Have you ever rowed a boat? If not, give it a try right now! Rowing takes strength and coordination. You use your tummy, back, arm and shoulder muscles. Your body works hard, yet the oars just dip gently in the water without making too many waves. Put on your life jacket and get ready for a ride!

 

Instructions

1. Begin in an L position. Place both hands alongside of your hips. Press them to the floor. Lengthen the arms and spine.
2. Lean back. Lift your legs upward. Balance on your sit bones. Extend your arms forward. Palms face each other. Breathe strongly.
3. Row your arms forward. Sing a verse of Row Your Boat.
4. Row backwards. Repeat the verse.
5. To rest, separate the legs slightly. Bend forward at the hips. Take a few deep breaths to renew. Can you row your boat forward and back 2 more times?

 

Note to Parents and Teachers

In the beginning, the back and stomach muscles might feel very weak. Over time, rowing your boat will strengthen the stomach and back muscles, as well as tone the organs of the intestines, kidneys and liver. You will notice when you sing and row, you can actually be in the pose longer than when you stay stationary without singing.

 

Activity Ideas for Home and Classroom

Musical Musings
Sing Row Your Boat. Do as many verses as you can while your practice the pose. If there are 2 or more rowers, come in at different intervals.

Here are the lyrics:
Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily
Life is but a dream.

If you know this song in other languages, sing it.

Visual Vignettes
Make boats with origami paper. Place them on your tummy as you row. You can use a toy boat too.

We All Win/Laughing Language
Sit next to one another. Hold hands. Row together in unison. Synchronize your breath. Go on a boating adventure. Take turns leading the travels.

For example:
We’re in Alaska. The waters are very cold. The waves are big. Our boat is strong and we have life jackets. We see seals and polar bears and whales.

 

 

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.