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Sandra Walkenhorst
Yoga has been with me for over 25 years and is more than just an asana practice for me. Yoga is a path – my path. A matter of the heart. To be able to accompany people on their path is not just a job for me, but a calling. I combine my knowledge and experience from my pedagogical work with yoga, because this is essential for me, especially when working with children and young people. For almost 30 years, it has been my vision to contribute to making the world a little more beautiful in my own way. When we work with children and young people, it is always about us as companions. That’s why strengthening children and young people is not only a matter of the heart for me, but also strengthening their companions. Because it always starts with us!
I am a qualified social pedagogue and have worked for 21 years as a teacher at a special school focusing on intellectual development. I now work part-time for a youth welfare organisation as a team leader for school support/participation assistance. I have been working as a yoga teacher independently since 2010. I started with children’s yoga, followed by training as a yoga teacher 500h and various further training courses. I have been enjoying passing on my knowledge and experience in training courses, workshops and as a lecturer since 2015. In 2017, I developed Thai-Kinderyoga®, an absolute passion project.
I also pass on my knowledge as the author of several specialist books and various articles and work as a freelance lecturer at technical colleges and universities on the topics of communication and special education.
My heartfelt wish is that every child comes into contact with yoga, relaxation and mindfulness in the course of their development.
In 2019, the combination of yoga and coaching was added. Together with my husband Michael, PsYoCo® – Psychological Yoga Coaching – and the training to become a coach for children, young people & families were created.
As I continue to work in the pedagogical field, I am aware of the concerns of teachers and educators and know the challenges and everyday life in schools very well. This enables me to provide a very individual and practical transfer of the training content into the (professional) everyday life for my clients and training participants. I am also a member of the
My training and further education
- Dipl. Social pedagogue (EFH)
- Yoga teacher (WAY, 500h)
- Children’s yoga teacher KYA, 240 hours (Kinderyoga-Akademie Heidelberg)
- Thai Yoga Teacher (Tobias Frank)
- Yin Yoga (Stefanie Arend)
- Yoga Nidra (Marc Fenner)
- Trauma-sensitive yoga (Helga Baumgartner & Eva Weinmann)
- Trainer for hormone yoga and stress management (WAY)
- Trainer for DeepYa ® YOGA (Andrea Degner, Paracelsus School)
- Trainer for Progressive Muscle Relaxation (Paracelsus School)
- Specialist training in “Nonviolent Communication” (Paracelsus School)
- Further training “Attachment, Trauma and Co-Regulation” at the Odenwaldinstitut on the Tromm
- Training in psychomotor skills, sign language, introduction to Montessori pedagogy, trauma pedagogy, recognising and avoiding violent conflicts, dealing with epilepsy, dealing with “young wild ones”, WOWW coaching, HAKOMI processing, training seminar with self-experience “Somatic Experiencing®”, yoga based on polyvagal theory, EFT compact – tapping with children, trauma in refugee children and young people
Speaker/Management
- freelance lecturer, including at universities of applied sciences for the areas of (special) education and communication
- Own training and further education in the areas of yoga for children, young people and families, Thai children’s yoga, inclusive yoga, Yoga Nidra coach for children and young people, psychological yoga coaching, as well as coaching for children, young people & families
- Trainer at the Gefühlsmonster Akademie
- Leader of various workshops at various yoga festivals
- Head of the further training course accredited by the Hessian Teacher Training Academy “Integration of (children’s) yoga and relaxation elements into lessons in a primary and/or special school”
FOUNDER OF
AND TOGETHER WITH
MICHAEL WALKENHORST
Author
- of the book “Yoga Nidra for children and young people: calming the nervous system and strengthening resilience” (to be published in July 2025 by Meyer & Meyer Verlag)
- of the book “Mindfulness and relaxation in schools: Practical exercises for the classroom – The 4-week programme for all school levels”, together with Mona Bekteši (published in 2023 by Meyer & Meyer Verlag)
- of the book “Coaching for children and young people: Methods against stress and performance pressure from a cross-school perspective”, together with Michael Walkenhorst (published in 2022 by Meyer & Meyer Verlag)
- of the book “Yoga for young people: Reducing stress through mindfulness and relaxation” (published in 2021 by Meyer & Meyer Verlag, 2nd revised edition 2024)
- of the book “Yoga meets Coaching: Psychological basic knowledge and tools for teachers”, together with Michael Walkenhorst (published in 2020 by Meyer & Meyer Verlag)
- of the book “Thai-Kinderyoga: Relaxing through mindful touch and releasing blockages” (published in 2019 by Meyer & Meyer Verlag)
- Card set “Yoga for Youth” (published in March 2025 by Don Bosco Verlag)
- Article on inclusion and Thai-Teensyoga in the book “Yoga in modern sports lessons” by Mona Bekteši (published in 2022 by Meyer & Meyer Verlag)
- Article Yoga Aktuell issue 109
- Article German Yoga Forum issue 02/2018 & issue 06/2019
- various guest articles e.g. at Thai Yoga, Lebensflow, MOMazing, Yogastern, psylife, Kinderzeit
- Podcasts
If you have any questions or are interested, please contact me, I look forward to hearing from you!
