March 14, 2017

Meet Leah Kalish of Move with Me Yoga Adventures in Encino

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Leah Kalish.

Leah, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started in NYC as a modern dancer. I started acting as a way to make a living and loved it. I spent 20 years working under my SAG name, Leah Ayres. I did countless commercials and starred in many successful TV and film projects such as: The Edge of Night, Bloodsport, St. Elsewhere, Eddie Macon’s Run, Who’s the Boss, and Walker, Texas Ranger just to name a few.

I returned to graduate school when I wanted to start a family. I had a son and earned a master’s degree in both yoga and education at the age of 40. Since then, I’ve focused on creating curriculum and resources that enable parents and teachers to bring the benefits of yoga, play, mindfulness and self-care into their work with children to enhance development, social-emotional skills, and health.

In my current company, Move with Me Yoga Adventures, I’ve collaborated with two other educators, Wendy Piret and Liz Bragdon, to develop and produce movement and self-regulation resources for early learning. Our intention is always to empower parents and teachers to more playfully and effectively integrate activities that nurture physical fitness, emotional stability, and learning readiness.

As former Program Director of Yoga Ed, I wrote the first standards-based Yoga Curricula for PE and for classroom wellness. For several years, I traveled all over the country training both yoga and classroom teachers so those programs are still in use today.

Additionally, I am a certified Family Constellation facilitator as well as Biodynamic Embodiment Process practitioner. The combination of these two therapies enable me to help individuals to complete systemic and traumatic imprints.

Here are some of the award-winning products and curricula for children that I have had the privilege to contribute to:

Pizza Party DVD & Yoga Power Curriculum

Scooter & Me Yoga Adventure Series – Active Play that teaches Self-Regulation Skills

Health & Self-Regulation Flashcards

The Movement & Mindfulness Curriculum

The Yoga Pretzels and Yoga Planet Decks

Teaching Yoga to Children with Special Needs by Every Kid’s Yoga

The Yoga Ed. Curricula and Tools for Teachers for Pre-K – High School

The Yoga Kit for Kids & the Empowerment Pack for Kids

The Yoga Fitness Videos for Kids, ages 3 – 6 and 7 – 12

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
When I first started teaching and using yoga and mindfulness with children, I was trailblazing. No one understood what I was doing and I was figuring it out as I went along. What we all came to see, however, over time, were the results in the students’ attitudes, behavior, and self-management.

Now, there are lots of kids yoga programs. Parents want to send their children to schools with yoga and/ or mindfulness programs. The growth and expansion over the last 15-20 years has been exponential. That’s been truly heart-warming and validating for me – making all those lonely, challenging times worth it!

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Move with Me Yoga Adventures story. Tell us more about the business.
What sets MwMYA apart is integration.

Our video classes and Movement & Mindfulness Curriculum uniquely integrate stories, movement, yoga, cooperative games, mindfulness, music & self-regulation into standards-based lessons and activities that anyone working with children can use to improve fitness, attention, early literacy, direction following, learning readiness, and self-control.

We are known in the early learning community for activities that not only engage the whole child but also address requirements in a more active, healthful, self-regulation building way. We are thrilled that our resources are successfully implemented by educators, parents, OTs, and other support professionals.

We are proud that those who attend our trainings leave feeling both personally inspired and able to model the self-awareness and self-care that are the foundation for well-being and well-doing. In deepening their own embodied self-regulation, they can more effectively shift into a health paradigm and authentically empower children to meet themselves with compassion and tools for managing their stress, understanding their emotions, and making thoughtful behavior choices.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I think luck is the synergy of intention, exploration, willingness, and perseverance. I believe life is about dancing with what arises and learning from the process about who you are, how you can serve, and what you can accomplish. There’s always magic and mayhem, delight and disappointment.

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