Shelley Russell first picked up yoga in her teens, back in England, and knew she loved how it made her feel, but didn’t know why it made her feel good. Fast forward 17 years, then a mother of a two year old, Shelley was looking for fun classes to share yoga with her first daughter, Gabriella.  At the time there were very few options, and the options that existed were not good. So Shelley decided to embark on the journey of becoming a children’s yoga teacher!

Shelley gained her 200 hr yoga certification with Global Family Yoga, a school that specializes in children’s yoga. This level of training specifically for children no longer exists, as the Yoga Alliance now only requires children’s yoga teachers to have 90 hours of training. Now completely addicted to learning about the field of children’s yoga, Shelley continued her education in this area. Please see below some of her trainings and certifications that she has completed.

Shelley has taught all over the Fox Valley area. From Earth Day to Girl Scout troop meetings, Shelley seeks out ways to introduce the world of yoga to children. In 2015 Shelley taught therapeutic yoga at My Recess Occupation Therapy in St Charles, where she worked with children within the autism spectrum, children with ADD and other conditions. Teaching yoga and art to these children was a joy and inspired her to  incorporate this into her new studio. Late in 2015, Shelley moved from Millcreek into her current home where she has her yoga studio. The beautiful, scenic location of the studio inspired her to rename Karma Child Yoga, to Little Meadow Family Yoga.

Due to an increasing demand for private yoga therapy for anxiety and depression, in the spring of 2017 Shelley studied with world renown Amy Weintraub at the Sivananda Ashram in the Bahamas, where she earned her Level 1 Life Force Practitioner certification. This certification prepared Shelley to work with children and adults dealing with anxiety and depression.

Shelley is also a third-degree reiki Master practitioner.  This intuitive form of healing appealed to her as she was already aware of how energy can both flow through the body and also become stuck. Having an understanding of the chakra system complements Hatha yoga and is another tool in her belt, for helping her clients.

Shelley is passionate about creating a space for people to feel welcome, nurtured and peaceful.  The new studio on La Fox Rd is a little hidden gem, within an historic old farm house (original Keslinger Family Home 1890’s).  This intimate space allows the beginner of all shapes, sizes and abilities to feel successful and happy with their yoga practice. It does not matter if this is your first time on the yoga mat - you belong here.

One of the main goals of this studio is to make yoga accessible for all. Come in your sweats, come in your LuLu, what ever makes you comfortable, we can't wait to meet you.

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