Pose of the Week

Ankle-Heel-Toe Walking

Let’s do some wacky walking, and find flexibility and fun with our feet.

Pose Instructions

  1. Lift your heels and walk high on your tiptoes.
  2. Lower your heels to the floor, lift your toes in the air, and walk on your heels.
  3. With your feet flat on the floor, roll your ankles in toward each other. Balance on the inside edge of your feet (your arches) and walk.
  4. Roll your ankles away from each other, balance on the outside edge of your feet, and walk around again.

Activity Ideas for Home and Classroom

Musical Musings Element
Put on your favorite music or make your own. Clap your hands to a beat or grab a pair of rhythm sticks like Devon and Kiva in the above photo. Listen to different types of music and ankle-heel-toe-arch walk to the various beats that your hear. Enjoy toe jamming with your feet.

We All Win Element
Play “Follow the Leader.” Mix up the four styles of wacky walking in various combinations and call out the directions to the children. Take turns being the leader of the ankle-heel-toe-arch walking brigade.

Awesome Anatomy
Your feet contain 52 bones, 66 joints, 38 muscles and 214 ligaments. One quarter of all the bones in your body are in your feet. This pose helps you locate the bones in your feet. Can you feel ‘em all ?

Body Benefits
Good posture starts with happy feet. The feet set the alignment of the body structure from the ground up. Flexibility and muscle tone in the feet is an important part of overall fitness.

Visual Vignettes
Have students trace their feet and label the parts: toes, nails, heel, arch, ball, and maybe even some reflexology points. Encourage them to add decorations like toe rings, tattoos, henna or nail polish to their drawings.

Ankle-Heel-Toe Walking

children's bare feet
p49 c

Let’s do some wacky walking, and find flexibility and fun with our feet.

Pose Instructions

  1. Lift your heels and walk high on your tiptoes.
  2. Lower your heels to the floor, lift your toes in the air, and walk on your heels.
  3. With your feet flat on the floor, roll your ankles in toward each other. Balance on the inside edge of your feet (your arches) and walk.
  4. Roll your ankles away from each other, balance on the outside edge of your feet, and walk around again.

Activity Ideas for Home and Classroom

Musical Musings Element
Put on your favorite music or make your own. Clap your hands to a beat or grab a pair of rhythm sticks like Devon and Kiva in the above photo. Listen to different types of music and ankle-heel-toe-arch walk to the various beats that your hear. Enjoy toe jamming with your feet.

We All Win Element
Play “Follow the Leader.” Mix up the four styles of wacky walking in various combinations and call out the directions to the children. Take turns being the leader of the ankle-heel-toe-arch walking brigade.

Awesome Anatomy
Your feet contain 52 bones, 66 joints, 38 muscles and 214 ligaments. One quarter of all the bones in your body are in your feet. This pose helps you locate the bones in your feet. Can you feel ‘em all ?

Body Benefits
Good posture starts with happy feet. The feet set the alignment of the body structure from the ground up. Flexibility and muscle tone in the feet is an important part of overall fitness.

Visual Vignettes
Have students trace their feet and label the parts: toes, nails, heel, arch, ball, and maybe even some reflexology points. Encourage them to add decorations like toe rings, tattoos, henna or nail polish to their drawings.

Brave Warrior

Children feel strong and proud in this Brave warrior pose.

Brave Warrior Pose
p54

Instructions

  1. Jump your feet apart.
  2. Stretch your arms straight out of the shoulders, palms down and fingers stretched.
  3. Turn your toes toward the right.
  4. Bend your right knee into a right angle.
  5. Turn your head.
  6. Focus on a point beyond your outstretched fingers.
  7. Come up.
  8. Turn your feet to the left.
  9. Do the pose on the other side.

 

Activity Ideas for Home or Classroom

Affirmations
Do you feel powerful in this pose? Repeat the following statements. Make up some of your won that make you feel like a Brave Warrior.

I am brave!
I am powerful!
I can do anything!

Reading Comes Alive With Yoga
Take your child to the library or bookstore. Find books that are about bravery and courage, like Secret of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman or Arrow to the Sun by Gerald McDermott. Read the stories together and discuss the powers of the warrior.

Body Benefits
The Brave Warrior pose builds strong legs, as well as provides focus and develops strength and stamina.

Nutrition Tip
Invite your child to be a warrior with foods. Take chances. Try new tastes.

Make friends with a new vegetable, the next time you go to the grocery store. Have your child pick out a new vegetable at the store this week. Bring it home. Talk about the vegetable. Research the vegetable – where does it grow? What kinds of vitamins and minerals are in this vegetable? Find recipes and prepare them together. Slice it, steam it, use it in a salad. Add it to a stir-fry or eat it raw!!