The fourth chakra is the Heart Chakra. It’s green and reminds us to be loving. It can be so easy to get awash in bad feelings — like anger, jealousy and fear. An open fourth chakra can replace these negative emotions with compassion and kindness.
Take some today to wrap yourself and others in love. Click here to play the meditation.
Click here to get a coloring page of the Fourth Chakra!
The third chakra is the Solar Plexus Chakra. It’s yellow and reminds us to be strong. Life has a lot of challenges (especially for kids!) — but we can meet them when our self-confidence is high and our personal power is feeling strong. A healthy third chakra also means feeling purposeful, capable, and motivated.
Take some time today to acknowledge your personal power! Click here to play the meditation.
Click here to get a coloring page of the Third Chakra!
The second chakra is the Sacral Chakra. It’s orange and reminds us to be joyful and aware of the pleasures of life. Life is filled with pleasures! Good food, love, belly laughs, and so much more! Feelings of pleasure also help us to open up our creative spirits.
Take some time today to experience the pleasures of your life. Take some time to create, play, laugh and enjoy all the wonders of the world. Click here to play the meditation.
Click here to get a coloring page of the Second Chakra!
The first chakra is the Root Chakra and is associated with the color red. Like the roots of a tree, this chakra grounds us and supports us in everything we do. When the first chakra is open, we feel grounded, stable, secure and healthy.
Today, focus on your own roots and the feeling of being safe and loved. Click here to play the meditation.
Click here to get a coloring page of the First Chakra!
This YogaKids lesson plan teaches about ahimsa, one of the yamas of yoga philosophy. Ahimsa is the first of the 10 yamas and is often translated as “non-violence” but also stands for living a life of kindness and compassion – for yourself, others, and the world around you. Explore this ahimsa with your students using this engaging and delightful lesson plan.
AGES
7-11, 12+
MATERIALS
*Cut cardboard into a large circle and cut the circle into even pieces of a pie. Each student will need one pie slice. So, if you have 8 students, cut into 8 equal slices. Number the backs so you know how to arrange the pieces back into the circle.) .
SHORT DESCRIPTION
Students will explore one of the yamas, ahimsa, which means compassion or non-violence. Lesson will include teachings on being compassionate to oneself, fellow students, fellow humans, animals and the earth.
DISCUSSION POINTS
In yoga, we recognize 8 limbs, or tools. We all think of yoga as yoga poses, but the poses (asana) are only one limb of yoga. The 8 limbs are:
The very first limb is the yamas, of which there are 5. The very first yama is ahimsa which means compassion or non-violence. Nonviolence is so valued it stands at the very core and foundation of yoga. Please share ideas for living life with compassion, with. acts of kindness, kind words, or kind thoughts.
CONNECTING CIRCLE
Name Game – Come up with a yoga pose that starts with the first letter of each student and practice that pose. Example: Marsha Moo and Meow, Don Down Diggity Doggie Down. Laughing Language
POSES AS PATHEWAYS
Sunrise/Sunset – We are happier when the sun is out.
Sit on your heels. Open and close your wings several times. Then open your wings and interlace
your fingers above your head. Stretch your arms up as you lift your buttocks off your heels with
an inhalation. Exhale and drop your hips to the right as the arms drop left like the setting sun.
Inhale and arch your arms overhead like the rising sun. Then, drop your arms to the right as the
hips drop left. Repeat.
Reach for the Sun – The sun is a symbol of power, growth, health, passion.
Begin in Open Mountain pose. Breathe in and reach up high with an outstretched hand. Grab
a piece of sunshine and pull the power into your solar plexus, your inner sun. Exhale with a
“HAH” breath. Repeat with the other arm. Alternately reach with the left and right arms. As you
practice, increase the force of your breath.
Group Tree – How can we be kind to trees?
Stand in a circle. Begin in Mountain Pose. Lift one foot and press your foot against the inside of your other leg. You can use your hand to place your foot anywhere between your ankle and inner thigh. Avoid the knee joint. As your balance gets stronger, you’ll be able to raise your foot higher up your leg. Bring your hands to your chest, palms together in Namaste position. Then raise your arms
up above your head. Touch hands with around the circle. Balance and breathe. Now repeat on the other side.
Elephant – Elephants re compassionate; they have even been seen using their tusks to pick up a fellow elephant that is injured.
Make a trunk with your arms and interlaced fingers. Swing your trunk. Dip your trunk into
the river and throw it back over your head. Spray the other elephants with your trunk.
Dolphin – Dolphins have practiced random acts of kindness by rescuing swimmers from hammerhead sharks. A few generous dolphins have even guided stranded whales back to sea.
Begin in All Fours pose. Lower your elbows to the floor. Make sure your knees are under your hips. Grasp your elbows with the opposite fingers to keep proper spacing. Move your lower arms forward, interlacing your fingers, and make a triangle. Breathe in and out, letting your spine lengthen and your tailbone lift up and back. Work your legs as you press your heels towards the floor. Breathe in and out. Move your body forward so your chin touches down in front of your fingers. Then breathe out and lift out of the water.
Moo and Meow – When cows have their best friend with them, their stress levels are reduced compared to when they are with random cows.
Begin in All Fours Pose. Line up your wrists under your shoulders. Spread your fingers wide and arch your spine to the sky. Loosen your neck and drop your head down. Breathe out long as you meow. Now lift your chest forward and look up with big cow eyes. Dip your belly down and tilt your sitting bones up. Your back will sink down like a cow’s. Make cow lips and moo deeply from the back of your throat. Go back and forth, meowing and mooing.
Sun Salutation (any variety) – Play a few fun songs. We thank the sun, and the earth and promise to be compassionate to all living things. (Suggested songs include Havana by Camila and Brighter than the Sun by Colby Caillat)
There are numerous styles of Sun Salutations. This is one example. Start in Namaste, raising
your arms overhead and stretching upward. Fold forward into Ragdoll pose. Step back with one
leg into a lunge. Step back with the other leg into Lizard pose. Slowly come down to the floor
with your knees, chest and chin. Bring your hips down to the floor, and lift up into S is for Snake
pose. Curl your toes under and stretch into Down Doggity Doggy Down pose. Repeat, beginning
with the opposite leg and finishing in Namaste.
Partner Poses – Explore ahimsa with partner poses.
With a partner, stand back-to-back in Mountain pose. Both partners take one “baby step”
forward. Reach back and take hold of each other’s hands or wrists. Keep your feet rooted to the
floor. Lean gently away from each other, as you stretch your chests and shoulders. Come back
to center and release your hands.
Begin in L-Sitting pose and across from a partner. Place both hands, palms down, alongside your hips. Lengthen your arms and spine. Lean back and lift your legs up. Balance. Stretch your arms forward, palms up. Breathe in and out. Row your arms forward. Reverse, and row your arms backward.
Face your partner with your legs open in straddle splits. Keep your sitting bones planted in the
earth. Reach your arms straight across to your partner and take hold of each other’s wrists or
hands. As one person bends forward at the hip hinge, the other leans back and gently guides
their partner’s upper body forward. After a few breaths, switch the person being pulled forward
and the person leaning back. Gently rock each other back and forth, like a seesaw.
Sit cross-legged in front of your partner with your four knees touching. 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. Breathe out as you turn away from your partner, twisting your spine, and looking
over your shoulder. When you twist, rotate your spine gradually from the tip of your tailbone to
the top of your head. Inhale as you lengthen your spine and exhale as you twist. Continue to sit
and twist. Then change sides.
Face your partner with your legs open in straddle splits. Firmly plant your sit bones into the
earth. Reach across and take hold of your partner’s hand or wrists. Lift your other arm up
above your head and over to the side as you stretch all the way through the fingertips. Feel
the spaces created between the ribs. Come back to center and change sides.
Group Poses
This pose is done with at least three people. Sit cross-legged with your hands on your knees.
The left hand rests palm up, and the right hand rests palm-down. Breathe deeply into your heart
space at the center of your chest. Feel the breath move across your chest, flow down your arms
and into the hands that you are holding. You might feel or hear tingling. Whenever you feel this
electricity, gently squeeze the hands you are holding. That is the signal to let each other know
that the circuit has been made and the current is flowing. With your lips closed and your tongue
curled upward to touch the roof of your mouth, start humming or buzzing to imitate the sound
of electricity. Get louder and louder, then break the circuit by letting go of each other’s hands.
Sit quiet and listen to the silence.
Kneel in a circle, holding hands. As you inhale, reach your arms up, lift your buttocks off your heels, and stretch back arching your back and neck. As you exhale, continue to hold hands and fold down into Child’s Pose. Repeat a few times imagining all the different flowers that you could be.
Visual Vignette – Create an ahimsa wheel. Have each student draw their expression of ahimsa on one piece of the circle, then tape the circle together and rejoice in the finished product.
Quiet Quests – Guided Meditation with Bhavana
Lie comfortably and notice your breath. Think of a place of beauty in nature. It can be a place you have visited or a place you have only dreamed about. Can be your own back yard, a lush green forest or a soft sand beach with aqua blue waves moving slowly in and out. Imagine yourself in this place feeling completely safe and content. Feel you belly gently rise and fall. Bring your attention to your feet and imagine bathing your feet in the Divine love and notice how that feels. Move your attention up to your lower legs and bathe them in love. Then the upper legs, bathe them in Divine love. Bathe the pelvis and hips in love and notice how that feels. Bring your attention to the belly and again feel it gently rise and fall in a soft nurturing way.
Bathe the belly in love. Bring awareness to the heart and feel a softening, a gentle grace, wrap the heart in love. Feel the throat, and cultivate a spaciousness at the throat, feel the throat washed in love. Move up to the third eye and notice how that feels Feel a soft caressing at the third eye of the Divine’s loving attention. Bring your awareness to the crown and feel a sense of radiant warmth. Feel love moving in on each inhale and growing in intensity with each exhale, filling every space of your being. <long pause 5-10 minutes)
To forgive, we need to feel that we are loved, we don’t want a feeling of lack. This meditation will cultivate self-love and the practitioner won’t need to seek love from other people, Divine love — which we feel when we practice ahimsa — is enough.
Start by sharing a little about National Parks!
Did you know… there are 60 National Parks in the United states? In 1872, Yellowstone became the first national park. California has the most parks with nine, followed by Alaska with eight. Have you been to a National Park? If so, which ones? If not, that’s ok! You’re about to go on a trip to many of them right now!
MATERIALS
SHORT DESCRIPTION/TOPIC
Explore our national parks and the great outdoors.
CONNECTING CIRCLE
Affirmations
POSES AS PATHWAYS/INTEGRATE THE ELEMENTS
Sunrise, Sunset – The sun has risen on our summer vacation.
Sit on your heels. Open and close your wings several times. Then open your wings and interlace your fingers above your head. Stretch your arms up as you lift your buttocks off your heels with an inhalation. Exhale and drop your hips to the right as the arms drop left like the setting sun. Inhale and arch your arms overhead like the rising sun. Then, drop your arms to the right as the hips drop left. Repeat.
Yawn and Flop
Stand in Mountain pose. Yawn as you stretch your arms upward with a big yawning sound and then flop forward in Rag Doll. Repeat several times.
Moo and Meow – Let’s kiss the cat good morning.
Begin in All Fours Pose. Line up your wrists under your shoulders. Spread your fingers wide and arch your spine to the sky. Loosen your neck and drop your head down. Breathe out long as you meow. Now lift your chest forward and look up with big cow eyes. Dip your belly down and tilt your sitting bones up. Your back will sink down like a cow’s. Make cow lips and moo deeply from the back of your throat. Go back and forth, meowing and mooing.
Down Diggety Doggie Down – And greet our dog.
Begin in All Fours pose. Bend your toes forward. Spread your fingers wide. Press your doggy paws and heels downward as you lift your hips and tail to the sky. Lengthen your spine. Stretch your arms and legs as long as possible. Let your head hang down. Growl, yawn, bark, and make other doggy sounds. Bend your knee and rotate your belly and chest upward as you raise one leg up and “mark your territory.” Lift your opposite leg too. Be sure to keep your hands pressing downward and your arms straight.
READING COMES ALIVE WITH YOGA
Below is a list of National Parks from A to Z, and the poses are in bold.
Acadia (Maine)
Row, Row, Row Your Boat – Most of the park is on an island!
Begin in L-Sitting pose and place both hands, palms down, alongside your hips. Lengthen your arms and spine. Lean back and lift your legs up. Balance. Stretch your arms forward, palms up. Breathe in and out. Row your arms forward. Reverse, and row your arms backward. Try the pose while singing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.”
Big Bend (Texas)
Eagle – Big Bend has more kinds of birds than any other park!
Begin in Mountain pose. Lift your right leg and wrap it over your left leg. If you can, hide your right foot and toes behind your left calf. Bring your bent arms up in front of you and place the right elbow on top of your left. Twist together your forearms bringing your palms together. You can also interlace your fingers. Bend your knees. Untangle yourself and change sides, bringing your left leg over your right leg and your left elbow on top of your right. Try to balance for 10 seconds on each side and gradually increase the time. Use a focus friend if you need guidance.
Crater Lake (Oregan)
Waves – Crater lake is the deepest and bluest lake in the United States – 2000 feet deep
Sit on the ground and bend your knees, placing your feet on the floor hip-distance apart. Move your knees and legs back and forth to the left and right, as they ebb and flow like waves. Use this as a transition pose between the wet poses. It is a fun and accessible hip opener.
Dry Tortugas (Florida)
Talking Turtle – Almost all of the park is under water!
Everglades (Florida)
Crocodiles (Alligator Pose) – This is the home to many crocodiles! Did you know? Crocodile’s snout is pointed and V-shaped, and the alligator’s is wide and U-shaped.Alligators are only found in parts of the US and China, whereas crocodiles can be found across the world. Crocodiles prefer water that is more saline or salty than the alligator’s preferred freshwater habitat. Crocodiles can’t hide their teeth, but alligators’ teeth are sometimes hidden when their mouths are closed.
Lie down on your belly. Stretch your arms in front of you, one palm on top of the other. Open and close your arms like a jaw. Open and close your real jaw as you do this, too. Keep your legs together and lifted like an alligator’s tail. Gently bring your tail up and down.
Key Nifords (Alaska)
Pigeon Series – Almost half the park is covered in ice, and is home to many species of birds!
Begin in Down Diggety Doggy Down. Bring one knee forward and place it between your hands. Lower your hips and keep them aligned. Inhale and lift your chest. Exhale and tuck in your chin. On your next inhalation, walk your hands and chest forward. If possible, come all the way down to the floor. Rest here for a moment. Then walk your hands back toward your body until they align under your shoulders. Lift your chest. Bend your knee, foot pointed towards the ceiling. If possible take a hold of your foot or ankle with one or both hands. Return to Down Diggity Doggie Down and repeat on the other side.
Grand Canyon (Arizona)
Squirrel (Dromedary Delight) – If you’re at the bottom, it’s a whole mile to the top. Look up like a squirrel!
Kneel on the floor with your legs and knees hip-width apart. Curl your toes, push your thighs forward, and bring your hands to your lower back. Lift your chest. Breathe evenly in and out as you extend your rib cage and broaden your chest. Continue to lift your chest with each breath as you bring your hands to your heels. Increase the duration and repetitions of the pose as your spine and chest become more flexible. Rest in Child’s Pose after each back-bend.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (Hawaii)
Volcano – Lava erupts from the volcano and rushes down to the sea!
Begin in Mountain pose. Bring your fingertips together at the chest. Jump your feet apart. Place your palms together at the center of your body in Namaste Position. Breathe in. Watch your hands as you raise them over your head. Breathe out as you explode your arms outward. Lower them to your sides and return your hands to Namaste. Erupt and release again and again. Make big, exploding volcano noises. Jump your feet back together when you’ve finished erupting.
Isle Royale National Park (Michigan)
Wolf (Up Uppity Doggie Up)- Timber wolves run across frozen lake superior to this park!
From Down Diggety Doggie Down, drop your hips and lift your chest forward with an inhalation. Drop your shoulders away from your ears, broaden your chest and keep your arms strong. Keep your legs up from the floor if you can.
Joshua Tree National Park (California)
Half Moon – The trees as Joshua Tree are as old as 800 years, named after Joshua in the bible, like Joshua the branches seem to be pointing the way to heaven!
Stand in Mountain. Raise your arms overhead and do a side stretch. Switch sides. Repeat.
Sequoia and Kings Canyon (California)
Tree/Leaf – This is the home of the worlds biggest tree, General Sherman!
Begin in Mountain Pose. Lift one foot and press your foot against the inside of your other leg. You can use your hand to place your foot anywhere between your ankle and inner thigh. Avoid the knee joint. As your balance gets stronger, you’ll be able to raise your foot higher up your leg. Bring your hands to your chest, palms together in Namaste position. Then raise your arms up above your head. Stretch them out wide, like the branches of a tree. Separate your fingers. Balance and breathe. Now repeat on the other side.
Lake Clark (Alaska)
Bubble Fish – There’s so much salmon in the water, sometimes the water looks red!
Lie on your back with your arms at your sides. Bring the bottoms of your feet together and open your knees outward. Press your feet together and flop your legs up and down. Slide your hands, palms down, underneath your backside. Squeeze your shoulders together. Arch your back as your chest lifts off the floor. Place the top of your head on the floor. Feel your gills open and close as you breathe. Make fish lips and blow bubbles. Imagine you have gills instead of lungs.
Mesa Verde (Colorado)
Ladder to the Clouds – There are stone cities here that have been empty for 700 years!
Stand tall. Reach up and begin to climb a very tall, imaginary ladder. Reach with your right arm while bending your left leg. Then reach with your left arm while bending your right leg. Keep climbing higher and higher. Climb all the way to the clouds and beyond.
North Cascades (Washington state)
Bunny Breath – This is the home of half of the glaciers in the lower 48 states. The snow shoe rabbit gets its name from its thick padded paws allowing it to walk on snow!
Get comfortable in a seated pose. Make your neck and back as long as you can, tucking in your chin slightly and letting your lower jaw relax. Take short, quick breaths in through your nose. Twitch your nose like a bunny. Then breathe out through your mouth with a long, smooth sigh. Repeat. Increase the number of inhalations and double the length of your exhalations as your breath power gets stronger.
Olympic (Washington state)
Raindrops (Finger Dancing) – Here it rains 12-14 feet a year!
Sit on your heels or cross-legged. Begin at the top of your head and gently stimulate your hair and skin by lightly dancing your fingers all the way down your body. Allow the self-touch to feel good, as it wakes you up, stimulates your skin and lymph system and makes you feel alive. Do this technique along with Salutations to Me. Each time you touch a part of your body say a silent affirmation or kind statement to that place: toes; skull, hair, face, ears, neck, throat, chest, breasts, belly, butt, legs, arms, feet, etc.
Petrified Forest (Arizona)
Lizard – The trees here turn into rocks! Let’s play on the rocks like lizards!
Lie on your belly. Place your hands under your shoulders. Spread your fingers out like lizard claws. Bend your lizard toes forward. Push up until your arms and legs are straight in Plank Pose. Draw your shoulders back and away from your ears. Walk like a lizard, slowly and carefully.
Queens Chamber (New Mexico)
Bat (Butterfly with Antennae) – This place has 700 feet deep caves!
Begin in L-Sitting pose. Bring the bottoms of your feet together, with your heels close to your body and your knees out to each side. Stretch your neck and the top of your head toward the sky and make your spine longer. Place your hands at the sides of your head and stick up your pointer fingers to make antennae. Pull your arms back like they’re your wings. Breathe in and out as you flap your wings forward and back, up and down.
Rocky Mountain (Colorado)
Big Horn Sheep (Lunges) – The symbol of the park is: big horn sheep!
Begin in Down Diggety Doggie Down. Step one foot forward into a lunge and place your hands on either side of that foot. Put your hands onto your upper thigh, above the knee. Breathe in and lift your chest. Breathe out and move your lower body toward the floor. Place your hands back down on the floor and step your foot back. Transform to Down Diggety Doggy Down and repeat on the other side.
Smoky Mountains (North Carolina and Tennessee)
Deer – The smokey haze over the park are the vapors given off the plants and mixing with the warm gulf air!
Sit on your heels. Drop your hips to the left. Cross your right foot over your knee and place it on the ground next to the outside of your left thigh. Your right knee is up. Slide your left foot to the outside of the right hip. Place your hands on either side to support yourself as you lift your chest, lengthen your spine, and twist slightly. Turn your head from side to side. Open your eyes wide like an alert deer. Then switch sides by reversing your legs.
Grand Teton (Wyoming)
Mountain – Rocky mountains are a beautiful jagged wall of granite!
Stand with your feet together or hip-width apart, whichever is most comfortable. Arms are at your sides, fingers stretching towards the floor. Press your feet into the ground. This downward action through the legs allows the torso, neck, and head to rise like a mountain above the clouds. Notice how tall and light you feel.
Upheaval Dome (Utah)
Comet (Swinging Pretzel – There’s a big hole in the ground caused by a meteorite, such as an asteroid or a comet, that originates in outer space and survives its impact with the Earth’s surface!
Sit cross-legged. Place your left ankle and foot high up on your right thigh.Place your right ankle and foot high up on your left thigh. Spread your fingers on the floor just behind your knees. Lift your bottom and legs up off the floor. With strong arms and breathing, swing your pretzel back and forth. Be sure to switch legs so that each gets a turn on top.
Virgin Islands
Jabberwocky Jellyfish or Squid – Explore the nature trail for snorkelers with buoys leading the way!
Sit on your left hip with your left thigh parallel to the front of your mat and your left shin aligned with the side of your mat. Your leg is in the form of a right angle. Twist in the direction of your knees and come forward onto your elbows. Let your upper body come all the way down. Move your fingers and toes as you feel your body moving through the water like a squid. Can you speak Jabberwocky like Lewis Carroll, the author of Alice in Wonderland? Make up some jellyfish jibberish.
Wind Cave (South Dakota)
Tunnels (Down Diggety Doggie Down) – This place has over 100 miles of narrow tunnels!
Begin in All Fours pose. Bend your toes forward. Spread your fingers wide. Press your doggy paws and heels downward as you lift your hips and tail to the sky. Lengthen your spine. Stretch your arms and legs as long as possible. Let your head hang down. Growl, yawn, bark, and make other doggy sounds. Bend your knee and rotate your belly and chest upward as you raise one leg up and “mark your territory.” Lift your opposite leg too. Be sure to keep your hands pressing downward and your arms straight.
Teddy Roosevelt –x Trail
Moo and Meow – This is named after the “x” brand of the X Ranch!
Begin in All Fours Pose. Line up your wrists under your shoulders. Spread your fingers wide and arch your spine to the sky. Loosen your neck and drop your head down. Breathe out long as you meow. Now lift your chest forward and look up with big cow eyes. Dip your belly down and tilt your sitting bones up. Your back will sink down like a cow’s. Make cow lips and moo deeply from the back of your throat. Go back and forth, meowing and mooing.
Yellowstone
Spouting Dolphin – Yellowstone has the world’s largest collection of geysers – water seeps down, comes into contact with hot earth and erupts!
Begin in All Fours pose. Lower your elbows to the floor. Make sure your knees are under your hips. Grasp your elbows with the opposite fingers to keep proper spacing. Move your lower arms forward, interlacing your fingers, and make a triangle. Breathe in and out, letting your spine lengthen and your tailbone lift up and back. Work your legs as you press your heels towards the floor. Breathe in and out. Move your body forward so your chin touches down in front of your fingers. Then breathe out and lift out of the water.
Zion (Utah)
Talking Turtle – Zion means a safe place away from the world! Let’s feel safe in our turtle shells.
Begin in L-Sitting pose. Open your legs wide. Flex your feet and lift your knees. Place your hands on the floor inside your legs. Spread your fingers wide. Slide your hands and arms under your knees, as far away from each other as possible. Bend forward at the hips and lengthen your chest along the floor. Lift your head and look from side to side. Say “hello” as you stretch your arms and legs as far out as you can. Now, tuck in your chin and retreat retreated into your shell. Pull all of your senses inward and rest. Stay in your shell as you breathe in and out. Repeat.
VISUAL VIGNETTES
Have the children color a firefly coloring page.
QUIET QUESTS (play music with night sounds or crickets)
Going on a Journey – Have the children camp out — i.e. have the kids roll up in their mats in Enchilada pose like sleeping bags.
Imagine you are camping out in your favorite national park with you family or special friends. You are warm and cozy in your sleeping bag. You hear the sound of crickets outside. (pause) An owl softly says, “ whoo, whoo” (pause) You are tired from a long day of hiking, canoeing, and playing in this beautiful park. Your eyes float closed and you begin to hear the sweet sound of your own breath. (pause) You feel your belly float up and down… up and down. (pause for 2-3 minutes) As the sun rises slowly in the sky, it is time to wake up for another beautiful day in the park. Wiggle your fingers and your toes (pause). And slowly float your eyes open and come to sitting.
CLOSING CIRCLE
Circle of Friendship Flowers
Kneel in a circle, holding hands. As you inhale, reach your arms up, lift your buttocks off your heels, and stretch back arching your back and neck. As you exhale, continue to hold hands and fold down into Child’s Pose. Repeat a few times imagining all the different flowers that you could be.
It’s hard to think about ‘Back To School’ when we are in the middle of sunscreen, bathing suits, popsicles and cookouts. But before we know it, the fall will be upon us bringing a new school year. This is a big transition in the life of a child and we, as YogaKids teachers, need to be cognizant of this when preparing our lesson plans.
When classes begin in the fall, it is the perfect opportunity to set the tone for the whole year. Here are some tips to keep in mind when getting started with a new group of children.
Routine helps children feel more comfortable and secure. In addition, by setting the stage for what to expect, a teacher can guide positive behavior and reduce power struggles.
The Pledge is a powerful tool. It explains in a fun, interactive way the benefits of yoga while also setting the ground rules for the class. The Pledge can always be used in reference when managing classroom behavioral issues. In addition, it is an easy and fun way to get children talking and moving right away. This will show them from the beginning that yoga is fun!
Kids want to move in yoga. They have plenty of time in the day to sit during their other classes. Get them moving right away! It’s great to incorporate breath work and discussions/shares, but be sure to get them up and down several times during the class. Keep them active and they will certainly stay engaged.
Kids need time to get in the groove, learn routines, and get comfortable with yoga. Break down sequences you plan to use regularly in your classes. Take the time to teach a Sun Salutation pose by pose for kids, therefore establishing good habits. Teach songs you plan to use often slowly, so they feel pride and ownership in their classes. Take the time to explain why yoga is good, where it came from, and all the benefits they will see in their lives. Allow them an opportunity to be excited by yoga.
The beginning of the school year can be a time of anxiety for children, but it is also fun and exciting! Be the vessel that shares the excitement and happiness of yoga. Show the kids from day one that yoga is a place of exploration, journeys, silly times, fun songs, and a perfect place to just lay down and relax.
To all the teachers out there…enjoy the last days of summer and I wish you an easy transition into fall!
Namaste!
My 5K cross-country outing began with the intention to mostly run, not walk the distance. But it didn’t start that way. (I’m slow — and my walk is even slower.)The first 2 miles found me walking up the hills followed by a sluggish jog down the other side. Slow ,slow progress. But with one more mile to go. my jog DOWN hill became a jog UP the next hill. And the next. And continued this way until I actually “sprinted” to the finish. What was that all about I wondered? What just happened here?
Although my route started out feeling like a lot of stops and starts, I had a continuous pace at the finish. Cycling through those walk and jog segments must have prepared me for the last third of the course where I felt stronger and more competent. Intervals alternating between high and low activity allowed me to manage my energy and achieve a good outcome.
Most of my YogaKids students have the desire to accomplish ALL of the poses quickly and easily. But constant energy will likely falter. Sequencing a class with cycles of active and recovery segments can help kids finish strong and successful by the end of the session. Between challenging efforts for both mind and body, I insert recovery moments in the lesson plan.
Begin with gentle stretching of mental as well as physical “muscles” to engage the students. Peace Breath softens the face and calms the mind providing a quiet moment. Butterfly with Antenna involves “wing” movement and stimulates the pathway between the brain and body, offering a slightly more active segment.
Poses that use more movement and focus can alternate with resting asanas. Balancing in Eagle enlists concentration of the brain with attention to crossing arm and leg positions. Follow this with Child’s Pose, allowing time to breathe and relax. Active Spouting Dolphins cresting multiple waves may need to “float” on their bellies and rest a bit afterwards. Allowing time for that lower energy, quieter moment provides each student the time to rest, refresh, and re-center.
Yoga, like life, has hills AND valleys — acknowledging both can be a powerful tool for creating YogaKids classes.
It all started with a wink…
During the summer before 11th grade, over 30 years ago, I volunteered at a special needs summer camp. I worked with a non-verbal boy with Cerebral Palsy, with long, beautiful eyelashes. By the end of the summer, I taught him to wink at me as a way of communicating. I felt such joy that he had a way of communicating his happiness. This is the moment that I knew what I was meant to do.
Since this experience, I’ve earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Special Education and a Masters in Speech-Language Pathology. And as a practicing Pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist for over 20 years, I have treated a lot of children with speech delays and special needs.
It was also 20 years ago that I started practicing yoga. But it wasn’t until about 9 years ago that I considered combining the two passions. I woke up and realized that what I get from my practice of yoga is what I needed to bring to the children I treat. I started a Google search and, within minutes, there it was – YOGAKIDS. I had to know more!
I attended a Foundations Training and was amazed with the YogaKids curriculum. What impressed me most was how Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences were used to create the curriculum for YogaKids and that every child’s’ learning style is taken into consideration (something not always thought about in traditional education systems).
Before my Foundations Training, I had not expected to sign up for the Full Certification (since I already had a career). But at the end of the event, I left in tears of joy — I had to become a Certified YogaKids Teacher! I spent the next several months working towards this Certification learning as much as I could and practicing what I was learning in my profession.
I saw such changes in the children I was treating! I love helping them move while doing animal poses and gaining oral-motor strength. Kids love animals (as do I) and enjoy becoming the animals. Seeing these kids practice their oral-motor movements (lip rounding-for moo in cow and lip spreading in meow for cat) gave me such joy and gave them another outlet to practice their movements rather than just drilling exercises. I also introduced breathing techniques which help them stay calm and ready to work on their speech goals.
The YogaKids program enhances my career every day and I’m so grateful to have found it!
YogaKids classes promote fun, fitness, and feeling good in a non-competitive setting. As a YogaKids teacher, I am always looking for new ways to keep all my students active and engaged. I love adding hula hoops to class!
Hula-hooping is a great way to improve balance, coordination, and core strength. While not all children can pick up the action of hula-hooping right away, there are many ways to get all students involved without anyone getting frustrated.
Here are some ideas to make hula-hoops a fun part of your YogaKids class:
Share with your class the history of the hula-hoop! The hula-hoop of today became a craze in the 1950s. However, the idea came about around 1000 BC by Ancient Egyptian children who made hoop toys out of dried grape vines. The hoop idea traveled through many cultures and time periods. In 1958, the founders of the Wham-O Company introduced today’s hula- hoop to America. They were inspired by stories of Australian children and bamboo hoops. Americans loved this craze. The Wham-O Company sold an estimated 25 million Hula Hoops in 2 months!
Try doing the following sequence of poses with a hula-hoop. Children can use the hoop in any way that is safe – traditional hooping around the hips, arms, or neck. They can also try holding the pose with the hoop lifted above the head or off to the side to gain upper body strength.
Pass the Hoop: Stand in a circle. Hold hands with a hula-hoop on one person’s shoulder. Try to get the hoop all the way around the circle without letting go of each other’s hands. Add a second hoop going in the other direction to make it more challenging.
Up, Over, and Through the Hoop: Children form a single file line. Child in front holds the hoop, lifts it up, and does a backbend to get it over the child behind them. The 2nd child steps through the hoop and continues with the backbend. Once the hoop is passed, the child goes to the back of the line for another turn.
Hoop Yoga Pose Course: Place hoops around the room and a pose card near each one. Children have to move from hoop to hoop performing the poses. Get creative and have students try a favorite pose with the hoop.
Venn Diagram: Searching for Similarities: Partner up students. Prior to class, take index cards and write down one discussion point on each card on a variety of subjects (i.e. Plays Soccer, Has a Dog, Likes Pizza, Eats Sushi, Has Traveled out of the Country, etc.)
Each student has a hula-hoop and a set of index cards. Set the hoops on the ground. The hula-hoops will overlap in the middle. The students place the cards in just their hoop if it only applies to them. Any cards that indicate similarities for both kids go in the middle where the 2 hoops overlap. Try to make unlikely pairs of students; this is a great activity for kids who don’t normally get to spend time together!
Add these fun hula hoop themed songs to your class: