Our System Yo-Dan-Nastics™

KMA and its core methodology Yo-Dan-Nastics is different from traditional gymnastics programs in that the emphasis is on seeing the whole person as a creative being. We teach using exploration as the pathway to learning, rather than imposing a rigid physical pedagogy on the individual. 

Yoga helps us maintain a holistic approach to our work. The yoga principal of “ahimsa” – of avoiding doing harm – guides us in seeing the uniqueness of each and every student. 

We teach yoga from the perspective of it being a spiritual practice that happens to have a physical component to it. In fact, though we are teaching physical movements through yoga, dance, and gymnastics, the overall intention is to elevate the inner spirit and move the individual self to realize a higher state of being and Self-awareness.

We are different from traditional gymnastics programs in these ways:

  • Ours is not competitive
  • We focus on the therapeutic and health benefits of doing yoga, dance, and gymnastics
  • We use the skills our students learn to create performance art
  • We choreograph movement pieces set to music that showcase the skills that the students are capable of doing -- performing what they’ve learned in front of people uplifts their inner spirits and the spirits of those watching
  • We use yoga and dance as the basis for learning the gymnastics positions and moves

We are different from traditional yoga schools in these ways: 

  • We use dance to create more fluidity in the sequences and to inspire more joy in the expression of each posture
  • We use gymnastics to bring more challenges to the yoga practice, which cultivates courage and confidence within the practitioner. In a sense, we teach neo-classical yoga

We are different from other dance programs in these ways: 

  • We use yoga to remind the artist to breath and create lightness and buoyancy as he/she finds physical expression for the movement
  • As far as we know, we offer the only curriculum that combines these three movement traditions so fluidly into one overall movement methodology