Early Movement Academy (or EMA), a company created to foster the development of strong bonds between children and healthy, active lifestyles, was established in 2011. The company’s inception was essentially a response to the alarming trend towards increasingly sedentary and unhealthy children dominating Canada’s youngest generation. It is well documented that the general health of the Canadian population has been decreasing over recent years. Obesity is on the rise, sedentary behaviour is the norm, and unsafe play environments are keeping kids indoors, off their feet and in front of screens.
EMA endeavours to change this trend by providing both safe and supervised play situations, as well as the expertise of movement specialists who can help any and all children reach their greatest physical potential. Teaching children the benefits of exercise through movement based play, as well as how best to use and nurture their physical selves, is at the heart of Ema’s mission. The Academy strives to build physical confidence in each of its young program participants. All children, no matter their physical gifts and/or limitations, should develop a love of sport at a very young age, creating a strong bond that will help keep them fit and healthy through adulthood and beyond.
EMA employs certified kinesiologists (“specialists in human movement”) and highly qualified fitness professionals who are dedicated to helping children master the physical realm while also teaching them about healthy lifestyle choices.
EMA has also teamed up with a private kinesiology company, Kinesiologists Direct Inc., to ensure that they are providing the highest quality before and after-school physical activity programs at selected primary school locations. In order to provide its specialized services to the young community, Ema is working towards opening its own facility in 2012. Under the close supervision of movement specialists, the facility will provide children with the opportunity to participate in exercise and skill learning programs specifically designed for their age group. The staff will assess each child’s movement patterns and then teach them proper techniques through fitness-minded/play-based programs that can be mastered at any pace and/or skill level.
The staff is also qualified to assess and treat muscle imbalances, postural dysfunctions, gait abnormalities and rehabilitate injuries through carefully prescribed therapeutic exercises. For addressing health issues that are outside of the staff’s scope of practice, Ema refers to the strong network of specialists that it is in close communication with.
EMA intends to become a community leader in physical activity and healthy lifestyle promotion. It is poised to change the tide currently headed towards an increasingly unhealthy population.
OUR STAFF
Certified Kinesiologists
Kinesiology, which is also known as human kinetics or exercise science, is the science of human movement. It addresses the physiological, mechanical, and psychological mechanisms associated with movement. Kinesiology is applied in physical and occupational therapy, as well as in the sport and exercise industries. Kinesiologists are trained to perform a thorough musculoskeletal assessment and, based on the findings, design an appropriate general fitness or therapeutic exercise program to match the needs of their client. Kinesiologists work with diverse populations.
Kinesiology, as taught in post-secondary institutions, is a four year undergraduate science degree offered around the world. After completing their studies, Kinesiologists must also be certified by their governing body (in our province it is Ontario Kinesiology Association). Our professional association membership includes professional liability insurance and rigorous continuing education standards.
In Canada, Kinesiology is a professional designation and a regulated health profession.
Fitness Instructors and Trainers
Fitness Instructor and Trainers are licensed professionals who can exercise with healthy populations and assist in carrying out more complex programs as given by our Kinesiologists. Trained as movement professionals, Personal Trainers also provide the much needed motivation to engage in a physically active lifestyle. Our trainers are trained to the highest level possible, and are CPR certified so you can feel completely at ease about the safety of your child. They ensure that proper form is always maintained while motivating your child to enjoy the fun and freedom of engaging physical activity that feels much like play.
About the Founder
Monika Wawrow, President and Founder of Early Movement Academy Inc., developed her vision for a program targeting youth health and the current alarming trend towards increasingly sedentary behaviour by way of her extensive experience in the fitness, nutrition and rehabilitation industries. She was also inspired by the more personal fact that she herself is a mother of two young children. Her goal in Ema is to help the very youngest establish a love of sport and fitness no matter their ability, and to engage them in movement based learning that will inform their later development in life.
As a Certified Kinesiologist, Monika has accumulated an incredibly in-depth and wide-ranging base of movement related knowledge in her over 10 years of experience in general and sport-specific training and injury rehabilitation. From her formal education, continuing studies and on-the-ground experience, Monika has developed a keen sense of the need for early intervention in movement training in order to build a fitter future for generations to come.
Monika’s Kinesiology and Health Science degree has served her well since graduating in 2001 from York University with Honours. Working an incredibly broad scope of jobs, she has experience ranging from fitness assessment and training program design to musculoskeletal and neurological assessment procedures. She has also continued working as an instructor herself, teaching many kinesiology continuing education courses. However, her true passion lies with children and fighting such problems as childhood obesity and movement related disorders. Every child should have the opportunity to explore the outer reaches of their physical abilities, and Monika’s goal is to maximize that at an early age.
A bilingual world-traveller and avid athlete, Monika’s personal love for sport began at an early age, but was greatly strengthened with the near loss of her own ability to walk. Recovering from that experience has helped her gain a great empathy towards any form of “disability”, which Monika prefers to call “the ability to achieve movement in other ways”. She has an engaging rapport with people from all walks of life, most notably with children, who are very drawn to her positive energy.
Monika’s goals with Ema include opening an independent facility, as well as branching into as many schools as possible. She hopes to continue working with children as her own family grows, and inspiring other kinesiologists and fitness professionals to do the same.
