• Mindful Monkeys has a long-time goal of guiding and teaching kids self-regulation.
  • We go to schools, community centers, clubs, studios, and homes to teach as many kids as possible.
  • We see how young people learn to become aware of themselves and their surroundings, but they forget when they go to other environments where mindfulness is not known or practiced.
  • We understood that to help kids learn healthy self-control practices, we also needed to bring awareness to parents and educators, so they can all be on the same page.
  • This is why we offer workshops for parents and educators. What is the most important thing we teach in these workshops? A discipline of self-care and techniques to access the executive function.
  • Remaining in the executive function will help parents and educators stay balanced throughout the day.
  • It helps them deal with whatever life throws at them and change course when needed.
  • Children do not know how to use their executive functions; therefore, adults must model calm by using our executive functions, and children/teens will observe and learn from us.
  • If all the adults in the lives of the kids learn these self-regulation techniques, they will be able to create suitable environments for the kids.
  • Why is creating the right environment for the kids so important? Because our experiences and environment dictate a healthy foundation for our mental, social and physical development.


Mindful Monkeys developed a program and methodology to teach young people to become self-regulated, grow healthy relationships, and thrive in life. Mindful Monkey has created a movement, to include parents, educators, and young people to find balance in their daily lives and hopefully build a meaningful and kind future for everyone. 


Congratulations! You will now be part of this movement, a movement where you will be able to plant the seeds for the future of many generations.


Our courses are transformational, and you do not need prior mindfulness and yoga training for children or teens. All you need is love and passion for helping improve the lives of thousands of young people and adults in society. 


In our training, you will learn how to develop your mindfulness practice and teach children to develop their mindfulness practice. You will gain a basic understanding of the Neuroscience behind Mindfulness and how this is applied to the Mindful Monkeys methodology. 


In addition, you will become familiar with the anatomy/physiology differences between children, teens, and adults and the tools and techniques to use in class per age group. Furthermore, you will learn techniques to manage behavior, develop successful lesson plans, and structure a class including Mindful Monkeys Social-Emotional Learning, Mindfulness, and Yoga pillars. And most importantly, how to re-discover your inner child to seize each moment of the class while having fun and keeping everyone safe.


Depending on your interest, we will apply every course's CEUs towards the 95-hour RCYS by Yoga Alliance. 


Mindful Monkeys is a Registered Yoga School (RYS) with Yoga Alliance, which designates this teacher training program as one which follows Yoga Alliance's standards. Students who complete verified training with this school may be eligible to register with Yoga Alliance as Registered Yoga Teachers (RYTs).

"Excellent training!! Goes well beyond teaching asanas and modifications appropriate for kids of different ages, class plans, and class materials for different age groups. Includes brain development and neuroscientific research, and has a strong focus on social-emotional learning (SEL). Monika Gressier, owner and head of Mindful Monkeys, is extremely knowledgeable and always available for questions or concerns. She's a wonderful person and an excellent professional! I could not have chosen a better school for my CYTT!"

by Katrin Stoerr de Queiroz


Strong Set of Values

Mindful Monkeys follows a set of principles, including our core values.Humans value care, trust, and respect for each other.

  • As teachers, our class approach is based on those same values while transmitting this message to all kids.
  • We believe that all children and teens are capable of learning the skills to self-regulate and self-control while remaining silly and playful.
  • Our science-based methodology incorporates the techniques for parents, educators, and youth, resulting in more positive connections and healthier relationships.
  • We have created a safe, fun, and flexible environment to offset the pressures and stressful routines that our children and teens face in today's world.
  • And by teaching kids to understand how their brain works, they learn to connect to their nervous system and respond to difficult emotions more calmly.



What do we teach?


We teach kids and teens Mindfulness techniques and practices. To become aware of themselves and their surroundings. We teach them how to tap into their social and emotional intelligence.

  • Tools to calm anxiety, stress and manage difficult emotions.
  • How to choose good behavior.
  • To self-regulate and self control/impulse control.
  • Different listening skills.
  • How to follow directions.
  • To be respectful.
  • We offer workshops to educators and parents. Including:
  • Conscious discipline and best strategies to manage challenging behavior. 
  • Tools to develop their mindfulness practice.
  • Techniques for keeping a calm environment.
  • How to re-discover their inner child!
  • Learn fun games and activities to use in the classroom or home.



Our Vision


Mindful Monkeys has three simple goals:

"Guide and help all children, teens, educators, and parents to learn how to free their minds, develop a mindful presence always to have a conscious and mindful response”.

Meet the Founder

Monica Gressier Mucarsel


From an early age, Monica loved monkeys. Because she lived near the Amazonian landscape, she had the chance to raise monkeys. Pepe was her favorite; he was silly and full of life but had difficulty calming down. She noticed that when she was present with him, he would calm down and listen.

That memory stayed in her mind for years to come. She raised three children, including one born with seven different neurological challenges. Learning how to deal with a child with different abilities allowed her to discover her passion for brain development and neuroscience.

Following a fast-paced career in the corporate sphere, Monika decided to change paths and jump into the practice of yoga to embark on a journey of mind, body, and soul enlightenment. After practicing for more than twenty years through different yoga styles such as Ashtanga, Hatha, Anusara, and Vinyasa, Monica received her 200-hour TTC certification and a 95-hour Yoga Children's certification. She has completed several webinars on Early Childhood Development and Neuroscience by Mindbe and Online Conferences on Yoga, Neuroplasticity, and the New Science by The Embodied Brain.

Monica has been a long-time volunteer at The WOW Center, specializing in people with cognitive and physical disabilities, where she has provided yoga and mindfulness tools for teachers and a wide range of clients.

For the past eight years, she has dedicated her time to developing a mission and science-based methodology that is meant to support and assist children and teens overcome life's daily stressors. She founded Happy Tree Yoga, managed and developed classes for YokiYoga, and merged her experiences and knowledge to co-found "Happy Warriors Yoga," becoming a nationally Registered Children/Teen Yoga School by Yoga Alliance. After pioneering the mindful movement into South Florida schools for children and teens, Monica created Mindful Monkeys to dig deeper into the social and emotional learning needs of kids ages 2 to 18, with the practice of mindfulness. Her SEL-Mindfulness approach is impacting children across K-12 South Florida schools.