Be Your Own Hero: A Yoga Fest for Kids & Teens

Are you traveling with children to Telluride? We are proud to announce our association with Be Your Own Hero: A Yoga Festival for Kids & Teens.

A growing body of research shows that yoga, stress reduction, and creative arts programs can positively impact physical and mental health. Creative arts programs often include art, yoga, music, dance/movement activities, or other nonverbal forms of expression. When offered to kids and teens, these programs may increase self esteem, reduce stress, and improve personal responsibility. In this weekend workshop, participants will learn about the hero’s journey through yoga and art. The hero’s journey reminds us that even though each person is autonomous, one must still negotiate the balance of being an individual and living in relationship and community. This workshop’s supportive environment is integral to helping kids feel more comfortable in learning and incorporating the hero’s journey into their own lives, which in turn may increase confidence to participate more fully with family, friends and community.

Although completely separate from our main Conference, “Be Your Own Hero: A Yoga Fest for Kids & Teens” will offer children and young adults a comprehensive yoga program. Be Your Own Hero is being held at the Ah Haa School of Arts. This location has been set aside specifically for this unique children's program.   Kids and teens will explore age-specific issues of identity, responsibility and community through yoga and art. This one-of-a-kind program is being offered by three experienced professionals. Two hold their masters degrees in creative arts therapies and work at The Children's Hospital, and one is a published author and the creator of Storytime Yoga (www.storytimeyoga.com.

To register or see a detailed schedule, download this form Be Your Own Hero - Registration. If you have questions, please contact Michelle Fury @ fury.michelle@tchden.org.

Sydney Solis Since 2000, Sydney Solis has been spreading the joy and wisdom of yoga and story with classes, performances and workshops internationally. As a little girl growing up in Boulder, Colorado, Sydney frequently perused her father’s huge collection of books on yoga, myths, stories and religions of all cultures. Her father was born in Indonesia and her childhood was influenced by his interest in Eastern religions and yoga. At age 12 she started meditating. She earned a B.A. in Journalism and Spanish from Metropolitan State College of Denver. She worked in the United States, Mexico and Ecuador as a reporter and award-winning photographer, and was a religion reporter for the Bakersfield Californian. Sydney has worked as an English as a Second Language tutor in public elementary and high schools, and worked in her children's Montessori classrooms for seven years. Sydney began practicing yoga in 1993 after a hit-and-run car injury. And it was after settling down with married life and raising two children that she discovered her love of storytelling in 2000. She spent three years as a Spellbinder, volunteering to tell stories to public school children. After her first husband's suicide in 2003, she became a professional storyteller and yoga teacher. Sydney has more than 300 hours of training in the Anusara tradition. She studies Yoga Nidra with SreeDevi Bringi at Naropa University. She studied storytelling with Laura Simms and Rebecca Armstrong. She is the author of the storytelling CD The Golden Cucumber: Stories of Indonesia, 2003, Talking Dragonfly Productions; Chili Today, Hot Tamale and other Tummy Tales, 2004, Jems Press; and Storytime Yoga: Teaching Yoga to Children Through Story, 2006, The Mythic Yoga Studio. The Treasure in Your Heart: Yoga and Stories for Peaceful Children, 2008, and the children's DVD The Peddler's Dream, 2007. Sydney is an associate of the Joseph Campbell Foundation and has produced three World Peace Interfaith Storytelling Gatherings. Sydney also writes poetry and creates photographic art. She lives with her husband, Justin Chipman, their four children, two cats and one dog in a little house with a big garden in Boulder, Colorado. To learn more about Sydney go to www.storytimeyoga.com

Michelle Fury, MA, RYT caught the yoga bug in 1992. She was a stressed-out college student, who thought that yoga would be a good workout. But to her surprise, yoga helped as much with concentrating on school as physical health. In 1996, she completed her first teacher certification with John Friend. Today, she is a Registered Yoga Teacher at the 200 hour level through the Yoga Alliance. However, she has done over 300 hours of study with Richard Freeman, and almost as many through Anusara. She is currently working on her yoga therapy certification in the Viniyoga style with Gary Kraftsow.

By 1998 she began exploring yoga as physical therapy. She took anatomy and armature workshops in Boulder, as well as an Anusara yoga therapy training in New York City in 2000. She launched a side business of yoga for injuries. Yet many of her clients spent more time talking about their problems than their injuries. So in 2003 she went back to school for a Masters in Contemplative Psychotherapy at Naropa University.

As part of her masters program, she completed a yoga therapy internship at The Children's Hospital (TCH) in Denver. Today, she is a yoga therapist at TCH. She received YogaEd © certification in 2006. She offers yoga to groups and individual kids and teens, both inpatient and outpatient, in the following units: eating disorders, psychiatric units for child and adolescent, autism spectrum, and medical units (especially oncology). A defining factor of Children’s delivery of yoga therapy is its explicit inclusion of psychological interventions:

At The Children's Hospital, combining our psychological knowledge with yogic interventions in yoga therapy sessions provides a powerful tool to treat the whole person. Practicing yoga teaches kids to view their world and themselves with fresh perspective.

Michelle’s goal is to provide yoga to kids of all ages in developing strong bodies, sharp minds, and resiliency. She can be reached at fury.michelle@tchden.org.

Tisha Adams, LPC, ATR-BC has a Master’s Degree in Art Therapy from Vermont College of Norwich University (1991), a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Sociology from Adams State College (1986)., and an Associates Degree in Graphic Design from the Art Institute of Colorado (2002). Tisha is licensed within the state of Colorado as a Licensed Professional Counselor (1996) and is credentialed as an ATR-BC with the American Art Therapy Association. She has 20 years experience in the Mental Health field. She has worked 15 years as a Clinical Art Therapist at National Jewish Medical and Research Center with children and adolescents with respiratory, lung and immune diseases/disorders. She works currently at Children’s Hospital of Denver with children and adolescents with cancer, kidney and liver dysfunctions, and with various medical illnesses, trauma’s and surgeries. Additionally, Tisha has worked as an art therapist in other settings including: child and adolescent psychiatric (residential and day programs); adult psychiatric (residential); and geriatric (residential, rehabilitation, and psychiatric). Tisha taught art classes for a residential and day treatment psychiatric facility to elementary aged children. Tisha supervises Graduate Art Therapy students and Art Therapists working toward Registration and Licensure. She is currently adjunct faculty for the General Education Department at the Art Institute of Colorado. She is a past President (1998) and Vice President (1997) of the Art Therapy Association of Colorado. She is currently serving as the Ethics Chair for ATACO. She illustrated a children’s story book (A Visitor in the Dark, 2004). Tisha continues to practice her art making and graphic design skills on occasional projects for: self, fun, work, friends and family.