Snow Salutation

A sun salutation in yoga is a sequence of poses, linked together with your breath. They are a wonderful way to wake up in the morning, and celebrate the sun and how it helps give life to all living things. This winter, you can do a new version of this — a SNOW SALUTATION — and offer up some gratitude to this magical, festive season.

  1. Reach your arms up high and grab some snowflakes.
  2. Bend forward at your waist and pat the snow on the ground.
  3. Lift half way up to look up at the snow falling.
  4. Jump your feet backwards like a snowshoe rabbit. Keep your elbows hugging next to your ribs, and slowly lower your body down to the soft fluffy snow.
  5. Press your mittens into the snow and look up (Snake). Catch some snowflakes with your tongue.
  6. Roll over on to your back and make a snow angel.
  7. Roll back to your belly and take a little rest in Child’s Pose. You are a little mouse in the snow.
  8. Lift your bum up and press down. Now you’re a wolf in the snow (Down Diggety Doggie Down). Howl! 
  9. Bend your knees, look at your hands and jump forward like a snowshoe rabbit.
  10. Pat the snow on the ground.
  11. Stand up, and reach up for some more snowflakes with your mittens.
  12. Look up! Stick out your tongue and catch some!
  13. Bring your hands to your heart center in Namaste pose.
  14. Repeat!

Idea by: Certified YogaKids Teacher Kathleen Abell

Snow Salutation

A sun salutation in yoga is a sequence of poses, linked together with your breath. They are a wonderful way to wake up in the morning, and celebrate the sun and how it helps give life to all living things. This winter, you can do a new version of this — a SNOW SALUTATION — and offer up some gratitude to this magical, festive season.

  1. Reach your arms up high and grab some snowflakes.
  2. Bend forward at your waist and pat the snow on the ground.
  3. Lift half way up to look up at the snow falling.
  4. Jump your feet backwards like a snowshoe rabbit. Keep your elbows hugging next to your ribs, and slowly lower your body down to the soft fluffy snow.
  5. Press your mittens into the snow and look up (Snake). Catch some snowflakes with your tongue.
  6. Roll over on to your back and make a snow angel.
  7. Roll back to your belly and take a little rest in Child’s Pose. You are a little mouse in the snow.
  8. Lift your bum up and press down. Now you’re a wolf in the snow (Down Diggety Doggie Down). Howl! 
  9. Bend your knees, look at your hands and jump forward like a snowshoe rabbit.
  10. Pat the snow on the ground.
  11. Stand up, and reach up for some more snowflakes with your mittens.
  12. Look up! Stick out your tongue and catch some!
  13. Bring your hands to your heart center in Namaste pose.
  14. Repeat!

Idea by: Certified YogaKids Teacher Kathleen Abell

Orchestra Yoga Sculpture

This is a great yoga game for groups! Begin with any size six-sided block or dice. Write or draw different poses on each face of a die. You can use a pair of dice for a larger group. You should also have a set of cards, numbered 0 to 10.

Take turns rolling the dice and doing the pose as indicated. As each person takes their turn, they become part of the group-created “yoga sculpture.” This means that every single member needs to be physically connected to someone else in the sculpture. When someone joins the sculpture, they can also make a unique sound, becoming an instrument in a group-created orchestra.

Take turns allowing one person to become the conductor of the orchestra. The conductor points to someone in the sculpture and draws a random card out of the pile. The person chosen recreates their unique sound equal to the number of times on the card shown by the conductor. If the number zero is selected, that indicates a silent moment. Experiment with the tempo of the music and the number of “musicians” playing at the same time. Play around and have fun!

Orchestra Yoga Sculpture

This is a great yoga game for groups! Begin with any size six-sided block or dice. Write or draw different poses on each face of a die. You can use a pair of dice for a larger group. You should also have a set of cards, numbered 0 to 10.

Take turns rolling the dice and doing the pose as indicated. As each person takes their turn, they become part of the group-created “yoga sculpture.” This means that every single member needs to be physically connected to someone else in the sculpture. When someone joins the sculpture, they can also make a unique sound, becoming an instrument in a group-created orchestra.

Take turns allowing one person to become the conductor of the orchestra. The conductor points to someone in the sculpture and draws a random card out of the pile. The person chosen recreates their unique sound equal to the number of times on the card shown by the conductor. If the number zero is selected, that indicates a silent moment. Experiment with the tempo of the music and the number of “musicians” playing at the same time. Play around and have fun!

November: Mandala Coloring Page

To color:

  • Click on the image to open it in full size.
  • Right click (or command click on mac) and save picture to your computer, and
  • Use Paint or a similar program to color on your computer, or
  • Print the picture and color it with crayons, paint, glitter…whatever!

GRATITUDE FRAME

This month, to put a little extra practice into your ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE, print your mandala and use it as a frame (or color it digitally in a program like Paint).

In the center, draw the person or thing you’re most grateful for!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING from YogaKids to all our Bendy Buddies around the world! 

We would love to see what you make with your gratitude frame. Have your parents email us photos or JPG images of your gratitude mandala. 🙂

 

November: Mandala Coloring Page

To color:

  • Click on the image to open it in full size.
  • Right click (or command click on mac) and save picture to your computer, and
  • Use Paint or a similar program to color on your computer, or
  • Print the picture and color it with crayons, paint, glitter…whatever!

GRATITUDE FRAME

This month, to put a little extra practice into your ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE, print your mandala and use it as a frame (or color it digitally in a program like Paint).

In the center, draw the person or thing you’re most grateful for!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING from YogaKids to all our Bendy Buddies around the world! 

We would love to see what you make with your gratitude frame. Have your parents email us photos or JPG images of your gratitude mandala. 🙂

 

Scented Bath Salt Gift Jar

Photo from travelblog.com
Photo credit 

Hey! Check out this guy, floating in a super-salty sea while reading his newspaper! How does he do it? Is he a superhero, or is the water magical?

Today we’re going to make a really easy, fun gift for our friends and family, and we’re going to learn how epsom salts can make your bathtub more like The Dead Sea, the density difference between gold and kitchen sponges, and learn a little about the super amazing body armor you wear every single day.


SCENTED SALTS GIFT JAR

This is a very easy and inexpensive gift you can make for friends and family. 

You’ll need:

  • 1 cup Epsom Salts
  • 1 cup Kosher or flaky sea salt
  • 1/4 cup baking soda
  • 10-20 drops essential oil(s)
  • A container with a tight lid
  • A bowl and a fork or whisk

Optional ingredients

  • 4-6 drops food coloring
  • 1 Tablespoon dried flower blossoms, like lavender, chamomile, rose
  • sticky labels, fabric, ribbon for labeling and decorating jar
  • optional: used for fizzy salts – 1/4 cup citric acid

Instructions

Mix the salts and baking soda together in a bowl. Add 10-20 drops of essential oil, dried flowers, food coloring and keep mixing until everything is evenly mixed. If you’re making a fizzy bath salt mix, add the citric acid when you’re absolutely sure all the other ingredients are soaked into the epsom salts. No clumps should remain. Now add the salts to your container, and either use labels or a fabric circle tied around the top with a tag. On the tag, write something like “To: Mom, From: Your Favorite Kid – Lavender Mint Bath Salts.

Make the jar look pretty, and give it as a gift!

What do bath salts do?

There are lots and lots of myths about what Epsom salts can do, so let’s start with the one thing we absolutely know to be true: when you put this mixture of salts into warm water,  your bathwater will increase in density because of the salts. This increase in density makes water feel silky, thick, heavy, luxurious…and especially when mixed with nice scents, this may make you feel more relaxed. It will also make you feel lighter — because your density remains the same, while the density of the water increases, making you float more easily.

What is density? Density is how much mass a substance has, compared to how much space it takes up.

Imagine this:

These two blocks take up the same amount of space. One is made of solid gold. The other is made of kitchen sponges. Which one weighs more?

The block that weighs the most is made of solid gold, even though it’s the same size as the sponge block. That means the density of gold is higher than that of sponge. If you look very closely at a block of gold, you will see there are no air pockets; just a solid piece of metal. If you look at a sponge, you see air pockets inside. The air pockets take up some of that space, but add no weight – just air. That’s how density works.

So why do you feel lighter in a bath filled with bath salts?

Have you ever heard of the Dead Sea or The Great Salt Lake? The first one is an inland sea that borders the countries of Isreal, Jordan, and Palestine; the second is a giant lake in the state of Utah, in America. What they have in common is that they are very VERY salty. The huge amount of salt dissolved in the water makes the water a lot more dense.

Your body is just a little less dense than water, meaning you will float in water.

  • When water is very salty, it becomes even more dense than you, so you float even better more.
  • If you have a lot of body fat, your body will be less dense, making you more buoyant (meaning “floaty”)
  • Epsom salts increase the density of the water, which in turn adds to your buoyancy. This floating sensation may help you relax your muscles more readily.

Body Stuff

This is a good time to talk about your body and how it cleans itself, something it is naturally very good at doing. There are several organs and systems that allow keep your body clean, from the inside out.

The digestive system includes the intestines, salivary (spit) glands, pancreas, stomach, and gall bladder.

The liver detoxifies the blood, and produces some of the biochemicals necessary for digestion, which is the way your body breaks down foods and uses their nutrients to run the magnificent machine that is your body. It filters your blood and produces special enzymes to destroy toxins we might get from food, water, and air. The liver basically packages up these things our body doesn’t want or need, so the body can get rid of them through your urine and bile. Liver is in charge of metabolism, a chemical process in which foods are converted into energy the body can use.

Food also passes through your intestines, where nutrients are absorbed. Healthy intestines keep good and bad bacteria in balance, so your body can digest (use) the food you eat.

Kidneys are part of the urinary system. They also filter your blood to remove waste, and send it to the urinary bladder. The kidneys get rid of waste products like urea and ammonium, which leave your body as urine. eir principal function is to transport oxygen from the atmosphere into the bloodstream, and to release carbon dioxide from the bloodstream into the atmosphere.

Lymph is the clear fluid that makes up part of our lymphatic system, which is part of the immune system. Lymph contains white blood cells (the body’s warriors!), which pick up bacteria and viruses from your cells and carry them back to your lymph nodes, where they are destroyed.

And finally, your SKIN helps fend off infection and absorption of unwanted toxins because it is basically a giant, flexible suit of armor that stands between your inner systems and the world. Skin can also excrete extra salts your body doesn’t need by sweating. Your skin is part of the immune system, but the top layer of skin is actually dead. That dead part of your skin is constantly falling off and being replaced by new skin cells. It is part of the integumenty system – the entire network of dead skin cells, from your skin to your nails and hair, that create a final barrier between your body and the outside world. Did you know you you lose 40,000 dead skin cells every minute!?

Your body sure does work hard to keep you clean! By eating nutritious, healthful foods and having good hygiene – like taking baths and brushing your teeth – you help all the systems of your body do the best job they can to keep you healthy and keep your amazing machine running smoothly.


More on the science of Epsom salts.

 

 

Scented Bath Salt Gift Jar

Photo from travelblog.com
Photo credit 

Hey! Check out this guy, floating in a super-salty sea while reading his newspaper! How does he do it? Is he a superhero, or is the water magical?

Today we’re going to make a really easy, fun gift for our friends and family, and we’re going to learn how epsom salts can make your bathtub more like The Dead Sea, the density difference between gold and kitchen sponges, and learn a little about the super amazing body armor you wear every single day.


SCENTED SALTS GIFT JAR

This is a very easy and inexpensive gift you can make for friends and family.

You’ll need:

  • 1 cup Epsom Salts
  • 1 cup Kosher or flaky sea salt
  • 1/4 cup baking soda
  • 10-20 drops essential oil(s)
  • A container with a tight lid
  • A bowl and a fork or whisk

Optional ingredients

  • 4-6 drops food coloring
  • 1 Tablespoon dried flower blossoms, like lavender, chamomile, rose
  • sticky labels, fabric, ribbon for labeling and decorating jar
  • optional: used for fizzy salts – 1/4 cup citric acid

InstructionsScented Bath Salt Craft

Mix the salts and baking soda together in a bowl. Add 10-20 drops of essential oil, dried flowers, food coloring and keep mixing until everything is evenly mixed. If you’re making a fizzy bath salt mix, add the citric acid when you’re absolutely sure all the other ingredients are soaked into the epsom salts. No clumps should remain. Now add the salts to your container, and either use labels or a fabric circle tied around the top with a tag. On the tag, write something like “To: Mom, From: Your Favorite Kid – Lavender Mint Bath Salts.

Make the jar look pretty, and give it as a gift!

What do bath salts do?

There are lots and lots of myths about what Epsom salts can do, so let’s start with the one thing we absolutely know to be true: when you put this mixture of salts into warm water,  your bathwater will increase in density because of the salts. This increase in density makes water feel silky, thick, heavy, luxurious…and especially when mixed with nice scents, this may make you feel more relaxed. It will also make you feel lighter — because your density remains the same, while the density of the water increases, making you float more easily.

What is density? Density is how much mass a substance has, compared to how much space it takes up.

Imagine this:

These two blocks take up the same amount of space. One is made of solid gold. The other is made of kitchen sponges. Which one weighs more?

The block that weighs the most is made of solid gold, even though it’s the same size as the sponge block. That means the density of gold is higher than that of sponge. If you look very closely at a block of gold, you will see there are no air pockets; just a solid piece of metal. If you look at a sponge, you see air pockets inside. The air pockets take up some of that space, but add no weight – just air. That’s how density works.

So why do you feel lighter in a bath filled with bath salts?

Have you ever heard of the Dead Sea or The Great Salt Lake? The first one is an inland sea that borders the countries of Isreal, Jordan, and Palestine; the second is a giant lake in the state of Utah, in America. What they have in common is that they are very VERY salty. The huge amount of salt dissolved in the water makes the water a lot more dense.

Your body is just a little less dense than water, meaning you will float in water.

  • When water is very salty, it becomes even more dense than you, so you float even better more.
  • If you have a lot of body fat, your body will be less dense, making you more buoyant (meaning “floaty”)
  • Epsom salts increase the density of the water, which in turn adds to your buoyancy. This floating sensation may help you relax your muscles more readily.

Body Stuff

This is a good time to talk about your body and how it cleans itself, something it is naturally very good at doing. There are several organs and systems that allow keep your body clean, from the inside out.

The digestive system includes the intestines, salivary (spit) glands, pancreas, stomach, and gall bladder.

The liver detoxifies the blood, and produces some of the biochemicals necessary for digestion, which is the way your body breaks down foods and uses their nutrients to run the magnificent machine that is your body. It filters your blood and produces special enzymes to destroy toxins we might get from food, water, and air. The liver basically packages up these things our body doesn’t want or need, so the body can get rid of them through your urine and bile. Liver is in charge of metabolism, a chemical process in which foods are converted into energy the body can use.

Food also passes through your intestines, where nutrients are absorbed. Healthy intestines keep good and bad bacteria in balance, so your body can digest (use) the food you eat.

Kidneys are part of the urinary system. They also filter your blood to remove waste, and send it to the urinary bladder. The kidneys get rid of waste products like urea and ammonium, which leave your body as urine. eir principal function is to transport oxygen from the atmosphere into the bloodstream, and to release carbon dioxide from the bloodstream into the atmosphere.

Lymph is the clear fluid that makes up part of our lymphatic system, which is part of the immune system. Lymph contains white blood cells (the body’s warriors!), which pick up bacteria and viruses from your cells and carry them back to your lymph nodes, where they are destroyed.

And finally, your SKIN helps fend off infection and absorption of unwanted toxins because it is basically a giant, flexible suit of armor that stands between your inner systems and the world. Skin can also excrete extra salts your body doesn’t need by sweating. Your skin is part of the immune system, but the top layer of skin is actually dead. That dead part of your skin is constantly falling off and being replaced by new skin cells. It is part of the integumenty system – the entire network of dead skin cells, from your skin to your nails and hair, that create a final barrier between your body and the outside world. Did you know you you lose 40,000 dead skin cells every minute!?

Your body sure does work hard to keep you clean! By eating nutritious, healthful foods and having good hygiene – like taking baths and brushing your teeth – you help all the systems of your body do the best job they can to keep you healthy and keep your amazing machine running smoothly.


More on the science of Epsom salts.

 

 

Vegan Pumpkin Soup

Vegan Pumpkin SoupVegan Pumpkin Soup

You’ll need a cookie sheet, a food processor or immersion blender (OR a good hand-masher and some patience), a soup pot, and an oven for this soup. You’ll also need an adult to help with cutting, baking, and cooking on the stove top!

Ingredients

  • 2 cups veggie stock
  • 2 pie pumpkins (2lb or less each)
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 Tablespoons curry powder (you can substitute half or all curry powder with Seven Spice powder – I do half and half)
  • 1 bunch scallions
  • 1 cup coconut milk + 2T for garnish
  • Salt to taste
  • Roasted pumpkin seeds
  • Chopped parsley garnish optional

Preheat your oven to 350F.

Cut the tops off the pie pumpkins and scoop out the seeds and strings. Try not to scoop out solid flesh. Roast the pumpkins (top included) for 45 minutes. Remove and let cool, then carefully scoop soft meat out of pumpkin, taking care not to puncture the skin if you want to use the pumpkin as a bowl.

Add chopped scallions, spices, and olive oil to a saucepan or cooking pot and stir over medium heat until spices are fragrant, then add vegetable stock and ½ of the pumpkin flesh (all the flesh from one pumpkin).

Bring to a boil, then turn heat off. Allow to cool a little, then use immersion blender to puree. If you’re using a food processor, you need to let it cool down a lot before pureeing. You can also use a potato masher to squash all the squash, if you want your soup chunkier and more stew-like.

Add the rest of the pumpkin (cut into bite sized pieces), bring the soup to a boil again, turn down to simmer for 5 minutes, turn off heat, add coconut milk. Garnish with parsley, roasted pumpkin seeds, and a dollop of coconut milk.

To make the pumpkin seeds: Take all the pumpkin meat and gooey strings away until the seeds are mostly clean. Put them in a colander and run water over them, stirring them with your hands until all the pumpkin flesh is rinsed away. Pat them with a paper towel and spread them out on a cookie sheet to dry completely, then toss in a little olive oil (about 1 Tablespoon) and season with 1 teaspoon salt and your choice of other seasonings. I like to use spicy seasoning, like smoked paprika and Aleppo hot chili, but you can use whatever you like! Spread the seeds out again on the cookie sheet so they are in a single layer, and bake at 250F while you’re making the soup. Bake until seeds start to turn golden and are as crispy as you want them.

This recipe sounds like a lot of work, but it’s actually very easy. It’s a good teamwork exercise and looks fancy-pantsy for the holidays! If you’re not in a curry mood or don’t like spicy food, you could use nutmeg, sage, or other fragrant spices to season your soup.

While I was making this soup, I also cut my white fairtytale pumpkin (also called Ghost or Lumina) into slices and roasted it, too, so I can puree the roasted quash in a food processor and use it for my holiday breads and pies. Look at this beautiful pumpkin: white on the outside and pretty orange on the outside!


Squash is Awesome

Squash is used mostly by cooks as a vegetable because it goes well with savory spices – meaning, flavors that make up salty or spicy dishes, instead of sweet dishes. If you’ve ever had pumpkin pie or zucchini bread, you will know how sweet and tasty squash can be as a dessert, too! It is classified as a fruit because the seeds are inside. Vegetables are all the other parts of the plant, like stems, roots, and leaves.

Squashes include winter and summer squash, and gourds. Did you know that all the parts of the squash plant are edible? That’s awesome! Tender shoots and leaves can be cooked into soups and stir fry dishes, as well as the blossoms (which are delicious battered and deep fried, or tossed in a little oil and seasoning and pan fried).

Summer squash types include zucchini, yellow (or summer) squash, and pattypan squash. These types of squash have a very thin skin and don’t last for more than a week or so after you’ve removed them from the vine.

Winter squash types include pumpkin, butternut squash, Delicata squash, and lots more. You can tell a winter squash from a summer squash because winter squash has a very thick, tough, inedible rind (or shell) on the outside. Decorative gourds fall into this group, though they are not always edible – some calabash varieties are poisonous in high concentrations (meaning, if you eat a large amount). While you can technically eat most of the decorative gourds you see in the grocery store, their flesh is very bitter, so we usually use them for fall decorations or crafts that involve allowing the middle of the gourd to dry out and using the hollow shell for anything from shakers (like a maraca), to birdhouses, to bowls and carrying baskets. With gourds and many other plants, that bitter taste is often nature’s way of saying, “you should avoid eating me.”

The word “squash” comes from the Massachuset (a tribe of people indigenous to North America) word askutasquash. Most squash originated in South and Central America, where it was then spread by human and animal migration to other continents, including North America. Calabash gourds, which are sometimes hollow, originated in Africa, and scientists believe they spread not only through migration, but also by hollow gourds full of seeds floating across the ocean. That is a long journey! If you look on a map and find East Africa, then find your house, how many miles would a gourd have to travel to get from its original home to you?

Summer squash grow all summer long and are plucked from their vines as they ripen through the whole summer. Winter squash also grow in the spring and summer seasons, but the biggest harvest comes in the fall. The reason they are called winter squash is because their rinds are so durable that, if they are not damaged or punctured, you can keep them all winter long! Squash become more bitter the longer they sit, though, so if you’re cooking with them you’ll want to do it soon after you buy or harvest them.

I used folded note cards to label the winter squash I have — but not just because I needed something to write on. If you’re cooking with winter squash and want to save seeds for your garden, you can label them, use tape to enclose the dried seeds in the paper, and store them in a cool (not freezing) place until you’re ready to plant them. If you have a patch of dirt or a nice big pot that isn’t occupied, try growing some of these yourself, and experiment with all the fun and tastiness squash has to offer!

 

Spooktacular Poses!

 

We LOVE Halloween! We love getting dressed up. We love eating candy. And we love adding a little bit of holiday fun to our YogaKids poses! Enjoy a few of our favorite spook-tacular poses…

Scarecrow/Ghost Coat Swing

Imagine you are a scarecrow hanging in a field. Your spine is the post that holds you up. Place your hands on your shoulders with your elbows out to the side. With the rhythm of your breath, twist your upper body (head, face, neck, shoulders, and arms) around the post of your spine. Breathe as you move back and forth, side to side. Gradually build up to 50 rounds, then 100. Return to center. Let your arms hang down. Twist your spine back and forth and just let your arms hang loose, as if they were empty coat sleeves. Allow them to fly like a ghost with the momentum of your breath and movement.

Black Cat (also known as Moo and Meow)

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.

Broom Pose (also known as Birthday Candle)

Sit cross-legged. Take hold of your toes from the outer side of your knees. Breathe in and out. Roll backwards. Then, let go of your toes while bending your elbows. Use your hands to support and lift your back. Straighten your legs and lift them past your head until your bent toes touch the floor. Squeeze your shoulders and elbows together. Lift the legs straight up to the ceiling. Rest your weight on your shoulders and triceps. Life your chest. Your feet are the candle flames. Have someone light the candles, or blow with enough power to ignite the flame yourself. Wiggle your toes to make the flames flicker. Tuck your chin to keep your neck relaxed.

360 Degree Owl

Roll up your yoga mat and turn it into a tree branch. Bend your knees and perch on your branch. Find your balance and sit as upright as you can. Tuck your arms behind you. Gently flap your wings. Turn your head from side to side, opening your eyes wide. Make a gentle “who” sound.

Witch’s Hat Pose (also known as Down Diggety Down 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.

Dracula Pose (also known as Enchilada)

Roll yourself up in your yoga mat!