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Breathe & Learn

Resources & education for parents/teachers to create a positive environment where students use yoga to strengthen their social-emotional learning skills

After deepening her own yoga practice through a 200 hour teacher training, Joanie was inspired to create a workshop for kids that offered a full yoga experience paired with thoughtful discussions and self-reflection. Children love moving their bodies into silly poses and are intrigued by breathing exercises and visualizations that help them relax and feel a sense of calmness. Joanie Plake started Breathe and Learn to support students social-emotional journeys at school and home. As an elementary school teacher, she observed so many children carrying burdens and stress throughout the day which impacted their ability to learn and fully engage in academic work. While she did my best to incorporate mindfulness practices during the day to help ease some of these feelings, she yearned to have the time and space to offer more. Joanie's hope is that students walk away from Breathe and Learn workshops with a positive outlook on life, a deeper understanding of themselves, and tools to continue nourishing their minds and bodies

08/10/2025

Feels like home ☀️ No better place to recover from a redeye. Straight to the beach in Cascais, Portugal✨. Travel is Wellness: Notes from Portugal on Substack.

22/09/2025

It’s taken me a while to gather my thoughts over the past week and a half. While I had just started to be a bit more present here, the heaviness of the world led me to retreat again, and I pulled away from the noise.
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Today, what I have to offer is a short poem, a reflection of my daily rhythm to preserve my peace within, and a scripture that feels timely.
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Breathe. Pray. Connect. Repeat.
Keep loved ones close.
Let the light in.
Welcome joy.
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Maybe you read the Bible, maybe you don’t. Maybe you’re just starting to (like me), or maybe you’re simply curious. Either way, this feels like something we can all agree upon.
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“For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters.
But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature.
Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.
For the whole law can be summed up in this one command:
‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
— Galatians 5:13–14
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May we breathe this truth into our homes, and out into the world.
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08/09/2025

Big adventure, little humans, and a lot of lessons along the way 👋—meet me (Joanie), Dan, Juno, and Addy!
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After ten seasons of Breathe + Learn, we’re trading our cozy, beach town life for our biggest adventure yet: a month in Nashville, two months abroad, and then to the East Coast for the holidays.
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Breathe + Learn has evolved with my family, and I’m excited to take it further by adding travel as a way to explore, practice, and deepen our understanding of wellness together.
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I’ll be sharing the tips and lessons we discover along the way, while my amazing team keeps Breathe + Learn programming alive back home.
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I’ll share little glimpses here on Instagram, but most of the real, in-between moments will live in my Substack journal, Travel is Wellness.
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Journaling has always been a core part of Breathe + Learn, and if you know me, you know I love a good journal. My first two posts dive into our departure, the excitement, and the little chaos of traveling as a family of four.
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Come along on this wild ride with us, subscribe through the link in my bio to follow along!
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29/08/2025

What are the girls doing for school this year? We’re off on a big adventure✈️.
World school it is!
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Subscribe to the B+L newsletter for local and global updates. Follow our family journey on Substack - Travel is Wellness.
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https://open.substack.com/pub/breatheandlearn/p/travel-is-wellness?r=pflg9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false

31/07/2025

As we prepare for our final week of Summer Camp, I’ve been thinking about how far this dream has come and how deeply it has grown alongside me.
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We’re wrapping up our 10th summer, which feels surreal to even type. What began in 2016 with just six students has evolved into the signature Breathe + Learn experience, a space rooted in movement, mindfulness, creativity, and connection. A space that has seen me through so many seasons of life... the most transformative, of course, being motherhood.
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This summer, I found myself in a new chapter of balancing work with life as a mom of two toddlers. Juno joined camp for the first time, and watching her experience the magic we’ve been creating all these years felt like a full-circle moment. Adalyn has been right there too, arriving at the end of each day to color journals and chase after the big kids with wide eyes and big energy.
It hasn’t been without its challenges. Juggling work, parenting, and all the moving pieces of camp is never easy. But the joy, connection and appreciation I felt this summer have been a powerful reminder of why I started Breathe + Learn in the first place, and why I continue to pour my heart into it.
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As B+L evolves, my hope is always the same: to create experiences that invite kids to slow down, breathe deeply, connect with others, and walk away feeling more grounded, more confident, and more themselves.
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Whether your family has been with us for years, or you’re just getting to know what we’re all about, thank you for being part of this journey. It’s been a special season, and I’m feeling really grateful.
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04/12/2023

Very excited to be a part of the for the first time this Saturday, Dec. 9🙌🏼. We’re offering a Breathe and Craft workshop for kids ages 5-10 from 10:30-11:30.
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This means you can drop your kids with us and go shop! We’ll keep them busy breathing, moving and crafting. 💕
We’re extending special holiday pricing for families too - $30 for 2 children (siblings or friends). Sign up link in bio. Hope to see you there!

19/08/2023

A love note to myself❤️.

03/07/2023

The next B+L Kids Yoga and Mindfulness Teacher Training is just 12 days away 🙌🏼. We can’t wait to spend the weekend breathing and learning all things kids yoga in the most magical studio by the ocean.
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We still have space and would love for you to join us. It’s the perfect time to expand your knowledge and apply it to your family or teaching life. Check out the link in our bio for a more detailed breakdown of the weekend.
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We also have upcoming opportunities with Breathe and Learn, since yours truly with be giving birth in September! This is the first step in joining our team. Reach out with any questions!

01/07/2023

What a summer so far! An amazing two weeks of camp and now a week of holiday before we begin again.

26/06/2023

Join us every Wednesday this summer for a playful and engaging yoga class with your littles. The class is designed for ages 1.5-4.5…we truly welcome all ages though. Just come prepared to be silly and imaginative with your kids. We’ll breathe, move, play and relax together. Bring a blanket or yoga mat and meet us on the turf grass in the center of the plaza. Feel free to message us with any questions!

19/06/2023

In 2016 I began creating the Breathe + Learn curriculum. I knew I wanted to create a yoga and mindfulness program that offered kids physical and social-emotional benefits AND I wanted a guide to follow as a teacher.
After rearranging post-its all over my living room wall for a few days, themes emerged and a curriculum was born. I turned the outline and ideas into a journal so students would have a visual and my teaching life would be 10x easier.
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I now have a weekly guide for my classes and so do all of the B+L teachers. We just lightly plan out the extra stuff- any games, crafts or books we want to supplement with…although we have a list of those things too, so we never feel overwhelmed by lesson planning. We can focus on our students and adjust as needed.
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Teaching kids yoga and mindfulness is the best and can be a lot of fun…if you’re prepared and understand that it is VERY different than teaching adults.
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The biggest challenges I often hear relate to classroom management, engagement, behavior and content. I’m proud to say that after many years of classroom teaching and just as many teaching yoga, we have a pretty solid approach that addresses each of those areas.
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We break it all down in our next teacher training which is just a month away!! Even if you don’t envision yourself teaching a big group of kids (sometimes that scares people!), you’ll learn so many tips and tricks for parenting and/or small group work. We dig into research about understanding the brain and behaviors 🤓 which helps set you up for success when it comes to classroom management and/or responding to your own children. We review kid friendly breathing exercises, yoga poses, games, books, props…really everything and anything we’ve used that have brought our classes to life! And, yes, you get access to all of the journals and lessons plans too. It’s all included and availabile through our online platform for up to a year after the training( you can download it to have it forever💕).
It’s truly a magical weekend of breathing and learning together with like-minded people✨. Learn more on our website! Link in bio.

15/06/2023

It’s *finally* happening! “Mommy and Me” classes are on the schedule this summer. You can find us in El Segundo every Wednesday from 10:00 - 10:45, June 21 - Aug. 9.
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While the class is designed for ages 1.5-4 years old, mommas and caregivers are welcome to bring along their babies or older siblings - it’s a family friendly class. Learn more about the class on the website under the classes tab. Link in bio.
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June 21 will be an extra special class because it is International Yoga Day!🧘🏼‍♀️
You can expect some special giveaways and treats from local shops. Hope to see you there!
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90266, 90267

Website

http://www.breatheandlearn.com/

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