A snake’s tongue is a radar detector. It can taste and smell, seek out friends and detect enemies. Stick out your tongue. Follow your senses. What do you sense in the air?
Pose Instructions
- Lie on your belly. Gently squeeze your legs together. Make your body long and strong like a snake.
- Place your hands under your shoulders.
- Inhale. Pull your shoulders down away from your ears. Lift your chest higher and higher. Slither out of your skin and lower back.
- Exhale as you hiss the “s” sound of the snake. Sssssss. Stick out your tongue. Flick it.
- Rest.
- Inhale. Snake up again.
- Do the snake as many times as you want too.
Activity Ideas for Home or Classroom
We All Win
Make it a partner pose by doing the Snake Charmer pose together! The snake charmer squats in front of the snake and plays the flute. The charmer charms the snake to move up and down, side to side, high, low and any ways she wants the snake to go. The snake pays close attention to the charmer. The snake listens carefully with her tongue and follows directions with the eyes and body. The charmer guides the snake back onto the belly. Be sure to have the children take turns in each role!
Ecological Ethics
The mysterious and exotic ways of snake charmers throughout Asia have fascinated imaginations for centuries. To work with a cobra, they remove their poison glands so their bites become harmless. Is it OK to rob the cobra of its venom which is necessary for survival in order to put him in charm school? What do you think?
Mommy and Me
With infants and toddlers, let them lie on your back to have some herpetologic fun. (Herpetology is the study of snakes and other reptiles).They’ll giggle and enjoy the snake ride as you lift your spine up and down, side to side with them lying on your spine. Slither across the floor with them holding onto your shoulders then coil around them and cuddle to finish your serpentine sojourn.
Body Benefits
Practicing this pose will keep the spine and lower back flexible. Doing it the YogaKids way also exercises the tongue and opens the throat. When your snake is charmed, he is learning to follow non-verbal directions and enhance eye/brain/body coordination. Now that’s a sssspecial ssskill.
Ecological Echoes
Snakes have poor hearing. They don’t have outer ears like we do, but their inner ear is well tuned. Their slithering movements on the earth help them ‘hear’ through the ground. They are sensitive to vibrations of which most people are completely unaware.
Laughing Language
Make up tongue twisters. Use an “s” location in each one, anything from Saturn to supermarkets to Singapore. How many “s” places can you name? Here’s a few to get you started: “Super snails shovel slowly seeking Spain.”