MATERIALS
- Music (Queen of Hearts by Juice Newton or Love Potion Number Nine )
- Music player and prepared music
- Little stuffed animals for Relaxation Pose
- Spinning Inward’s ‘Heart Meditation’ by Maureen Murdock
DISCUSSION POINTS
Highlight Valentine’s Day as the underlying theme as well as promoting sharing our hearts (an element of Valentine’s Day), our affection and fondness for each other through partner poses and yoga related games. Pose theme will be extension, heart opening poses.
CONNECTING CIRCLE
Introduce the Theme. Let’s celebrate Valentine’s Day! Using our hands, hips, head and especially our hearts today!
LAUGHING LANGUAGE & AWESOME ANATOMY
Share fun facts about the heart
- The heart beats 100,000 times a day.
- The Heart is as big as one of our fists.
- The Heart pumps the blood to our bodies to keep them going.
POSES AS PATHWAYS/INTEGRATE THE ELEMENTS
Heart Breath – Make a heart shape with your hands and place them in front of your heart, inhale and feel your own love, your own light. Exhale and spread the love out to the group by opening your hands and reaching your arms out to the group. Quiet Quests
Flower – Balance on our seat and count to 8 because this pose feels ohhhh so great! Math Medley & Laughing Language
Sunrise, Sunset – The sun has risen on a love-filled Valentines Day!
SWEET ‘HEART’ OPENING FLOW
Put on a fun song like Love Potion Number Nine or Queen of Hearts. Musical Musings
- Reach arms overhead and make a heart shape.
- Touch your toes.
- Step back into Lizard with some Valentines day Laughing Language – “Lovely Laura Lizard Loves Valentines day!”
- Open your hearts in Up Upppity Doggie Up with a howl to the moon.
- Connect with your own heart in Down Diggity Doggie Down.
- Low Lunge – Reach arms up and back opening your heart Camel Lunge (other leg in front).
- Down Diggety Doggy Down – Jump or step to hands.
Reach arms up and make a heart shape with your arms overhead hands to your heart.
Bow and Arrow – Have you ever seen or heard of Cupid? Cupid is a famous Valentine’s Day symbol. Cupid is shooting an arrow as a sign of love – shooting them at people to make them fall in love. Let’s shoot arrows and fall deeply in love with how this pose makes us feel! It opens the hips and lengthens the hamstrings – which is the back of our leg. Brain Balance and Awesome Anatomy
See-Saw Triangle (Partner Pose) – Let’s see-saw! Spread your legs in pizza pose – line up the feet. Lean forward and sing. Lean backward and sing. NOTE: Show one time and then let them do it together! I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart! Where? Down in my heart! Where? Down in my heart I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart Down in my heart to stay! Musical Musings and We All Win
Pedal Laughing – Roll to our back to ride your bicycle. Laughing not only lifts our spirits but can help us get over our colds too (by boosting our immune system)! Let’s laugh high –hee, hee hee; medium – ha,ha,ha; and low – ho, ho ho! Now laugh yourself fast and silly! My funny Valentine! Musical Musings & Body Benefits
Table of Contents – What’s on your Valentine’s Day menu? Pomegranate passion fruit? Sweet now peas? Sugar cookies? YUM YUM! Laughing Language
Slide Now straighten the legs and lift your hips. Make a smile across your lips! Laughing Language and Awesome Anatomy
VALENTINE’S DAY GAME: LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT
Come to heel sitting for our Valentine’s Day yoga game – “LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT!”
- Heel-Sitting (Kissing Pose) – If you love it, stand up to your tip-toes and blow kisses all around the room.
- Child’s Pose – If you don’t love what I say, please go into a Child’s Pose to leave it alone.
Respond to each topic with Love it or leave it! A sugar cookie Baboon breath A hug from mom A smelly skunk A superhero Ice Cream A princess Playing in the yard with Dad We had some differences, but we have a lot of things in common! We are all unique and special AND I LOVE THAT!!! Kiss ourselves all over!! ! We All Win and Bridge of Diamonds
Share Your Light /Send Off/Grugging/Yummy Oms
Guided Visualization – “The heart meditation” from Spinning Inward (p. 107) Quiet Quests, We All Win, Musical Musings and Laughing Language
Thank you for sharing your hearts with each other today – and playing yoga in our very special Valentine’s Day class! Namaste! We All Win
Happy Valentine’s Day… let’s spread the love! Can you put your hand over your heart and feel it pumping? Stand still and listen inside yourself quietly. Maybe close your eyes. Breathe in deeply through your nose, exhale out and make the heartbeat sound “ba-bump!”