NEW BUSINESS
AROUND TOWN
Jessica Johns, center, and Alaina Stockhausen, right, founded Peace Kids Pittsburgh, a yoga and fitness studio for children. In addition to
their studio space in Peters, the instructors teach classes at the Mt. Lebanon Recreation Center and at St. Paul’s Nursery School.

YOGA ON THE MOVE When Alaina
Stockhausen began teaching yoga to
the kids in her neighborhood on Mo-
hawk Drive a year and half ago, she
knew she was offering them some-
thing they couldn’t find anywhere else.

“There wasn’t really any kind of pro-
gram for them,” says Stockhausen, a
certified kids yoga teacher and fitness
specialist. “There wasn’t any time for a
little bit of calm.”
So Stockhausen approached Jessica
Johns, Central Square, a longtime
Mt. Lebanon friend and fellow yoga
instructor who has taught kids in the
Mt. Lebanon schools, with the idea
of offering programming just for
children. Together they founded Peace Kids
Pittsburgh, the South Hills area’s only
kid-centered yoga and fitness stu-
dio. They cater to children and youth
ages 2 to 19, and are currently offering
classes at St. Paul’s Nursery School, the
Mt. Lebanon Recreation Center, and
StudioMake in Peters, where they ac-
quired studio space in April.

They also stand out from the crowd by
being a fully mobile yoga studio. “We
can come to the kid wherever they
are, whether they are on the field play-
ing sports or in the therapist’s office,”
Johns says. “Bringing something calm-
ing like yoga, in a space where they are
comfortable, is so important.”
balance, it instills confidence and
calms your mind.”
Peace Kids offers introductory yoga
and art classes for young children,
workshops to empower tweens to build
confidence and combat bullying, and
teen-focused classes to reduce stress
and improve concentration. Sessions
for kids with special sensory needs are
also available, as well as group events
for parents who want to have a little
yoga downtime while their kids are
learning yoga in a separate space.

“Yoga brings your mind back into your
body,” Johns adds. “It teaches you to
be aware of your body and yourself.”
They also travel for birthday parties and
special events, as well as one-on-one
private sessions. “Every kid’s different
and needs a different thing and we can
tailor it to them,” Stockhausen says.

Stockhausen specializes in working
with younger children, and emphasizes
the importance of mindful creative play.

For them, she says early exposure to
yoga can involve art and crafts along-
side basic movements they learn while
playing. “We want to create a place for
children just to be children,” she says.

Stockhausen says yoga becomes a
more active, mindful practice that
teaches kids how to control their emo-
tions and deal with stress and anxiety.

“Yoga helps with self-reflection,” she
explains. “It builds strength, it builds
For children growing up in a chaotic
world where they are increasingly
plugged in to technology, mindfulness
can be hard to achieve, Johns says.

“Kids these days have phones attached
to their hands,” she explains. “They are
losing all of these healthy benefits we
would have had just going outside.

Kids are more stressed out than ever.

Yoga teaches them mindfulness and
resilience.” Johns credits Mt. Lebanon School Dis-
trict’s new mindfulness initiative with
helping to educate local families about
the importance of the connection be-
tween your body and mind. “We aren’t
just moving through this world alone,”
she says. “We influence the people
around us. Yoga teaches us to connect
with the people around us and treat
them with kindness.”
For upcoming events and classes, visit
peacekidspgh.com or Facebook and
Instagram at @peacekidspittsburgh
for more information.

— SARAH CORE
LEBOMAG.COM |19 mtl