Leaving a stable office job to follow your passion isn’t always easy in this economy, but for children’s yoga instructor Kallie Marcus it proved to be the right move.

Ms Marcus, 28, left the business world to start her own company called Kinetix in January. It focuses on teaching basic yoga moves to children and teenagers, but also offers classes in gymnastic fundamentals, paddle board yoga and workshops for people of all ages.

She is now preparing to launch her yoga programme in some of the Island’s schools this September, thanks to a partnership with the Ministry of Health.

Ms Marcus believes young people can benefit from yoga in a number of ways. It allows them to be creative and use their imaginations, improve their strength and balance, as well as unwind and feel good about themselves.

But she maintains her approach with children doesn’t involve any spirituality.

Ms Marcus said: “I get a lot of questions from parents because yoga can be spiritual, but that’s not the approach I take. There’s no meditation involved. I might get the kids to close their eyes and listen for a particular sound with their ears.

“The practice helps them to relax and release any stress. They shouldn’t have much [stress], but for the older children if they are about to take a test they can do some of the breathing exercises or yoga poses and it’s an easy way to relax beforehand.”

Ms Marcus admitted she was always interested in health and fitness and personally benefited from years of gymnastics training, which started at age nine. But when it came time to choose what career path she wanted to take in university, she went with what she thought was a more realistic option.

After graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce and Business from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, she found work in the local insurance industry and later as an account manager at AF Smith.

But her passion was more in the work she did in her spare time — coaching children with Bermuda Gymnastics Association.

“While coaching I realised that working with kids was something that came naturally to me,” she explained. “I also realised how much I missed gymnastics, but I was too old to do it myself so I started looking for something similar and discovered that yoga classes used a lot of the same movements.

“After that, I began using yoga moves for my warm up and cool down exercises with the kids.”

She started teaching yoga at lunch time and after work, but then decided to take a gamble and start a business of her own.

“I just felt pulled away from the conventional way of working,” she said. “Kinetixs was something I worked on every single day.

“And I got to the point where I couldn’t do everything I had to do while working another job. I felt this was a sacrifice worth making.”

Ms Marcus currently has three yoga certifications, including one in children’s yoga with ChildLight Yoga in Maryland and another in stand-up paddle board yoga completed in Laguna Beach, California.

In a typical class she encourages children to use their imaginations, while also challenging their minds and bodies.

“One day we might pretend like we’re going to Africa,” she said. “I start the class off by getting them to do basic breathing exercises and getting them to be aware of what’s going on around them.

“We use some of the same movements that would be used with adults, but call them different names.

“For instance ‘Downward dog’ is called ‘the bridge’ and for ‘Warrior Two’ pose I get them to pretend like they are on a surfboard.”

The biggest reward comes from the positive feedback she gets from children and their parents after class.

“I get tons of hugs from students and they are always super happy,” she said. “One time I actually got a video from a parent through Facebook who taped her child saying how much she liked the class.

“I find the kids are proud of themselves and what they have accomplished as well. I teach them some basic yoga poses so they are able to show their friends. “Sometimes they don’t even realise how much they are challenging their bodies, they just know it’s fun.”

For more information on the classes offered by Ms Marcus, e-mail move@gokinetix.com or visit: www.gokinetix.com.