Category: Pose of the Week

Dragons are said to breathe fire, and so can you (sort of) when you do this pose.

Instructions

1. Sit comfortably in any of the seated postures.
2. Place your hands on your belly.
3. Breathe out through your nose with a strong snort as you gently push your belly back towards your spine.
4. Focus on your breath as it goes out. A little bit of air will naturally sneak into your nose after each outward dragon breath, so you don’t need to think about inhaling, it will happen naturally.
5. Do the Dragon Breath 3-6 times. Then breathe in and out normally.
6. Repeat.
7. Add more dragon breaths and rounds as you feel comfortable. You will notice that your dragon breath will get stronger and longer with practice.

 

Notes for Parents and Teachers

This breathing pose is a really good belly toner. It’s also excellent for aiding your child’s elimination system, especially for constipation. Only do this breath on an empty stomach. If you get lightheaded, it’s just because you’re getting more oxygen than you’re used to. If this happens, breathe in and out normally and rest.

 

Activity Ideas for Home or Classroom

Awesome Anatomy
Our intestines absorb nutritious elements from our food into our bodies. Dragon Breath helps us clean the walls of the intestines. It loosens undigested particles that can clog things up, and helps move them out. The intestines are about 20 feet long, but they are coiled up so they can fit inside our bodies.

Musical Musings
As you snort in the Dragon Breath use different rhythms. Snort fast. Snort slow. In music terms, staccato means faster. Adagio means slower. Mix up your adagio and staccato dragon breaths — make a pattern and play your belly like a musical instrument.

Laughing Language
The yoga word “prana” means energy, vitality, life-force. When you practice breaths like the dragon, which make you feel awake and alive, that is the prana. Can you whisper the word “prana” as you exhale and snap your belly back in the Dragon Breath?

 

 

Go ape! Pound your chest. Howl like a monkey. Stay happy, healthy and energized with this fun YogaKids pose.

 

Pose Instructions

1. Stand in mountain or sit in lotus or on your knees. (This pose can be done in many positions.)
2. Make two fists and pound your chest. Pound and tap under your arms too.
3. Howl and yowl and yodel.

 

Note for Parents and Teachers

When you or your child feel tired or cranky (yes, of course grown-ups get cranky too), this pose will stimulate the thymus gland and send a steady flow of oxygenated blood through the carotid arteries to the brain. It’s a great pick-me-up and the whole family will feel better.

 

Activity Ideas for Home or Classroom

Awesome Anatomy
Feel the collar bone (clavicle) that runs between the shoulders at the front of your chest. From the center of the clavicle draw a line down your chest. This is your breast bone (sternum). Run the fingers along your ribs. These are the bones in your upper body.

We all Win
Play the game we call Monkey Me – Monkey You.

1. Face one another.
2. Make faces and sounds for your partner to mimic.
3. Take turns being the leader.

Nutrition Notes
Bananas are one of monkeys’ favorite foods and children love them too. They are rich in potassium, help to balance the sodium (salt) in our bodies and reduce stress. Bananas are a great substitute for cookies and other high fat sweets. Bananas also have lots of natural fruit sugars that help reduce those late afternoon sugar cravings.

Green leafy vegetables support the Tarzan Thymus Tap blood flowing to your brain. Broccoli, kale, spinach, collards, mustard greens, and broccoli rabe also strengthen the blood and the respiratory system. Greens are high in calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, phosphorous, zinc and vitamins A, C, E and K. They are filled with fiber, folic acid ,many micronutrients and phytochemicals.Eat your greens, tap away stress, and become a powerhouse of health. YES!

 

 

“Take 5” is an expression that means “take a short break.” Take 5 breath gives you a quick rest whenever you  need it. If you get angry, tired, nervous or frustrated — just breathe and Take 5. Before tests or while you’re studying, Take 5 breath will help you focus and concentrate. This pose can be done anywhere, at any time. Breathe in for 5 seconds and breathe out for 5 seconds.

Instructions

1. Make a fist and breathe in through your nose with an inhalation. Have someone count out loud for your or count it out in your mind 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
2. Next, put up your hand with 5 fingers spread wide.
3. Breathe out through your nose with an exhalation. Exhale and count: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Put one finger at a time down with each count– thumb (5), index finger (4), middle (3), ring (2), pinkie (1).
4. Repeat 1 to 3 times.

 

Activity Ideas for Home and Classroom

Family Benefits
Take 5 with each other and make it a family practice. You can use it anywhere: In the car, at the dinner table, when tiredness or crankiness sets in for anyone in your family. Children love to remind their parents to Take 5 when they see them stressed or anxious. When things get wild just signal each other with an outstretched hand. Together you´ll learn to Take 5 automatically!!

Math Medley
Increase your breath in multiples of 5. Count 5, 10, 15, 20. Count backwards 20, 15, 10, 5, With practice, your breath span will naturally increase.

Quiet Quests
Begin your day with Take 5. Use it to help you fall asleep or anytime in between: at the dinner table, in the car, standing or sitting, anywhere-anytime.

Affirmations

• “When I get upset, I take 5.”
• “When I get frustrated, I take 5.”
• “Before a test, I take 5 to quiet my brain and focus my mind.”
• “I take 5 and feel calm.”

Sit and Twist is a fun partner pose, so find a friend and get twistin’!

Instructions

1. Sit cross-legged in front of your partner with your knees touching.
2. Put your right arm behind your back, reach out with your left hand and grab your partner’s right hand. Breathe in and sit up tall.
3. Breathe out, turn away from your partner, twist your spine, and look over your right shoulder.
4. When you twist, rotate your spine gradually from the tip of your tail to the top of your head. Take your time and fee the stretch. Inhale as you lengthen your spine and exhale as you twist.
5. Sit and twist for 5 breaths. Change sides.

 

Activity Ideas for Home or Classroom

We All Win
Have your students/children help each other twist and lengthen to their “edge.’ In yoga, going to the “edge’ means that you practice the pose the best you can. Tell your students/children not to force the pose or strain their muscles, but to keep breathing and moving as deeply as they can. Have the students guide each other with gentle communication.

Body Benefits
Twists are beneficial in so many ways. They massage the internal organs and glands as well as energize the spine, hips, open the heart and release tension in the neck and head.

Laughing Language
Play with opposite words as you twist. For example, one person would say “dark.” Your partner says “light.” The choices are endless. Have fun. Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Silly/Serious
• Happy/Sad
• Sun/Moon
• Morning/Night
• Wet/Dry

Nutrition Tip
Just as you can achieve an even deeper twist with a partner, some foods help digestion when eaten together and yet other foods can give you an upset stomach or cause discomfort like gas and belching when eaten together.

Here are some examples of foods that are great food combinations for your body when eaten together and other combinations that make digestion more difficult.

Easy to digest

• Grains with vegetables
• Pasta with vegetables
• Beans with vegetables
• Fish with vegetables
• Cooked/Raw fruit eaten alone
• Melons eaten alone

Difficult to digest

• Fruit or sweets with beans
• Fruit with vegetables
• Fruit with grain, dairy or meat
• Grain with dairy or meat
• Melons with anything

 

Celebrate your strength and courage every day with this fun and empowering series. Sing. Make a wish. Blow out the candles.

Pose Instructions

Step 1 (Rock ‘n Roll)

1. Sit cross-legged.
2. Take hold of your toes from the outer side of your knees.
3. Breathe in and lift up your chest.Breathe out and tuck in your chin.
4. Breathe in and out as you round your back and roll backward. Extend your crossed legs over your head.
5. Roll forward, tuck your legs, and sit up again. Do this 2 or 3 times to loosen up your spine, back, and legs.
6. Re-cross your legs the other way, then roll another 2 or 3 times. (Note: If crossing your legs is too challenging, I suggest you just tuck like a ball with your knees into your chest and roll back and forth.)

Step 2 (Plough)

1. Roll backward. Let go of your toes, bend your elbows, and use your hands to support and lift your back.
2. Straighten your legs and lift them past your head until your bent toes touch the floor. Squeeze your shoulders and elbows together. Breathe in and out for 30 to 60 seconds. (To relax in this pose, bend your knees and rest them on the floor on either side of the head.)
3. Continue to let your breath flow in and out.

Step 3 (Birthday Candle)

1. Lift the legs straight up towards the ceiling. Rest your weight on your shoulder blades. (Your weight should be on your shoulders, not on your neck.) Lift your chest.
2. Your feet are the candle flames. Wiggle your toes to make the flames flicker.
3. Tuck your chin to keep your neck relaxed.
4. Sing “Happy Birthday.”
5. Take a breath in and blow out your candles.
6. Rest your hands at the back of your knees.

Note to Parents and Teachers

This might be a difficult pose series for younger children. Encourage them to do their personal best without any sense of perfection or “getting it exactly” right. Remember, they are just beginning. Encouragement, praise and patience is their best teacher.

 

Activity Ideas for Home or Classroom

Body Benefits/Awesome Anatomy
This child friendly version of the shoulder stand brings many gifts:

• blood flow and energy to the brain
• flexibility to the spine
• relief for the valves of the legs; energizing the glands of the body.

Musical Musings
Sing the Happy Birthday song in this pose. Learn it in Spanish, “Cumpleanos Feliz.” Find other Birthday song versions and share them with your children.

Nutrition Tip
Create a sugar free Birthday Party. Refined white sugar is highly addictive. Over-consumption may lead to hypoglycemia and type 2 Diabetes, as well as drastic mood and activity swings. Try using these naturally occurring sweeteners* instead:

• barley malt
• brown rice sugar
• date sugar, or even better, whole skinned and blended dates (tastes like brown sugar!
• honey
• maple sugar
• molasses
• stevia

Try this ice cream alternative!

Ingredients

• 2 cups organic plain yogurt
• 1 bag frozen organic strawberries
• dash of vanilla
  1 tablespoon honey or 1 pack of powdered Stevia

For a dairy-free alternative, try using full-fat coconut cream. 

Directions

1. Place in the food processor and puree.
2. Put puree in the freezer for at least an hour and serve like ice cream, or just drink this combination right away as a smoothie.

Bunny Breath is a quick pick-me-up that will give you energy and focus. It is especially helpful for children with ADD and ADHD.

 

Pose Instructions

1. Sit on your knees like a bunny.
2. Keep your chest lifted and your shoulder blades descending down the back.
3. Tuck your chin in slightly and let your lower jaw relax.
4. Get your nose ready for breathing by twitching it like a bunny.
5. Take 4 to 6, short, quick breaths in through your nose.
6. Breathe out through your mouth with a long, smooth sigh,
7. Increase the number of inhalations and double the length of your exhalation as your breathing power grows stronger and stronger with time and practice.

Activity Ideas for Home or Classroom

Bridge of Diamonds 

“Allogrooming” is what rabbits do to take care of one another. If one bunny is disabled in some way, a friend will groom her. If a rabbit is blind, his companion doesn’t leave his side. Helping each other is important for people and animals.

Body Benefits 

This breath cleans the inside of your body like a washcloth and soap cleans the outside.

Brain Balance 

The rapid intake of oxygen inherent when practicing the bunny breath awakens the brain. Tune into learning readiness and get smart!

Laughing Language 

Bunnies ears are their “thermoregulators.” That is a fancy word for their bodies natural air-conditioning and heating system. They release heat through their ears to cool their body down and then adjust their internal organs to the right temperature for perfect comfort in the hot or cold weather.

 

Mountains represent majesty and solidness. Can you stand tall and proud, yet relaxed and still on your own two feet? The mountain pose looks very simple. You just stand there. Yet, there is much to be aware of in the body. This pose promotes correct posture.

 

Instructions

Stand rooted with your feet together or your feet hip width apart. However you feel most comfortable on your own two feet. The feet are the foundation. Sink both feet into the floor. Stretch downward through the legs. The more you ground downward the more you will be able to stretch upward and skyward. through your spine, belly and the top of your head.

Let’s see how well our feet can listen to the directions of our brain! Tell your toes: Big toes stay on the floor. Others lift up. Good. Tell your heels to lift up and open from the center. Place your heels back down. Were they good listeners? Now tell the big toes to lift up. All others stay on the floor. Well done!

 

Activity Ideas for Home and Classroom

Body Benefits

It takes time and practice to feel proper form and alignment in the body. Practicing the mountain regularly will promote stillness in the mind and body.

Quiet Quests

Experience your breath flowing through your Mountain body. Upward and downward from the earth to the sky. We are the conduits of this natural flow and exchange of energy. Take 3 to 5 breaths. Increase with time and practice.

Laughing Language

Tell or write a story as if you were the mountain. Where are you? How big are you? Does a volcano live inside of you? Do children snowboard or ski on you? Do you have water? Trees? Houses?

 

Archery is one of the oldest sports and requires skill, focus and concentration. The Bow and arrow was originally developed for protection and survival. Someone who makes bows is called a bowyer.

 

Instructions

1. Begin sitting down with your legs straight out in front of you.
2. Clasp your big toe. Bend your knee.
3. Inhale. Pull the “bow” back behind you.
4. Exhale. Shoot the arrow skyward and across your other leg. Make a whooshing sound like a speeding arrow moving through the air.
5. Maintain a long and tall spine as you practice your seated archery.
6. Use the other arm and hand to press into the floor and support the lift of your spine.
7. Do this 6 times. Change sides.

 

Note for Parents and Teachers

Many children shoot the leg straight ahead or out to the side. This is common but not optimum. Help your child achieve the physical movement of crossing one leg over the other. It begins to make new grooves in the brain.

 

Activities for Home and School

Body Benefits
Bow and Arrow opens the hips, lengthens the hamstrings, gastrocnemius and soleus muscles of the leg.

Brain Balance
Crossing the midline of the body with this movement stimulates the 300 million nerve cells of the corpus callosum. The corpus callosum is known as the brain´s superhighway.

Math Medley
Help build your children’s counting ability while they perform this pose. Graduate to 2s, 3s, etc. When age appropriate, also reinforce their multiplication tables.

 

 

A lion’s roar serves many purposes: To warn, welcome, attract and scare. With sound, lions use their language to claim territory, attract members of the opposite sex and frighten enemies. Roars can be heard 5 miles away.

Instructions

1. Sit on your heels and spread your the knees a little bit.
2. Stretch your fingers into giant lion claws. Place them at the top of the thighs.
3. Inhale. Puff up your proud lion chest with your breath.
4. Exhale with a quiet, throaty rrrroar. Stretch your tongue out towards your chin. Open the back of your throat.
5. Start with 3 quiet ones. Do 3 more ripping roars. Growl, grunt, yawn and purr too.

Remember R is for Roar. RRRRRRRRRoar. L is for Lion. LLLLLLLLion.

 

Note to Parents and Teachers

This pose opens the throat. It can help remedy bad breath. It is especially helpful in winter months and for colds. It pulls up phlegm, which should be spit out to help clear the body of excess mucus,

 

Activity Ideas for Home and Classroom

Ecological Echoes
Both boy and girl lions share the responsibilities in defending territory, hunting and raising their cubs. With their relatives, the females live in groups called prides on land that has been handed down from one generation to the next. Males form “coalitions” and try to infiltrate prides to find their brides…

Musical Musings
There are 3 different types of roars that make up the lion’s song. The prelude or beginning is generally soft, low moaning sounds. Then, it rises into a high-energy “roar” that generally goes from high to low and ends with “aaoouuu.” The finale is very staccato (short and quick) with grunts that sound like “huh, huh, huh.” *

Laughing Language
We have learned lions have many different sounds in their language.

• A is for aaoouuuu
• G is for grunt and growl
• H is for huh
• P is for Purr
• R is for Roar
• Y is for Yawn

Go through the alphabet. Can you find a sound for each letter? They might not be in lion language, but that’s OK.