HEALTH

Offering Underserved Kids a Natural Wellness Option

Local yoga instructor provides free yoga and nutrition classes

By Haley Beyer

Rana Kirkland, national director of advancement for One for Health, is creating a program to bring wellness and yoga classes to kids at community organizations across the country. Kirkland, who is a life coach and yoga, meditation and nutrition instructor, grew up in New York where she was exposed to the arts early in her childhood. She studied dance and theater as a kid and continued to pursue those interests when she moved with her family to the West Coast during middle school. In high school, Kirkland studied classical ballet and trained in tennis. She had the opportunity to play tennis at the pro level but turned it down to focus on dance and acting. She made her way to USC where she graduated with a degree in social sciences and communications. After college she pursued acting and appeared on TV shows such as “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” and “Saved by the Bell.” After spending so much time on different sets, Kirkland decided to take some family time and focus on other things. She started a kid’s art business called Rana’s Arts Club. This wasn’t entirely new to her as she had taught musical theater for kids as her very first job. Because of her background in sports and staying active her entire life, she also found joy in yoga. “I’ve always had an interest in well-being and taking care of my body,” Kirkland said. She wanted to show kids the power of yoga and taking care of their bodies. Kirkland was officially certified in children’s yoga in 2001 and her experience in entertainment made it easy for her to create animated and fun yoga instruction for the kids. This was essential because kids don’t do yoga for the same reasons adults do, so keeping them focused during classes was extremely important. Since becoming certified, she has taught yoga to over a thousand kids from Marina del Rey to Malibu. While Kirkland also teaches adult yoga, a lot of her time is spent on children’s instruction. Her experience with kids in the past, her current role as a mom, and the state of our country during the pandemic were three big reasons for her to offer yoga to the youth at a national level. She is constantly seeking ways to help children. “I could easily see where kids could benefit from feeling calm and centered after participating in yoga,” Kirkland said. During Spring 2020, Kirkland’s first “heart thought” was wondering what kind of impact the pandemic would have on kids. “Yoga is essential to healing,” Kirkland said. She couldn’t teach yoga in person during the pandemic, but that didn’t stop her from trying to make a difference. Kirkland started making videos and posting them on her Facebook for kids to follow along to at home. Her yoga platform was growing and made it easier for One for Health, a nonprofit organization that provides holistic health programs for

Rana Kirkland is a local life coach and yoga, meditation and nutrition instructor who is also the national director of advancement for One for Health.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ONE HEALTH FOUNDATION/RANA KIRKLAND/SANTA MONICA BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB

low-income youth, to find Kirkland on LinkedIn. They loved her ideas and plans for the future so much that they recently made Kirkland the national director of advancement. Her kids yoga videos will be going up on the Santa Monica YMCA gym’s virtual site for easy access and she is in the process of reaching out to tech companies, the entertainment industry and individual supporters to help produce other virtual programs. The biggest project Kirkland is working on right now is developing a training course for adults, specifically yoga instructors, so they can learn how to teach children about wellness including physical activity and nutrition. Once completed, the program can be distributed to Boys and Girls Clubs, YMCAs and other community organizations across the country, creating jobs for instructors and necessary classes for kids. “I want this program to empower people to build wellness for kids into their community,” Kirkland said. With help from the public, One for Health and its sponsors, enough money was raised to make the program a reality. “One for Health is so grateful to be partnered with such phenomenal organizations like the Boys and Girls Club or Isagenix, who provides plant-based protein bars and protein shakes to teach kids about nutrition,” Kirkland said. While the program is in the works, Kirkland continues to teach. She instructs in-person classes at the local Boys and Girls Club, she is available for workshops (independent from One for Health) and is creating a series of videos to release for her at-home participants. Though her plate is full, she wouldn’t have it any other way. “My favorite part of working with kids is how humble they keep me, everything is all about them and there is never a dull moment,” Kirkland said. “They say the darndest things that bring a smile to my face. I’ve worked with kids from all backgrounds, and despite their differences, they all appreciate the value of being self-aware and understanding the sense of calmness.”

One for Health

oneforhealth.org Rana Kirkland Instagram @ranakirkland