This month’s AGF Kids highlight features the incredibly talented, hardworking and flexible AcroYoga sisters – Danaé ( 15), Danya ( 9 ) and Danielle (5 ).
The sisters live in the Los Angeles area and are phenomenally gifted athletes specialising in gymnastics, dance, acro and yoga. Their mission is to impact their generation through their fitness lifestyle and health awareness.
These queens are incredible examples of discipline, passion and purpose. Here they give us a little insight into who they are, their diet and how they stay grounded with their busy schedule.
Tell us about dzvegankidathletes
Danya: We love to do gymnastics, dance, acro, workout in the gym, and yoga! In addition, our wonderful mom provides us with a private acro coach to help us improve our skills, and do our flows. She also takes all our beautiful pictures for our Instagram!
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Good nutrition is super important for an active lifestyle. Tell us about your journey to becoming vegan
Mom: Danya and Danielle were born vegan but briefly tasted chicken and some fish when they got older because from dad who is not vegan. They have also never had red meat or dairy. Danaé was diagnosed with fibromyalgia a few years ago and her mom suggested to try a fully vegan lifestyle. She saw a definite difference in the amount of flare ups she had and the amount of medications she had to take. They introduced Danya to two documentaries called “What the Health” and “Forks over Knives” and that made her realize that being our bodies don’t need any animal meat to be strong. She is on a gymnastics team, trains 20 hours a week, feels stronger and more energetic being vegan.
Danielle was a preemie, born 10 weeks early and only weighed 3 lbs. The doctors believed she would have long term breathing and digestion problems since she needed a machine to help her breathe and couldn’t breastfeed with all the tubes and IV lines she had. Although she stayed in the hospital for over two months, we believe that Mom’s vegan breastmilk and homemade unprocessed baby food was one of the main reasons why she is so strong today with no health problems.
(L-R) Mom, Danae, Danya and Danielle
How do you think you can inspire other kids and do you think that’s important?
Danaé: We speak at vegan events to educate people on why we feel being vegan is a great option! We do not want to preach to others but we do want to influence people by being examples to at least try the vegan lifestyle and experience how it helps you live a happy, healthier life!
What challenges do you face as vegan kids?
Danaé: Our schools do not have much choices for vegans in the cafeteria, so we decided to bring awareness by writing a letter to our principals and district superintendent to offer suggestions for healthier food choices and vegan options in our school cafeterias! We are awaiting a final response and a meeting with the district office.
Danielle’s teacher is always accommodating when we have parties and events by providing vegan options as she always asks our Mom for suggestions.
We understand that our friends and other people around us may not have the same diets as us, so when our friends are curious about what we eat for protein, we use these times as an opportunity to tell them about the many plant based protein packed alternative options. Our dad and brother are not vegan but we love them all the same and we continue to be examples of healthy lifestyles to them. They have both cut down on their meat intake and recently our Dad stopped eating eggs altogether.
Our mom has taught us to always accept others no matter what their choices are.
You guys seem to have it all balanced. No pun intended! How do you fit yoga into your daily life?
Mom: Although they seem to have it all together with their busy lives, they do not always have balanced days, hence yoga and meditation have become a very big part of their lives. I introduced Danaé to yoga at 7 years old, Danya at age 4, Danielle at age 2. This has helped them cope with balancing their busy schedules . She always has essential oils handy for when they get stressed or overwhelmed, and has also taught them how deep breathing can help them stay calm. Their secret to Yoga and meditation has been learning to breathe through the movements and with practice and focus they will continue to get better.
Tell us what we don’t know about you
Danielle: My favorite animal is an elephant because they are vegan animals and I love their big trunks and tails.
Danya: If you caught me singing in the shower I would be singing to “Million Dreams” from The Greatest Showman because I really have a million dreams and that song helps me stay inspired!
Danaé: I love to dance when I’m not doing yoga or acro because it helps me express my feelings and makes me forget about my pain from fibromyalgia and relaxes me when I’m stressed.
What’s the future for the 3 Dz?
We hope to spread lots of vegan love around the world and hope to show people that you can be a compassionate strong healthy vegan athlete and GROWING UP VEGAN ROCKS!!
Even if you you don’t have ballerina-like agility, brute strength or balance required to execute yoga poses, admiring their artful poses on Instagram can be totally mesmerizing—not to mention, you’ll be inspired by their work ethic, confidence and sisterhood. Follow their journey:
Their Instagram is @dzvegankidathletes
Their Facebook is FB: dzvegankidathletes
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