soon as I realized how beneficial it was, I thought, okay, is Pilates for kids a thing? Let me make it a thing. So let me go and get Pilates certified, yoga certified, yoga for kids certified, et cetera, and I really dove into it. And then, about a year later, in 2015, I left my teaching job and I said, okay, I'm going to teach Pilates for kids full time.
Mary:And then it ended up being Pilates and yoga combined, which is really the method that I created that I think works the best for kids, and that started 10 years ago the Poga method. So Pilates being body control that's what Pilates was originally called by Joseph Pilates is contrology mixed with yoga, which you can do so many things for kids with yoga, as you mentioned the flashcards before, and we're doing cat and cow and making moo and meow sounds, depending on the grade level. Combining Pilates and yoga together is really the sweet spot, and then, over time, I realized how much attention was needed for mental health and social emotional skills. So then we've added two more pillars of meditation and mindfulness. And my first year teaching I think I was in three classrooms. Now the Poga method is in about 50 classrooms and growing and just step by step, more and more teachers, administrators and parents asked for it and we just kept building and growing from there.
Yuli:That is incredible. I mean, those kids are so lucky to learn from you all those amazing modalities at such an early age. So how can people or schools or individuals work with you?
Mary:Okay, so the best way to find me is on Instagram, the Poga method, and you can go to the link in bio for all sorts of links for how you can work with me In person, two ways. The first way is in both Los Angeles and New York. It's myself and a team of POGA teachers where we teach in school classrooms, private homes, after school classes, we do events and workshops and summer camps. So get in touch with me via the link on my Instagram. You can book a free consultation call if you want, and we can do in-person classroom, in-person classes for you. Also, if you don't live in Los Angeles or New York and you want to work with me virtually, I work with clients and families on meditation, mindfulness techniques and mindset coaching. So there's a link in my bio for that as well.
Mary:And then, product wise and low, very low cost wise, I have this book, actually Damien the Cow, a yoga story for kids. So this is on Amazon. I recommend this book for ages three to eight and it's a mindful message about friendship. There's breathing exercises in here and a number of different yoga poses that create a fun yoga sequence. And then I also have Mary's Medis, which are 10 very bite-sized five-minute guided meditation visualization exercises for families that you can also download.
Yuli:Amazing. I love all these incredible offerings and there is something for everyone, and I can't wait to try actually your meditations with my kids once they come back from their vacation, and I can't wait for that and that's an amazing back to school new habit that I would like to establish yes, you can put that on the stick a chat well, it's been a really amazing conversation and I just have so many more questions, but I know we're running out of time so I wanted to give you an opportunity to cover anything else like that we haven't said that you felt would be really important for parents to know, any other kind of big, big words of advice?
Mary:I think, just it. You're never too old and you're never too young to do something that's going to create a healthy habit for yourself. So if you feel that you're not where you want to be, just make one commitment to start one new habit this week and try to do it seven days in a row and give yourself a reward afterwards. It's not too late. Just start today, and the same goes for your child. If you feel like you've started some bad habits in your home, start again. You can always start again. It's never too early and it's never too late.
Yuli:I love that Well, you inspired me to try a whole set of new habits for my family and such a pleasure to have you and again. All those beautiful children that benefit from your Poga method are extremely fortunate. Thank you for having that light bulb moment and bringing your wisdom to all of us. And what a pleasure.
Mary:Yes, thank you, yuli, and I love the community that you've created, so I really appreciate just getting to sit down and have time with you today.
Yuli:Amazing.
