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Balloon Squeeze Balls

About Stress

The word “stress” has many meanings. It can be a noun — emotional and physical pressure you experience. (“Homework is such a major stress!”) It can also be a verb — emotional and physical reactions in your body as a result of the pressure. (“Homework is totally stressing me out!”) Stress can also be subjective, meaning it can be good or bad depending on the person experiencing it. (Maybe you love doing homework!)

Nevertheless, when people talk about stress, they’re usually talking about negative stress. This is the bad kind — and it’s important to know how to recognize and deal with it. When you feel negative stress, you also often feel anxious, frustrated or angry. It can also show up in your body — with a stomachache or headache.

So what can you do when you’re feeling negative stress? One GREAT thing is… (surprise!) yoga. Another great thing to do is to use a stress ball — a squishy toy you can squeeze when life gets challenging.

Balloon Squeeze Balls

Create these super-cute Balloon Squeeze Balls for yourself — or for someone special!

Supplies:

Balloons
Flour
Funnel
Permanent Markers

Instructions:

Blow up the balloons, then release them — to stretch them out.
Use the funnel to fill the balloons with flour.
Tie the ends of the balloons. (Get a grown-up for help!)
Draw faces on the balloons with a permanent marker.

Chakra Butterflies

by YogaKids Team

About the Chakras

Have you heard the word “chakras” before? In yoga, the chakras are energy “centers” in the body. There are 7 chakras total and each one is has it’s own color and feeling:

Red (the Root chakra): “I am grounded.”
Orange (the Sacral chakra): “I am happy.”
Yellow (the Solar Plexus chakra) “I am strong.”
Green (the Heart chakra): “I am loving.”
Blue (the Throat chakra): “I am truthful.”
Purple (the Third Eye chakra): “I am smart.”
White (the Crown chakra): “I am whole.”

The chakras move up through you body, beginning with the your feet (the “root” chakra) and up to the top of your head (the “crown” chakra). When your chakras are “balanced,” you feel the positive feelings of each one. For example, if you’re feeling super-smart — you have a healthy, balanced Third Eye chakra.

About Butterflies

Butterflies are extraordinary creatures. They begin their lives as caterpillars and change into butterflies through a process called metamorphosis. This is why butterflies often represent change.

There are over 20,000 types of butterflies in the world. They live almost everywhere, except in Antartica and the driest of deserts. Butterflies are like birds in that they migrate to warmer weather during colder seasons. (The Monarch butterfly will travel up to 2500 miles!) A group of butterflies is a called a “flutter.” Butterflies can’t hear — but they can feel the vibrations of sound. They also vary in size, ranging from 1/2 inch to 12 inches in length. AND — and this is our favorite fun fact about butterflies — they taste their food with their FEET! Can you imagine?

Chakra Butterfly Craft

Celebrate your ever-changing energy centers with a simple Chakra Butterfly Craft!

Supplies:

Coffee filter
Spray bottle (with water)
Clothespin
Pipe cleaner
Glue

Instructions:

Color the coffee filer with the chakra colors of your choice.
Spritz the filter with water, allowing the colors to mix together.
Set the filter aside to let it dry.
Once dry, pinch the center of the filter with a clothespin to create the body of your butterfly.
Glue on pipe cleaner for the antennae.

Springtime Yoga Poses

by YogaKids Team

Springtime Yoga Poses! Spring is such a magical time… and here in the Magical Garden, we LOVE IT so much! The weather gets warmer and flowers begin to bloom. It’s a time for bunnies, butterflies, and flying kites. Join us in celebrating spring with some of our favorite YogaKids poses! Reach for the Sun Begin … Read more

Re-Defining”Yoga” for Schools: The Rise of Mindfulness in Education

by Ann Huber

At YogaKids, we speak to a lot of folks who teach children’s yoga. We also speak to lots of folks who WANT to teach children’s yoga. Some folks have self-doubt about their abilities to get up in front of a class. (To those beautiful people, we say that our program is guaranteed to bring out your best inner YogaKids Teacher.) Other folks — the ones who want to teach in schools — sometimes have trepidation about stepping on toes. We recently received a great inquiry about this…

“If I’m going to be teaching in schools, I want to be appropriate and in-line with standards [regarding religious teachings]. What is your stance on this?”

Such a thought-provoking question! From our perspective, yoga and religion are simply two different things. Nevertheless, we’ve been active in our community in addressing this topic. Mary Rountree, one of our YogaKids Teachers and Master Mentors, wrote a great article for our Press Room called “Is Yoga Religion?” As an educator in Alabama, she gets asked about this A LOT and has a number of great prepared answers.

“The Yoga Sutras, the most commonly cited text that forms the foundation for all forms of yoga, make no specific theological claims. The non-sectarian nature of this text has allowed it to remain solid for over 1500 years and allows freedom from religion, therefore making yoga a positive for anyone. The adaptability of modern yoga makes it diverse and flexible enough to be practiced with religion or with no religion. There are as many reasons why people do yoga as there are types of people that do yoga. They range from the secular, practical, body-oriented people to the most spiritual people and anything and everything in between. Yoga serves all these types because its teachings are universal.”

As you can see, it IS a great answer … if everyone is willing to listen and debate! But if that’s not the case, we also want to give a practical answer when asked about yoga and religion. Which is what we did with our new friend:

“Our program does include yoga philosophy but that is different than religion. Our recommendation? When you feel like the word ‘yoga’ is liable to spook someone – replace with ‘Mindfulness and Movement!'”

If you’ve been following trends in education, you know that Mindfulness is a big buzz word right now. It’s sweeping the nation and it’s kinda genius, really. Mindfulness can mean many things and, when combined with Movement — really does encompass so much of what yoga is… without the word “yoga.”

Now, does this undermine the word “yoga” and its depth of meaning? It’s a fair question. But our mission is so much bigger than words. Kids need our help, your help, the help of their communities. Words can sometimes get in the way.

What do you think?

I am Part of All I See (a spiritual story and meditation)

by Julie Pate

YogaKids Momma Marsha has a quote: “I am you, you are me, I am part of all I see.” This concept is such an important one to teach to today’s children because we are getting more and more disconnected due to social media, devices and video games. Yet scientists teach us that it is connection that will provide us with lasting happiness.

Dr. Emma Seppala from Stanford’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) says that when connection with others is present, it can boost mental and physical health, and even increase immunity and longevity. Connection to our family, communities and nature is vitally important for today’s children. This meditation uses story and visualization to teach kids about being connected to their peers, family, community and the world and asks them to step outside of themselves to realize the vastness of their own beauty.

A Saltwater Story

An unhappy student came to a yoga master and told her she had a very sad life and asked for a solution.The master instructed the unhappy young girl to put a handful of salt in a glass of water and drink it. The student took a big gulp and made a grimace as the salt water stung her throat.

“That is awful,” said the student.

“Right,” said the master.

The master and student took a short walk and sat down in front of a nearby lake. The master put a pinch of salt in the lake and asked the student to take a sip. The student scooped up some water and took a drink.

“How was that?” asked the master.

“Delicious,” said the student.

“You are seeing yourself as the glass of water, and are being greatly affected by everything that happens to you. You must think of yourself as the large lake” said the master. “You are expansive, you are pure light, pure love, and you are connected to everything you see.”

“I am Part of All I See” Meditation

Lie down and let your eyelids gently close. Feel the soft sensation of our own breath as your belly floats up and down… up and down. (long pause) Now bring your awareness to your heart center… imagine a beautiful emerald green color swirling around your heart. This green become brighter and more vibrant with every inhale. (long pause) Now imagine the beautiful swirling green moving out away from your heart to the edges of your body… moving in to your heart, and away from you. (pause) Now imagine that beautiful swirling moving away from you into the room… moving in and out all the way to the town. (pause) Imagine this beautiful green energy moving in to your heart and out to the entire state, growing larger and more vibrant as it travels. Now imagine this green energy that started in your little heart moving out and encompassing the entire world… moving in and out, pulsating in all directions. (pause) Feel yourself connected to all living things… Feel yourself embrace the entire world, and feel the world holding you warmly in return. (long pause) Now imagine that energy slowly coming back into your heart… swirling, and coming to a soft peaceful flow right in the center of your heart. (pause) Now again, feel the soft sensation of your own breath… feel your belly float up and down… up and down. (pause) Slowly bring your awareness back to the room… wiggle your fingers and your toes. (pause) Slowly stretch your arms overhead as you inhale, exhale through an open mouth. Leave one arm extended, bend your knees and gently roll onto one side and rest. Slowly push yourself up to sitting. Gently float your eyes open.

Pot O’ Gold Craft

by Jessica McNeil

St. Patrick’s Day is on March 17th of every year. St. Patrick’s Day is an Irish holiday honoring Ireland’s patron saint. In Irish language, it is called Lá Fhéile Pádraig, or “the Day of the Festival of Patrick,” St. Patrick’s Day celebrations are a way to celebrate Irish culture, where it is a national holiday. In fact, it is observed (celebrated) in more countries around the world than any other national festival.

Ireland is a European country, but it’s not attached to the mainland. Rather, it is an island in the North Atlantic off the coast of Great Britain. It is sometimes called “The Emerald Isle.” The cool climate and lots of moisture from the ocean air is what keeps Ireland so green.

A leprechaun is one type of fairy from Irish folklore. They are usually portrayed as mischief-making little men with red hair, wearing green hats and coats. Legend says, if you catch a leprechaun, he will have to take you to his secret pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Let’s learn about rainbows while we make our own pot o’ gold!

POT O’ GOLD CRAFT

Cotton balls
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple paint or markers
Six popsicle sticks
Glue
Black construction paper
White construction paper or cardstock
Shiny gold buttons, paper, or bells – anything that can be glued on to look like gold coins

Color one popsicle stick with each color.
Cut out a cauldron (pot) shape from the black construction paper about 4-5″ across.
Glue the popsicle sticks, color side up, to the back of the pot, so it looks like a rainbow is disappearing into it.
Cut a cloud shape out of the white paper
Glue cotton balls on top to make it look more like a cloud
Glue the cloud on top of the opposite end of the rainbow from the pot
Cut out and/or glue your gold pieces to the top of the pot

*Optional: only make the cloud and the rainbow, and stick the “pot end” of the rainbow into a bowl with gold-wrapped chocolate coins for a tasty party decoration.

About Rainbows

Rainbows are made up of six colors in the visible spectrum of light. Some people use the acronym ROY G BIV to remember the colors: Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet. Rainbows form when white sunlight enters tiny droplets of water — called water vapor — suspended in the sky, and breaks apart into all the colors that make up what we call “white.”

The area around a rainbow is brighter than the dark sky behind it because the water droplets are both refracting (bending, breaking) and reflecting (bouncing off) the light. The reflection magnifies the white light, while the refraction makes a rainbow.

You can make your own rainbow by shining white light through a prism, which is a type of crystal that bends light and breaks it apart into its separate colors.

If you want to find a rainbow in nature, you should look toward a dark, cloudy, rainy sky with the sun at your back. You will then be at the right angle to see a rainbow if one forms.

Did you know?

A rainbow is actually a full circle of light, but because of where we are on the earth, we usually only see half of it — in a bridge shape. Can you do Bridge pose and be a rainbow?

There are even “moonbows,” which are rainbows that form in the halo of light around a bright moon!

Sometimes you can find rainbows on a perfectly sunny day in the mist that comes off of garden hose sprayers and sprinklers. And of course, with your prism, which you can leave in a sunny window so there are always rainbows when the sun is shining through the glass.

Unfortunately, you can’t touch a rainbow because it is just made of light, and because the light will only be visible from the right angle, there is no end to a rainbow. So if you catch a leprechaun, it might be better to apologize and offer him a chocolate coin before you let him go, because that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is just a myth; a trick of light.

Out of the Head, Into the Heart

by Don Wenig

Early onset Alzheimers is proving to be a very different way of going through life. For Marsha and I this ever changing experience is the new normal. Everyday is a roller coaster ride. I watch Marsha going up and down, careening from side to side laughing, surprised, confused, scared, crying, and sometimes disappearing into a black tunnel that is both terrifying and sad.

Marsha Wenig, YogaKids creator and founder who has inspired so many with her insights into how children learn through yoga was diagnosed with Early-onset Alzheimers in November of 2011. In retrospect her symptoms had already been developing for many years.

The diagnosis came as the result of caring friends noticing the change in her behavior which led to extensive testing with neurologists at at Chicago’s Rush Hospitals Memory Clinic. Its impact had effected her, YogaKids and our personal relationship long before we were aware of what was really happening.

While there are many challenges that Marsha faces on a daily basis one of the greatest is being aware that she’s not able to grasp the things that were once were so easy and second nature to her. Not knowing what to do next is often crippling. Most of all Marsha misses her day to day involvement in YogaKids.

Now life and learning is truly moment to moment. For Marsha clear and detailed memories can turn in an instant to a blank screen, paralyzing disorganization and then back again to a social ease that she has always been adored for. Internally she is often as active and communicative as ever with insight and humor to share but collecting the words to express her thoughts is often impossible.

Alzheimers has led us both to a different kind of deeper awareness and appreciation of the moment. Kindness, compassion and gratitude has become our practice in a new way. Our yoga. The new mantra being “out of the head, into the heart”. Reminders to breath into and feel from the heart are posted on bathroom mirrors, the refrigerator door, by the back door. This practice helps break a tendency for fixating and obsession with troubling thoughts. If not revealing answers at least breathing into the heart (see heartmath.com) brings presence, some comfort and coherence.

Alz.org provides in-depth information about the disease with graphs, photos and illustrations of what happens to the brain in its different stages. At the same time the “best brains in medicine” don’t have much to offer in the way of explanations or the hows or why’s. This is one of Marsha’s most frequent and disturbing questions. “How did this happen?”

There are many theories as to how early forms of dementia develop. The process is thought to sometimes start decades before symptoms begin to show. A slow build up of environmental toxins, heavy metals, manufactured fluorides, electro magnetic radiation and gluten are all suspected contributors.

New drugs, sadly with unattractive side effects, are in development stages and most hopeful is an ultrasound therapy that is in the offing. Aside from the one drug Marsha takes our approach to slowing any progression is natural, dietary and lifestyle oriented.

Friends often call or Facebook with research they’ve read or stories they’ve heard about the virtues of coconut oil, DHA, vitamin D, turmeric, ashwaganda, CoQ 10, etc…we do it all. We’re gluten free, eat lots of organic, raw fruits and veggies, walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, and occasionally include fish. Everyday starts with a couple of ounces of wheatgrass juice from our indoor farm followed by the Vita-mix blending up sprouts, greens, chia, maca, cacao and berries.

Googling the countries with the least occurrence of Alzheimers we found Fiji at the bottom of the list. Why? I suspect the high levels of silica in their water might be a preventative keeping the brain vital and healthy. There is no evidence that it is curative in any way but we include silica in our regimen and have explored everything from Fiji water, to horsetail, diatomaceous earth and Orgono Living Silica.

Our daily practice includes simple asana followed by breathwork, toning and meditation. It feels like the vibration of OM helps stimulate the brain. We visualize plaque and calcifications breaking up and tangles realigning. Yoni mudra also stimulates the pineal gland. All of this follows a Merkaba visualization and a lengthy heart-centerd meditation.

Marsha gets out and walks…a lot. Being outside eases and quiets her mind. Usually she’s with her best friend and sidekick Cooper our 10 year old pug. She also looks forward to weekly Access Consciousness sessions to get her ”Bars” run. Along with being totally relaxing the Bars process helps dissolve old belief “implants” which destroys and uncreates negative thinking patterns. As a practitioner I’m able to help with that at home as well.

Music also plays a big part in her day to day routine. Thanks to online resources like Pandora and Spotify it’s possible for Marsha to access the music she loves which ranges from yogic relaxation music to our daughter Dakota’s latest upbeat playlists. YouTube offers amazing binaural beats and isochronic music set to specific frequencies that promotes brainwave focus, health and wellbeing.

So what if this stage of Alzheimers can be reframed as an invitation? An invitation to explore how one can function more fully from the heart. To expand and appreciate ourselves as infinite beings. What if thinking and functioning are not localized in the brain? What if the breath is a key to enter the “tiny place in the heart” and access a more global, universal consciousness? What if it’s possible to transcend the limitations of the human brain altogether? Could this be an opportunity to remember or discover if we’re more than the limitations we’ve grown accustomed to accepting as the boundaries of reality? So what else is possible?

Marsha has learned from all of the amazing, exceptional children she’s worked with over the years that with many there’s much more happening on the inside than is apparent to others from the outside. And what if that’s ok? Is the early stage of Alzheimers a ravaging disease or a different way of viewing and being in this world? A new way of caring for and being present to each other…everything?

We’ll keep you posted.

Spring Daffodil Craft

by Jessica McNeil

We’re celebrating spring with a super easy and adorable daffodil craft.

What is Spring?

How do we know when spring begins? Spring falls around March 20 each year at the time of the spring equinox. An equinox happens when the duration of day and night are approximately the same length of time (12 hours day, 12 hours night) all over the world. So even though it might still be snowing where you live, the spring equinox will always happen at the same time of year, all over the world, because of the way the Earth tilts on its axis as it rotates around the sun.

Usually when we talk about spring, we are talking about the seasonal time when the browns and greys of winter begin to give way to colorful spring blooms, and new, green baby leaves and grass begin to unfurl on their branches and poke up from the ground. Even in places that do not reach freezing temperatures in the winter, and places that stay green all year ’round, spring brings big changes in weather.

Where I live now, in Southern California, it is green and cool most of the winter. It doesn’t rain in the summer here; instead, we have a monsoon season, in which most of our rain falls all at once during the winter, over just a couple months. It is mid-February here, and while some of my friends who live to the north of me are still getting snow, the fruit trees are already flowering here, and the weather is warm and balmy. Soon, there will be fields and fields of golden California poppies – the reason California is called The Golden State. Those poppies and many desert wildflowers are the spring flowers Californians enjoy, while you may see daffodils, tulips, crocuses, rhododendrons, or hellebore if you live further north. Do you know the names of the spring flowers where you live? The latitude of where you live affects what kind of winter you will have. Do you know how to find your latitude?

In the summer here, it is very dry; so much that all the dried up grass in the foothills and mountains turns gold and remains dead until the first rains at the beginning of winter. When I was a kid, I lived in places like Texas and Indiana, where it rained throughout the year, and experienced what we think of as “traditional” seasons: an explosion of flowers in the spring after a long, colorless winter; hot, green, muggy summers; crisp autumns with changing leaves; and cold, sometimes snowy winters.

Those of us who live in the Northern Hemisphere (North and Central America, Europe, most of Asia, and northern Africa) call March “spring,” and September “autumn.” Did you know that, in the Southern Hemisphere (Africa, South America, Australia, and some southern islands of Asia), it is completely opposite? Australians celebrate Christmas in the summer!

What is the weather like where you live? What time does spring come, and how do you know (meaning, do you know because you see specific flowers or animals that you do not see in the winter)?

Colorful Daffodil Decorations

What you need:

Yellow construction paper
Paper mini-cupcake holders
Scissors and adhesive
Wood craft sticks
Green paint or marker

Cut out the daffodil shape from the yellow paper.
Adhere a cupcake wrapper in the center, to look like a daffodil’s “trumpet.”
Color your craft stick green on one side and glue it to the back of the daffodil to make a
stem. You may use more than one stick if you want longer stems.
Curl the edges of the petals forward slightly.
Put your daffodils all around to chase away the winter blues!
Daffodils come in many shapes and sizes. Can you figure out how to make some of the colors of daffodil, pictured at the top of this article?

Presidents’ Day Cookies (Abe & George)

by Jessica McNeil

What better way to honor some of our founding fathers than with a sweet treat in the likenesses of George Washington and Honest Abe?

Start with Nilla Wafers or Easy-Peasy Sugar Cookies.

Using big cookies, full-size chips and baby marshmallows

*Using Nilla Wafers, mini-chips, and tiny dehydrated hot cocoa marshmallows*

You will need:

Cookies (fully cooled)
Chocolate bar that’s divided into sections (if you need to cut the chocolate, dip the blade of a sharp knife in hot water for a few seconds so the chocolate doesn’t break)
Black gel icing
Regular chocolate or vanilla icing (homemade royal icing would work the best, but we just grabbed a tub of cake frosting off the shelf for this project)
For small president cookies, use mini-marshmallows (dehydrated, for hot cocoa — you can sometimes find these in shaker canisters in the baking aisle), mini-chocolate chips
For large president cookies, use mini-marshmallows, full-sized chocolate chips

Use the icing to attach the hats, chocolate chips, and marshmallows to the cookies, then draw on little faces with the black icing. You may need to let the icing set for about half an hour so Abe’s candy bar hat will stay on as you serve the cookies.

About Presidents’ Day

This year, Presidents Day falls on Monday, February 20, 2017. February 22 was George Washington’s birthday, and Presidents Day began as a day to honor our very first president. For what presidential actions were Abraham Lincoln and George Washington most well-known? Who is your favorite president, and why? Can you name the Presidents in order? Here is a list of the US Presidents, from the founding of this nation to the current day.

George Washington, 1789-1797
John Adams, 1797-1801
Thomas Jefferson, 1801-1809
James Madison, 1809-1817
James Monroe, 1817-1825
John Quincy Adams, 1825-1829
Andrew Jackson, 1829-1837
Martin Van Buren, 1837-1841
William Henry Harrison, 1841
John Tyler, 1841-1845
James Knox Polk, 1845-1849
Zachary Taylor, 1849-1850
Millard Fillmore, 1850-1853
Franklin Pierce, 1853-1857
James Buchanan, 1857-1861
Abraham Lincoln, 1861-1865
Andrew Johnson, 1865-1869
Ulysses S. Grant, 1869-1877
Rutherford Birchard Hayes, 1877-1881
James Abram Garfield, 1881
Chester Alan Arthur, 1881-1885
Grover Cleveland, 1885-1889
Benjamin Harrison, 1889-1893
Grover Cleveland, 1893-1897
William McKinley, 1897-1901
Theodore Roosevelt, 1901-1909
William Howard Taft, 1909-1913
Woodrow Wilson, 1913-1921
Warren Gamaliel Harding, 1921-1923
Calvin Coolidge, 1923-1929
Herbert Clark Hoover, 1929-1933
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1933-1945
Harry S. Truman, 1945-1953
Dwight David Eisenhower, 1953-1961
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 1961-1963
Lyndon Baines Johnson, 1963-1969
Richard Milhous Nixon, 1969-1974
Gerald Rudolph Ford, 1974-1977
James Earl Carter, Jr., 1977-1981
Ronald Wilson Reagan, 1981-1989
George Herbert Walker Bush, 1989-1993
William Jefferson Clinton, 1993-2001
George Walker Bush, 2001-2009
Barack Hussein Obama, 2009-2016
Donald John Trump, 2016 (current)

Happy Presidents’ Day!

Easy-Peasy Sugar Cookies (Base Recipe)

by Jessica McNeil

These cookies make a great base for decorating. If you go with the chilled dough method, you can use cookie cutters to cut them into fun shapes, but unlike a lot of recipes, this dough can be baked immediately, without chilling first.

Freshly Baked Spring Flower Gourmet Cookies

Easy-Peasy Sugar Cookies

2 3/4 cups all-purpose or gluten-free flour*
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup butter or butter substitute, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Optional: Add 1/2 tsp additional extract for flavor, like mint, almond, coconut, or lemon.

Optional: Use a few drops of food coloring to make brightly-colored cookies (separate into four parts with two drops color each and make rainbow cookies!)

Optional: use only vanilla extract in the dough and roll the cookie balls in a mixture of 2T sugar and 1tsp cinnamon before baking to make snicker-doodles.

Basic Sugar Cookie Glaze

1 c powdered sugar
3 T milk, almond milk, water, or juice
1 tsp extract of choice
food coloring – optional

*If you are using gluten-free flour without any binding agents, you will need 1/2 tsp of xanthan gum or 1 tsp guar gum.

Instructions – Cookies

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and baking powder.
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the egg and flavor extracts once the butter and sugar mix is smooth and fluffy.
Blend in the dry ingredients a little at a time (in three parts).
If you want to cut the cookies perfectly round, you can roll the dough into a cylinder shape, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for an hour before slicing with a sharp knife. You can alternately use the dough right away if you don’t mind imperfect edges. Use a teaspoon and to make rounded scoops of dough, then roll them into balls and place them 2″ apart directly onto no-stick cookie sheets or silicon liners.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden around the edges.
Leave on the cookie sheet two minutes before removing with a spatula to wire racks or a big plate where the cookies can stay flat until completely cool.

Instructions: Glaze

Mix everything together with a fork until all lumps are gone and mix is shiny. Glaze cookies only after they’re completely cool.

Bird Feeder

by Jessica McNeil

Aren’t birds amazing? They are in a class of their own. Like mammals, birds are warm blooded, but they lay eggs like cold-blooded reptiles. They are covered in feathers. Some fly in the air and some swim in the ocean, play games, use tools, sing songs, do complicated dances, decorate their homes, and some travel very long distances when the seasons change. Birds are descended from a dinosaur called maniraptoran theropod, the same family as the Velociraptor; some scientists believe those dinos were covered in feathers, too. So when you’re watching a little bird hop around, it’s the closest you’ll get to seeing a real, live, miniature dinosaur!

All year round you can invite birds to dinner at your home with this easy bird feeder.

What you need:

Wood glue or hot glue
Large craft sticks (between the size of a tongue depressor and a popsicle stick)
Yarn or hemp string
Peanut butter
Birdseed

Instructions

Make the base of the bird feeder. Lay one stick out, and then line up more sticks side-by-side, perpendicular to stick #1 until you have enough to span the width of stick #1 (which will cover the whole bottom of the feeder.) Leaving the other sticks in place, aligned side-by-side, and with all the ends even to each other, put a line of glue across stick #1 and glue it along one edge, so it holds together all the ends of all the other sticks. Use another craft stick and more glue to do the same on the opposite side.
Using the “log cabin” method, build up the sides of your feeder by gluing down two sticks to opposite sides of the square, and then repeating the process with the next two opposite sides, until your feeder is five or six layers of craft stick high.
Cut four equal lengths of strong string, 24-36″ long. Tie one to each corner of the feeder.
Put the feeder flat on the floor and hold all four strings together at the top. Lift the feeder slightly up and make sure it hangs in a balanced manner, adjusting the strings as needed. Now, tie off the strings in a knot about 10-12″ from the top. You will use the remaining top 12″ of string to tie the feeder to a tree branch. If you’re hanging it from a hook, you can tie the top into a loop.
Spread peanut butter all over the bottom tray of the feeder and pour some birdseed on top. Hang your feeder where birds will find it (but far enough from the ground that cats and other predators can’t easily reach it) and wait. You will soon have finely feathered visitors!

More Fun Facts About Birds:

There are roughly 10000 species of birds on Earth.
The ostrich is the largest bird in the world. If you put a cheetah and an ostrich in a race, the cheetah could outrun the ostrich over a short distance, sprinting short distances at 59 miles per hour. But an ostrich can run very long distances at over 40 mph, and would eventually outdistance the cheetah.
Birds have lightweight, but strong, hollow bones that don’t weigh them down while they’re riding wind currents far overhead.
Some bird species of birds — like corvids, which include jays, ravens, and crows, are so intelligent that they can create and use tools, play games with each other, and play pranks on their foes!
Ostriches, emus, cassowaries, rheas, kiwi, and penguins cannot fly at all.
Hummingbirds are the smallest birds in the world, and some of them travel up to 3000 miles at a time miles in a migration season. They can fly backwards and hover, and can flap their wings up to 200 times per minute! The bee hummingbird is the smallest bird in the world at only 2″ long.

Make your own observations:

What birds are common where you live? If you put different types of seeds in your feeder, do different birds come to eat? Do you see different birds in the summer than you do in the winter? Can you find a bird-watching guide and name all the birds who visit your feeder?

Related YogaKids Poses:

Crane, Flamingo…what other yoga poses remind you of birds?

ASL Valentines Day card

by Jessica McNeil

Valentines Day falls on February 14 every year. The real history of Valentine’s Day is a little confusing. It began as two different pagan festivals that were later adopted by the Catholic Church as an entirely separate festival honoring two men (both named Valentine, who were executed on Feb. 14 in two different years, by a Roman emperor) who were later declared Saints. So while the story of Valentine’s Day has some dark and unclear origins, today we exclusively celebrate the holiday to spread love and fond wishes (and little candy hearts).

The people of Earth speak a multitude of languages. What languages do you speak? How do you say “I love you” in your native language? Do you know how to say “I love you” in any other languages?

Here is how we say “I love you” in some of the world’s most widely spoken languages. You can look up videos online for instructions on how to pronounce these words. Can you match the languages to the countries whose people speak them? Can you find those countries on a world map?

Chinese: Wǒ ài nǐ

Spanish: Te amo.

Arabic: ‘Ahabak

French: Je t’aime

Japanese: Watashi wa, anata o aishiteimasu

Hindi: Main tumase pyaar karata hoon

Russian: Ya lyublyu tebya

Portuguese: Eu te amo

Bengali: Āmi tōmāẏa bhālōbāsi

Javanese: Kangen

Today, we are going to make a Valentine’s Day card in ASL – which is short for American Sign Language. ASL is the beautiful language that people who are hearing impaired “speak” with their hands.

Materials & Instructions

Colored paper – one sheet in your flesh color and one in the color you want for the card’s background.
Glue
Markers, crayons, pens, etc.
Glitter or other decorations (optional)

Trace your hand and a little bit of your wrist on a piece of paper the color of your skin.
Cut it out.
Fold the other colored piece of paper in half to make the card.
Glue just the palm of the hand and the wrist section to the card, leaving the fingers loose.
Now, place a tiny dot of glue on the tip of the pointer finger, pinkie, and thumb, and glue those fingers in place.
Fold (don’t crease) the middle two fingers down to the palm of the hand and, using a small drop of glue on the very tip of each of those fingers, attach them in place to look like the picture.
Now add your own message of love to the inside and outside of the card and give it to a person you love!

Happy Valentines Day!

“I am the Light and the Light is Me”

by Julie Pate

Words of Wisdom from Momma Marsha.

I was scrolling through my Facebook feed one afternoon when I stumbled on an article by Buddhist teacher Jack Kornfield about negative talk. Jack said, “If you have regular thoughts of self-judgment, criticism, shame, or unworthiness, create a true antidote, a phrase or two or three, that transforms the falsehood of these unhealthy thoughts.” This idea really resonated with me and I began to think about what my “antidote” phrase might be.

I started to reflect on negative talk and the many ways small and large that it often shapes our lives. “I’m not good enough!” “Why did I say that?” “Why am I always rushing and running late?” “Everyone is so far ahead of me; I don’t even have the energy to try!” All day long, we often have this dialog of not being enough. Negative self-talk is one of the many ways we are unkind to ourselves.

I Am the Light and the Light is Me

In a wonderful song called Namaste, written by Marsha Wenig (creator of the YogaKids program), the main verse of the song is sung over and over and it is, “I am the light, and the light is me.” This has become my antidote to negative talk. This phrase perfectly describes the truth about me — and you! At our core; we are pure light, pure love, and pure consciousness. If I know this to be the truth, than not being good enough, smart enough, fast enough or kind enough just isn’t possible because I am the light, and the light is perfect just as it is.

Kindness

Many of us think of yoga as simply a physical practice, but yoga recognizes eight separate “limbs.” Yoga’s 5 moral restraints, the Yamas, are the first limb. There are five main Yamas that we practice to help us reduce suffering, and achieve peace in our lives and they are: non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, moderation and generosity. The very first of these Yamas is Ahimsa (or non-violence) and it is often referred to as the most important Yama. Ahimsa really addresses kindness — and negative self-talk is being unkind to ourselves. Not only is negative self-talk unkind, it just simply is untrue. When you truly understand Marsha’s words, you understand your own truth, and the magnitude of just how special you are.

Truthfulness

The Namaste song goes on to sing about our connection to nature and each other –“I am you and you are me, I am part of all I see.” This dispels another self-sabotaging habit –criticizing others. If I know this to be true, than criticizing you would be just as destructive as criticizing myself. This is addressed by the second Yama, Satya which means truthfulness. To be truthful, I must recognize that you are the light, and therefore ,you are also perfect just as you are — and any criticism of you would be false.

I use this one all the time while driving. If someone cuts me off in traffic, my initial reaction is to judge them harshly. Then I remind myself that they are the light, and I can actually feel myself soften to the situation. Possibly this driver just got bad news about a loved one’s health, or got passed over for a much-deserved promotion. We don’t need to speculate as to why people are sometimes rude. It really doesn’t matter. All that matters is that they are the light, and your own sweet light recognizes it.

I find myself saying often “oh, she is the light” or “that is ok, because he is the light.” It is a very peaceful healing practice that allows me to take nothing personally, and not pass any judgement on others’ behaviors weather they affect me directly or not. With this practice, I will no longer be a slave to the behavior of others. People will always disappoint, neglect, cheat, etc.… but we have a choice as to how we respond to other people’s behaviors. We can be a slave to it, or accept it and constantly be reminded of the magic of life by seeing their light.

I invite you to notice your own negative self-talk and judgement of others — and adopt a new dialog in your head about your own innate goodness, and the goodness of others. As Gandhi said,

“Your beliefs become your thoughts. Your thoughts become your words. Your words become your actions. Your actions become your habits. Your habits become your values. Your values become your destiny.”

Snowman Glitter Shaker

by Jessica McNeil

(Originally published in the 2016 YogaKids Holiday Family Fun Guide)

Supplies

One jar with a screw on lid (like a pasta sauce jar)
One 12”x12” piece of felt for the hat
Hot glue
Glycerin
A ribbon or other piece of fabric for the scarf
A pipe cleaner for the hat
A small piece of orange paper, cut into a triangle, for the carrot nose
A black sharpie for eyes and buttons
Other decorations, like jingle bells and pom-poms for the hat, or buttons for the eyes, mouth
Water

Plastic glitter in large and small sizes

Instructions:

You may adjust the glycerin-to-water ratio for the size of your jar – I am using a 24 oz. jar in the example.

Remove the label and scrape off any leftover glue. Make sure the jar is completely dry.
Begin by tying the scarf onto the jar and adding a dot of hot glue to the front and back, between the ribbon or fabric and jar, to hold the scarf in place.
Glue on button eyes or draw on black circles for eyes, mouth, and buttons. Glue on the nose.
Trace a circle onto the felt using a bowl, and cut it out. Note: Using the lid of your jar as a guide, you should have no less than 1” extra fabric all around. I have about 1.5” margins on mine.
The larger the circle, the floppier the hat.
Add ¼ cup of glycerin and about 1 cup water. Put the lid on the jar and shake until mixture is homogeneous.
Put a maximum of 2 Tablespoons of plastic glitter into the jar, then fill until about 1” from the top of the jar. Put the lid on and make sure you like the consistency of the water and glitter. If you want to add more glycerin to make the glitter move more slowly, add it now and mix well.
Once you’re happy with the water viscosity, fill the last remaining space up to the brim and put the lid on. Dry any water spots that may have leaked out, and hot glue around the base of the lid.
Center the circle of felt on the lid and hot glue it in place.
Crimp the felt as needed to get the shape of hat you want, and wrap the pipe cleaner tightly under the base of the lid, twisting the ends to hold it together. You will probably need more than one set of hands for this step! Add decorations, like pom-poms, silk flowers, or a bow) over the place where you twist the pipe cleaner closed.
Let it snow!

Handprint Menorah

by Jessica McNeil

(Originally published in the YogaKids 2016 Holiday Family Fun Guide)

Supplies:

Patterned or brightly colored paper to use for candle flames
A piece of card stock
Tempera or other water based paint in the color you want your menorah
Scissors
Glue or glue stick
Metallic sharpies, paints, sequins, etc. optional – for decorating the menorah

Instructions:

Fold the card stock in half, and then unfold it. Lay it flat.
Placing your left hand on the left side of the paper, with your thumb straight up, across the center fold line.
Trace your hand, then repeat on the right side, with your thumb in the same place as the left thumb.
Paint inside the lines you just traced.
Allow paint to dry and then decorate over the top of the menorah.
Fold the piece of paper you’re using for flames in half. Draw five flame shapes and cut them out of the folded paper to make ten flames. (That’s one left over)
Glue a flame in the center, then “light” one finger of the menorah for each night of Chanukah.
Keep the extra flames in an envelope nearby so they don’t get lost, and enjoy the Festival of Lights!

Handy-bird Decoration

by Jessica McNeil

(Originally published in the 2016 YogaKids Holiday Family Fun Guide)

Supplies:

1 wooden craft stick for each bird
Scissors
Brightly colored tempera paint (or other water based paint, watered down enough to make a hand print)
One sheet of any-colored colored card stock or construction paper
Paint, sharpie, or marker in a color that will show up on your paint
Whatever color paper you want to use for your bird’s beak
Glue
Googly eyes and other decorations, like pom-poms or glitter — optional

Instructions:

Brush a thick layer of paint onto a surface that’s flat enough to place your hand on, like a flat dinner plate or baking pan.
Place your hand, palm down, into the paint and roll it slightly to make sure the palm is covered
Press your hand onto a sheet of paper and lift it back up without moving it around on the paper
Let the paint dry before cutting around it.
Decorate your bird.
Glue one end of the popsicle stick to the back of your bird and draw little feet on the stick with a permanent marker or paint. Make sure the popsicle stick extends onto the paper by an inch or more to keep your bird from flopping over.
Stick your bird into a houseplant or holiday centerpiece for extra cheer!
Do you live in a very cold place? Maybe your bird needs a scarf or a warm hat. Use construction paper and other fun materials, and decorate to your heart’s content.

Animal Hand-tlers

by Jessica McNeil

(Originally published in the YogaKids 2016 Holiday Family Fun Guide)

Supplies:

Two pieces of card stock or construction paper per pair
Scissors
Writing utensil
Stapler and/or glue
Optional: coloring tools, paints, sequins, and other “flair” for decorating

Instructions:

Fold construction paper in half (short way) and trace hand on one half. Cut out both at the same time.
Fold other piece of construction paper in half, longways, and then each half in half. Cut along the lines. This will make one (with a left over paper strip) big head band or two small headbands.
Staple or glue the ends of the strips together to make them longer and measure the band around your head. If it’s not long enough, add a third strip to extend and cut to fit. Do not staple or glue them together to make the band yet.
The antlers will be laid out with the thumbs facing inward. Decorate or color them if you want to. Decorate or color the band if you want to.
Find the center of the band, and staple or glue the hand shapes to the inside, so the bottom of the palm is under the band.
Finally, close the band where it fits your head by stapling it together in the back, and then cutting off any parts that are too long.
Wear and make animal noises! What does a reindeer sound like? How about a moose?

Star-of-David Mini Pizzas

by Jessica McNeil

Total time: 30m

Ingredients:

Packaged mini-toasts or big crackers
Deli sliced rounds of provolone or other cheese (round works best)
Tomato paste or pre-made pasta sauce
Fresh or dry oregano

Instructions:

Lay out the crackers or toasts on a foil or silicone lined baking tray that can go in your oven or toaster oven. The edges should not touch, and they should be lying completely flat.
Spoon a little tomato paste or sauce onto each one and spread it across the top. Don’t make it too thin or the toasts won’t soften in the middle.
Sprinkle a pinch of oregano on top of the tomato sauce.
Cut the rounds of cheese in half, then each half into three pie-shaped pieces. Slice the curvy edge off the triangle, and lay two triangles on top of each toast in opposite directions, to make a Star of David.
Put the tray in the toaster oven or under the broiler just long enough for the cheese to melt a little and form little bubbles; about 5-10 minutes.
Serve delicious mini-pizzas and eat ‘em up!

Snowman Skewers

by Jessica McNeil

Total time: 30m or less

Ingredients:

Bananas – each banana makes about two and a half skewers
One red and one green apple
A few red and green grapes
Chocolate chips or raisins (baby-sized chips work best)
Wood skewers
A flat serving platter or tray
Optional: a little bit of powdered sugar to dust serving plate with “snow” – works best when the platter is dark.

Instructions:

Cut ¾ – 1” thick slices of banana, put three on each skewer, circular cut side facing outward.
Quarter the apples and cut each quarter into thirds. Put on the skewer on top of the bananas – this is the snowman’s hat. Note: You might want to help little kids. It can be tough to get through the skin of the apple with the wood skewer, and we don’t want anyone getting stabbed!
Put a grape on the very top, over the apple, to make the hat’s pom-pom.
Using the chocolate chips, stick eyes and buttons into the bananas.
Optional: lightly dust your serving platter with powdered sugar and lay out all the snowmen.
Serve and eat; mmmmmm delicious!

Pita Holiday Trees

by Jessica McNeil

Total time: 30m or less

Ingredients:

Package of pita bread
Green Garden Dip (see next recipe) or other green and white dip – like tzatziki, spinach dip
Brightly colored veggies (tiny cherry tomatoes, red, yellow, and green peppers, black olive slices, etc.)
Optional: fresh dill

Instructions:

Cut each pita round like a pie, into eight triangles, and place on a serving platter, points up.
Spoon green dip onto each pita
Put little bits of fresh dill on top to look like pine branches
Chop the vegetables and decorate the “trees.”
Serve and eat! YUM!

Green Garden Dip

by Jessica McNeil

Total time 20m

Ingredients:

Large or mid-size container of Greek yogurt (not single serve)
Bundles of fresh leafy green herbs, like: dill, parsley, mint, basil, and tarragon.
2-4 green onions. Use the whole thing, just cut off roots and any brown leaves
One clove fresh garlic, or a ½ Tablespoon of powdered garlic
½ Tablespoon sea salt
½ Tablespoon ground black pepper
Juice of ½ lemon
*optional – 2-3 Persian cucumbers, 1/2lb of spinach, water chestnuts, etc.

Instructions:

I use the two-pound size of Greek yogurt, because this green dip is SO delicious, you’ll want lots left over for veggie dip, sandwiches, dressing…you’ll be evaluating everything in the fridge as a possible vehicle for this yummy green goodness. If you want to make a smaller batch, just scale down until you get the herb-to-yogurt density you like. Drain the extra fluid/whey from the container of yogurt before you start. If you want to make a vegan version of this dressing, you can use coconut yogurt, but you might want to add some chickpeas, soft tofu, white beans, or pureed cashews to thicken the mixture.

Clean and leaf the herbs. Discard the stems or save them for flavoring stock. Chop the cucumbers into slices. Throw all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until herbs are ground small and dip is uniform. The more herbs you add, the thicker the dip will be. If you want to add a little more mass to the dip, throw in a Persian cucumber or two, or perhaps some spinach. If you use water chestnuts, drain well and dice small, and add them after the rest of the mixture is pureed.

The dip may be a little runny when you make it, but will thicken a little once it’s been refrigerated overnight. It’s fine to use right away for the pita trees, though.

The Donut Debacle

by Alicia Mauldin

The group leader of my team (at my corporate job) brought in a special treat for everyone… festive decorated donuts! They looked delicious with green frosting, clovers and sprinkles! As other members of the team enjoyed their yummy donuts, she shared a story with us from her previous place of employment. “One day there was a box of donuts in the office, and when I went to get one, I realized all the filling had been siphoned out – leaving just the outer donut in the box – for the next person. Who would do that?” We all were flabbergasted and joked whether the perpetrator had used a straw or their mouth to remove the filling from the donut!

Later that day, I walked up to one of my team members at the end of our lunch hour, and she looked a little down. “Is everything ok?” I asked. She replied with a question, “Have you ever noticed how some people suck the energy right out of you?” Turns out someone else (from another department) on our floor had sat down with her for lunch that day. Everything that person said was negative and judgmental. Though my team member was just listening, her attitude had shifted, her spirit deflated and she was left feeling empty and drained – not unlike the hollow donut we joked about earlier that day.

I am reminded of a great book for kids Have you filled a bucket today? by Carol McCloud. A heartwarming book encouraging positive behavior, and how rewarding it is to express daily kindness, appreciation and love. Here at YogaKids, we aim to empower children with confidence, love and compassion for others. We strive to teach them awareness and mindfulness of themselves, others and the world around them!

As parents, teachers and yogis, it is our duty to fill the buckets of those around us, not to siphon the yummy sweet center of the donut, but instead, leave them in their greatness – leave others better than they were before they met you! One of my favorite quotes is from Maya Angelou, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Transform your life in the YogaKids Certification Program!

Brain Buddies: Mudras

by Jessica McNeil

Finger Poses for Learning Readiness

Did you know you can talk to your brain with your fingers? Your fingers have a direct connection to your brain. When you touch your fingers together in special ways they create a circuit, and your nervous system passes the information right up to your brain!
HAKINI MUDRA

Imagine what a spider would look like doing push-ups on a mirror. Bring your fingertips together and watch your spider do a few “push ups”. Now just let your fingers rest where they are and take a few quiet breaths.

Whether you take five easy breaths or relax for a few minutes, this brain buddy will help you remember anything at all.

Just ask for the right answer to a quiz or test and see what pops into your mind! This is perfect to do with Eyes Around The Clock for a double-memory-whammy! This simple finger pose reboots and balances the right and left hemispheres of the brain.

It increases the brain’s capacity and is ideal to use for problem solving or brainstorming new concepts.GYAN MUDRA

Touch the tip of your index fingers and your thumbs together. Make owl eyes. What can you see?

Now turn your hands up and rest them on your knees if you’re sitting. This Brain Buddy will help you concentrate and clear the mind so it’s easy to learn new stuff. You can use it to calm down whenever you’re feeling tense. At home or at school. Just sit down anywhere, bring your fingers together and take several slow deep breaths.

It will be your secret super smart brain builder. It’s also the perfect bedtime buddy if you’re having a hard time falling asleep. Lying in bed bring your fingers together with your arms resting at your sides or across your chest. Breathe slowly and the next thing you know you’ll be waking up from a restful sleep and sweet dreams.PUSHAN MUDRA

This Brain Buddy is really fun! It’s great for concentration, memorization, and will improve your mood. It is also a body energizer.

Just ask silently for what you want to do, breathe…and let your brain do the rest. Perfect as a study enhancer.

Right Hand: Join the tips of ring and little finger, and thumb, with your pointer and middle finger standing up. It’s kind of like a peace sign, except that your pointer and middle finger are held together, and not in a V-shape.

Left Hand: Join the tips of middle and ring finger with thumb. Your pointer and pinky fingers will stick up like an energy bar.

The Marvels of Meditation

by YogaKids Team

School can be mega-stressful. New teachers and schedules, the never-ending pile of homework, tons of after-school activities. Add in the social stuff – friends, crushes, and finding the right outfit every morning? So. Overwhelming. Fortunately, we here at YogaKids have a tip to share that can make your life a little easier. And it’s so easy. It’s… doing nothing.

Ok, so technically, it’s not “nothing.” It’s “meditating.” Meditation isn’t just for monks and gurus. It’s for anyone interested in making life come with more joy and ease.

The dictionary defines meditation as “the act of spending time in quiet thought.” It’s been used in yoga and religious practices around the world since ancient times. And there’s a good reason for that. Meditating for just ten minutes twice a day can reap powerful benefits. It can quiet your mind, relax your body, and decrease anxiety. It can improve your relationships, test-taking talents, and even your athletic performance.

Ok – so meditation is great. But how do you do it? You just sit in a comfortable position. You can open your eyes or close them. You can listen to music when you do it, too — as long as it’s quiet and comforting. (And, you know, with no lyrics to guide your thoughts towards that person you’ve been crushin’ on.)

And that’s it. The idea is to clear your mind. That’s impossible to do, of course. We’re all thinking creatures and we can’t just turn off our brains. But that’s ok. Let the thoughts come in your head, acknowledge them, and then let them fly back out. Don’t hang on to them. And – this one is important — don’t judge them.

Oh – and one more thing. Although it sounds super-simple, it can be hard at first. Sitting still and doing nothing? Most people aren’t used to doing that. It can seem boring and lame at first. You’ll probably feel a bit silly too. But give it a try and stick with it for a week.

You might just be amazed at what a bit of nothing can do…

New Beginnings

by Karen Martin

I am met by five sets of bright eyes, all expectantly waiting to begin our yoga practice in the New Year! The list of things to do during our class runs through my mind as I set up. Will we work with our breathing buddies? Practice yummy ohms (oh so loud and silly)? Play a game we create on the spot? The answer most resoundingly is yes to all of these ideas. But there is something more I hope to impart to my little yogis along with movement and fun activities.

All of the above are things we want to do in our class. This can be likened to New Year’s resolutions of what we want to try to accomplish in the coming year. Most resolve to lose weight, exercise more, plan places to go, decide on items to buy. Instead of these goals, I’ve thought about working on becoming the type of person I’d like to be in the new year.

It begins with a self-assessment from which arise goals not of material or physical improvements but more deeply satisfying spiritual gains. Instead of looking for outward tangible signs of achievement, look inward to developing traits to become a better person.

When I share yoga with children I hope to embody an example of a caring, understanding and supportive teacher. How can I hopefully display these attributes? I look back on a previous article on the topic of Patience. To show patience, I have to be patient with myself first. The same may be said of these other valuable qualities. By exhibiting compassion and empathy to myself I can more likely show it towards others.

The children look to me for learning flow series, guidance in postures, and sharing fun games. I hope I also provide much more by example, using kind words and patient understanding during our classes. Build awareness of how the children interact with myself and with each other. Notice how they are feeling and it will help in responding with appropriate actions and words. Encourage this behavior by pointing out signs of understanding, kind-heartedness and support displayed by the children.

Inclusion of behaviors such as kindness, helpfulness, and empathy can be a good beginning. Add to them a listening ear, a hopeful outlook, and calm words. And do not forget to be nurturing to the self as well as to others in the months ahead!

Family Connection

by Alicia Mauldin

Around the holidays we get the opportunity to see family and friends we have not seen in a while. After the initial excitement wears off, the kids are often looking for something to do. If it is cold, outdoor activities are limited. That is when we can pull out some yoga! The beauty of yoga is that it does not require a lot of space to do, it can be quiet (which I love), promotes cooperation and family connection (which I also love).

Partner and group poses are especially fun to do. We like to share yoga poses with our friends that might not do yoga on their own. My daughter may do a pose with her cousin, or we may pull all the cousins into a room to do a few poses together. Since many people associate balance poses with yoga, it is great to start with Tree pose. After everyone tries to balance on one foot, we then come together in a circle, press the palms of our hands against our neighbor’s and help each other balance on the opposite foot. This is a great subtle lesson to support each other while improving physical balance.

Once the kids are excited for yoga, we move to some poses that feel good. In Standing Partner Stretch, two kids stand back to back and take hold of each other’s hands, then step forward a tiny step and gently lean away until both people feel a stretch in the chest and shoulders. Cooperation and trust are essential for the success of this pose.

Sit & Twist is another great pose. This one is done sitting on the floor facing a partner. The right arm reaches forward and the left wraps behind your back – then reach forward and find the arm your partner put behind their back. Breathe and twist. While seated, try Row Your Boat pose. Balance on your sit bones and lift your legs off the floor. This pose strengthens the stomach, back and shoulders. Now try it with your partner, face your partner, feet touching, hold each other hands and with cooperation and communication, lean back, lengthen your legs and press the bottoms of your feet to your partner’s. Hold tight and stay afloat in partner boat.

From boat pose, keep holding hands but bring the feet to the outside of the arms and allow the legs to open and come to the floor preparing for Seesaw Triangle pose. One partner leans forward while the other leans back. After a few breaths, switch and then gently rock each other back and forth. What a fun way to stretch the legs!

These are just a few partner yoga poses, but there are so many more! You can also turn many yoga poses into partner poses with a little creativity! So, turn the television and video games off this holiday season and do a little yoga instead. It will benefit your children physically and mentally, and will help foster family connection and healthy relationships! Learn all these poses in the book, YogaKids: Educating the Whole Child, available in the YK Shop!

YogaKids Poses:

Forest of Trees
Standing Partner Stretch
Sit and Twist
Row Your Boat
Seesaw Triangle

Create and teach family connection as a Certified YogaKids Teacher!

“I am the Light” Meditation

by YogaKids Team

Celebrate the Festival of Lights with this free meditation from YogaKids co-founder Don Wenig.

Dia de los Muertos

by Jessica McNeil

Feliz Dia de los Muertos — or “Happy Day of the Dead,” if you are an English-speaker.

Dia de los Muertos is a very important Mexican holiday for remembering loved ones and ancestors who have passed on, and it falls on November 1-2 each year. The holiday is a mixture of indigenous Mexican traditions and the religion of Catholicism, which celebrates All Saints Day on the same date, and was introduced when Spanish conquistadors invaded Mexico many years ago. Though the holiday falls right after Halloween, and the images we see that are related to Dia de los Muertos – like skeletons and skulls – may seem spooky, Dia de los Muertos is not a “scary” holiday. Rather, it is a beautiful tradition of celebration and joy to honor those we love and miss.

On November 1, families honor deceased children and babies, and on the 2nd, they honor adults who have died. Mexican people who celebrate the holiday may build a little altar in their homes to honor the memory of their dead, or they might take a picnic to the cemetery where their family members are buried and spend the night eating, drinking, playing music, and sharing memories of those they have lost. They may also exchange sweets and sugar skulls on the occasion, or leave them on the graves for their deceased friends and family members’ spirits to take back to the afterlife.

Many people associate sugar skulls with Dia de los Muertos. These are actually candies that are shaped like skulls and painted with pretty patterns in icing. Some people paint their faces like sugar skulls. On this Dia de los Muertos, do you have a special person to remember? What are your very favorite memories of those people?

Sugar Skulls coloring page — digital version (small, jpg) – click to enlarge the image on the left.

Sugar Skulls coloring page — hi-resolution print (large, PDF) – click here for link

What is Gratitude?

by Jessica McNeil

You might have noticed a lot of people seem to talk about gratitude in the month of November — at least, they do here in the United States.

The definition of gratitude is “the quality of being thankful; showing appreciation for and returning kindness.” Gratefulness, thankfulness, thanks, and appreciation are all synonyms (words that mean the same thing).

So, why do we set aside November for gratitude?

The answer is that we should be thinking about gratitude every day, but it’s kind of easy to put a spotlight on it in November because that’s when we celebrate the THANKSGIVING holiday. Get it? Giving Thanks!

But WHY should we be grateful?

When you think about gratitude, it helps you stay focused on the things that are good in your life, instead of focusing on negative or bad things. It actually changes your brain when you’re positive (happy), and it helps you lead a happier life.

Let’s do a little experiment:

Think about only the things you dislike about school. Perhaps there’s a kid who’s mean to you, or you don’t like the cafeteria food, or maybe there’s a class at school that’s really hard for you.

How does thinking about those things make you feel?

When I think about things I don’t like, or things that make me unhappy, I feel unhappy. My stomach starts to hurt, and I sometimes feel angry and sad. Does that happen to you?

Take all those things you dislike and tuck them away in a pretend box so you can forget about them for moment.

Now think about all things you love about your school: the friends you have there, that extra-special teacher, or the classes and subjects you LOVE.

How do those things make you feel?

When I think about things I love, I smile, I feel happy, and it makes my whole body feel happy. The way I feel when I think about my best friend, my favorite foods, doing something super fun, or my pets can’t be beat. And that’s not just a feeling in my head — when I feel happy, my body releases chemicals called hormones that affect every part of me!

You release different hormones when you think about unhappy things, and those affect your brain and body, too.

Which would you rather feel: happy or sad?

What should I be grateful for?

Anything good! Anything that makes you happy! Anything you have that another person might not…like:

Do you have enough to eat so that you don’t go hungry? Do you love your dog or cat a lot? Do your parents take care of you and keep you safe? Do you have good friends? Do you live in a beautiful place? Do you have a special talent?

There are so many things to be grateful for that I can’t possibly list them all!

How are you supposed to express your gratitude?

You can express your gratitude in a lot of ways. Here are some suggestions:

Make a thank you card for a person you’re grateful for.
Silently think about things that make you happy
Sharing your gratitude out loud often helps other people to remember to be grateful…

And possibly the best way to share your gratitude is by sharing your happiness and resources (like money, food, or your helping hands) with a person who has less than you. Spreading your gratitude by helping others starts a gratitude chain reaction that can’t be stopped!

This season and EVERY DAY, be sure to remember what you’re grateful for…and don’t forget to SHARE! 🙂

Pedal Laughing

by YogaKids Team

Laughter is an international language. Pedaling a bike is excellent exercise. Put these two together and travel to the land of ha ha he he health.

Instructions

Sit in a chair or lie on your back.
Bend your arms and legs like you are riding bicycles in the air.
Pedal forward: laugh.
Pedal backward: laugh.

It might be hard to really laugh at first, but once you get started, you won’t be able to stop. Have fun and be silly with this pose!

Parents and Teachers

Laughing is a great way to lighten up an intense mood or situation. If tension is mounting and bad moods are escalating designate a laughing break. Remind yourself and your children to look at the lighter side of things.

Activity Ideas for Home or Classroom

Math Medley/Awesome Anatomy

Count out loud or use a timer to see how long each person can maintain their pedal laughing. Time pulses and heart rates too. Make a chart or graph to look at the comparisons.

Body Benefits

Laughter lowers blood pressure, reduces stress hormones, increases muscle flexion, boosts immune function and produces a natural body chemical called endorphins, which make you naturally feel good.

Musical Musings

Form a pedal laughing chorus or choir. High tone laughters are sopranos, low tone ones are bass. Medium low laughers are tenors and medium high are altos. Take turns being the conductors to bring in different voices, get louder or faster and to stop.

Nutrition Tip

Have fun with your food! Many of us have a “love-hate” relationship with food. It is a necessary part of our daily lives but is often confusing, time consuming and takes us away from other activities we would rather be doing. This week bring laughter into your life with the Pedal Pose and bring that laughter and feeling of play into the kitchen.

Have family members create their favorite meal – participate in the menu planning, preparation and cleaning.
Play music in the kitchen.
Keep fresh flowers in your eating area.
Practice cooking different types of foods – get the children involved in cooking new foods and new recipes. Connect Food to cultures or countries your children may be studying in school.
Have family members select a vegetable or fruit of the week – something you have never tried – they find a recipe(s) and help with the preparation.
Try to sit down and eat as a family at least a couple of times a week – no TV, no phones, no computers. Enjoy a fun relaxed meal together.

Om a Little Teapot Triangle

by YogaKids Team

This is our version of the classic pose, or asana, called Trikonasana. Tri- means three. Kona- means angle. Asana means pose. Three angles form a triangle. Can you find the triangles in this pose?

Instructions

Begin in mountain. Jump your feet and arms apart.
Turn your right foot so it points to the right.
Turn your left toes as far to the right as you can. Imagine a line from the back of your right heel straight into the middle of your left arch. Line up your feet on this imaginary line, to provide an even base for your triangle pose.
Press down evenly through both feet and feel strength in your legs.
Place your left hand on your hip as the teapot handle.
Bend your right arm to form the spout. (Photo a shows through step 6.)
Sing the teapot song, with these variations:

Om a little teapot short and stout.
Here is my handle.
Here is my spout.

Release your left hand from the hip and slide it down your leg. Stretch your right arm straight out to the side, as you extend and lengthen the right ribcage and the hips move left. (Photo b)

When I get all steamed up, I reach out…

From the hip hinge, tilt the upper body sideways right, as the hips swivel more to the left. Stretch your ribcage and spine away from the opposite moving hips. Release your right hand down. Lift your left arm up. (Photo c)

Then tip me over and pour me up . ..

If you feel yourself pitched too far forward, lift your right hand higher on the leg and rotate your chest skyward.
If it’s comfortable, turn your head and look up. If not, look forward or down.
To return to center, just wiggle your fingers and return to an upright positon with your arms still extended out to the sides. Turn your feet so your toes point straight forward and jump back to center.
Breathe in and out. Jump again to practice triangle and pour tea on the opposite side.

Note for Parents and Teachers

This pose increases strength and flexibility of the feet, legs, hips and neck. It helps lengthen the spine, too.

With young children, ignore the detailed directions of the feet. For children approximately 10 and older, or if they have been practicing for a while, we can begin to give them more details on structure and alignment. When they start asking questions, you will know that they are interested enough to begin to grasp the subtleties of shape and form in their poses.

Activity Ideas for Home and Classroom

Musical Musings

Here’s the YogaKids version of this classic rhyme. This song and other YogaKids favorites can be found on the Fitness Fun CD by Marsha Wenig.

Om a little teapot short and stout.
Here is my handle.
Here is my spout.
When I get all steamed up, I reach out.
Then tip me over and pour me up.

Bridge of Diamonds

Instead of beginning this classic teapot rhyme with I’m, in YogaKids we start with OM. The yogis say Om is the sound of the universe. Uni means one and verse means song. When we join together, we make beautiful music!

Math Medley

There are three different types of triangles. They are:

Equilateral (all sides are equal)
Isosceles (two sides are equal)
Scalene (All sides are unequal)

See how many different triangles you can make with your legs and arms.

Peanut Butter and Jelly

by YogaKids Team

Stretch your whole body – arms, legs, toes, spine and fingers. Become gooey and sweet as you fold forward and make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Instructions

Begin in L is for Left. Reach up and grab the peanut butter and jelly jars that are floating through the air. Can you reach them?
Rub PB & J all over your hands and smear it between your toes. Fold forward and make a sandwich by pressing your upper body towards your lower body.
Spread it all over your legs and on your belly as you learn the names of your bones and muscles.
Wash your face and hair in peanut butter and jelly.

Activity Ideas for Home or Classroom

Awesome Anatomy

Teach your children to learn the parts of their body with age appropriate anatomical names and words.

Body Benefits

When you fold forward at the hip hinge, like in this pose, it is called a forward bend. Forward bends stretch the hamstrings, calves and all the muscles of the back. In time, you will become more flexible and be able to lengthen your legs and spine more.

Math Medley

The average child eats 1,500 PB&J sandwiches before he or she graduates high school. How many is that each day, week, month, year, decade, century?

Bridge of Diamonds

In other countries, peanut butter is not as popular as it is in the US and Canada. In Australia, they eat Vegemite, in Italy, they eat pizza. In Mexico, tacos. Black beans and rice in Brazil. Chicken rice in Singapore. Pho in Vietnam.

Nutrition Tip

Since many of you just love PB&J, take it up a few notches with these healthy tips.

Start with a multi grain, whole grain bread. One fun way to get your kids involved is making bread. The easiest and fastest way is to use a bread machine. Children love to put in the ingredients before they go the bed at night, set the timer and wake up to the smell and taste of delicious, homemade bread. Yummy. And they are so proud of themselves too.
Try using a jar of natural or organic peanut butter. Try to avoid the peanut butters with partially hydrogenated oils – they have a long shelf life and lots of flavor but the trans fat are unhealthy and do not digest well in our bodies. Did you know you can make butter from all kinds of nuts: almonds, cashews, sesame, pistachio. Try it out.
How about bananas instead of Jelly? What else would taste yummy with peanut butter? Apples? Honey? Avocado? Experiment and explore. Look for jams made from the whole fruit. These are naturally sweetened without the addition of high fructose corn syrup and other added sugars.

Moo and Meow!

by YogaKids Team

Instructions

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.

This combination can be done sitting too. Your child can sit at the edge of a chair, hands resting on the knees, and move the spine back and forth.

Activity Ideas for Home or Classroom

Math Medley
The arched cat back is a convex curve; that is, it curves outward instead of inward. The cow spine is concave, which means it curves inward. A scoop of ice cream is convex, but the inside of a cone is concave. Help your child find convex and concave objects, or have them pair convex/concave objects like the ice cream example.

Visual Vignettes/Art
In addition of the math activity, have your children draw different convex and concave objects. Some convex shapes include baseball caps, camels, domes of buildings. Some concave shapes include skating ramps, bowls, funnels. Can you think of more? Draw and label these items.

Awesome Anatomy
The bones that make up the spine are called vertebrae. Humans have 26 vertebrae, while cats and cows have about 52. This pose keeps your spine flexible.

Lizard

by YogaKids Team

Lizards are cousins of dinosaurs and belong to the reptile family. There are thousands of different types of lizards living in all kinds of environments, from rainforests to deserts. The only places lizards don’t like are very, very cold places. Lizards are amazing! Geckos have special toes that allow them to grip and climb surfaces that are too smooth for most other creatures – like glass. Chameleons have built-in camouflage and change color to match their surroundings. Some lizards can swim, some can drop their tails when attacked and grow new ones, and horny toads are covered in spines and shoot blood from their eyes! The smallest lizards are chameleons from Madagascar that are only a few tens-of-millimeters in length, and the biggest ones are the poisonous Komodo dragons of Indonesia, which can reach 10 feet and 150 pounds.

Instructions

Lie down 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. Draw your shoulders back and away from your ears. Walk like a lizard, slowly and carefully. Flick your tongue in and out as you check for danger and maybe catch a bug for a snack. Your scales protect you and will keep you strong and fearless.

Note to Parents and Teachers

Lizard can be practiced in a stationary position, although children like to have lizard races too. If you need them to do something, like a chore or a task, send them off in lizard pose to complete their mission.

If grinding the teeth or suffering from TMJ affects you or your child, practicing lizard tongue will help. Flick and loosen the tongue to unlock and relax the jaw.

Activity Ideas for Home or Classroom

Laughing Language

Make a lizard tongue twister with the letter L, such as “Long lizards lie lollygagging. . .”

We All Win

Take a lizard walk with a partner while you trade tongue-twisters.

Math Medley

How far can you walk as a lizard? Count the steps or measure the distance in feet and inches.

Awesome Anatomy

Clenching the jaw, sends signals of tightness to the brain via the sensory nerves. The motor nerves then communicate that sense back to the body. Practicing lizard tongue, relaxes the jaw, and alleviates tension.

Eagle

by YogaKids Team

Have you heard the expression, ‘as sharp as an eagle’s eye’? An eagle can see fish moving in the water from hundreds of feet in the air, as well as rabbits running almost a mile away. Their aerodynamically perfect wings contain about 7,000 feathers. They can gracefully glide great distances without flapping them.

Instructions

Stand in mountain.
Stretch your arms out to the side.
Exhale. Make an X crossing the arms above the elbows and give yourself a hug. Entwine them around each other.
Press the palms together in Namaste or interlace your fingers. Lift the arms.
Bend your knees. Cross one leg over the thigh and wrap it behind the calf.
Ground and perch with your lower body. Ascend and fly with your upper body.

Doesn’t this standing twist feel eagle-riffic!? Unwind. Wrap it up on the other side.

Notes for Parents and Teachers

The wrapping of the arms is a great stretch for the upper back and shoulders, as well as the fingers and wrist joints. If you or your child spend a considerable amount of time at the computer, take regular 1/2 eagle breaks sitting at your desk. Stand up now and then and do the full eagle too. It will energize your legs and invigorate your lower back, too.

Activity Ideas for Home or Classroom

Ecological Echoes

The use of DDT, a deadly pesticide, which is still being used today in many parts of the world, almost wiped out the eagle, our symbol of freedom. As Chief Seattle said, “We are part of the earth and the earth is part of us.” When we use chemicals on our grass or in our soil, they eventually come full circle. Teach your YogaKids to respect the earth and all of the flora and fauna that we share this planet with.

Laughing Language

Can you find words within the word eagle? Here are a few to get you started; leg, eel, age. Keep looking with your eagle eyes.

Brain Balance

The combination of the twisting and entwining in this pose invigorates the brain. It increases the flow of oxygen to make you alert and smart.

Dromedary Delight

by YogaKids Team

A camel has two humps, and a dromedary, a type of camel, has only one. Both store fat (not water) in their humps.

Instructions

Kneel on the floor with your legs and knees hip width apart.
Press the tops of your feet into the floor, push the thighs forward, bring the hands to the lower back with fingers pointing upward and lift the chest.
Breathe evenly in and out, as you extend the ribcage and broaden your chest.
Continue to lift your chest with each breath as you curl your toes forward and bring your hands to the heels to imitate the camel’s hump. The head can come back (as shown) or tuck into the chest.
Delight in the dromedary for ten seconds.
Rest in the child’s pose after each of these backbends.
Repeat.

Increase the times and repetitions as your spine and chest continue to become more flexible.

Note to Parents and Teachers

This pose strengthens the back and kidneys. Because of its chest opening ability, it can increase lung capacity and can be especially beneficial for children with asthma. It also helps the posture of those with drooping shoulders and rounded backs.

Activity Ideas for Home and Classroom

Ecological Echoes

Camels and dromedaries avoid trotting and galloping whenever possible in order to save water and energy. They can survive for months without water and can drink up to 35 gallons of water at a time.

Awesome Anatomy

Lift your chest, by letting the arch of your spine and your back ribs support you. Imagine your back ribs as lounge chairs for your lungs. Let your lungs expand and rest on these slatted chairs. Feel how much your lungs can expand when you breathe fully.

The lungs are light and spongy and are filled with millions of air channels which provide an enormous surface to absorb oxygen. If your lungs were flattened out, they’d make a slippery surface the size of a tennis court!*

* The Children’s Atlas of the Human Body by Richard Walker, The Millbrook Press Inc., 1994, Pg. 24

Down Diggety Doggie Down

by YogaKids Team

Dogs have been our best friends for over 12,000 years. They frequently roam in packs, just like many kids and teens like to do. This is a tough pose but it will make you feel “down-diggety-doggy” good!

Doggy & Master – Down Diggety Dog Down as a group pose

Instructions

Begin on your hands and knees in all fours.
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.
Release your neck and head down. Growl, yawn, bark and make other doggy sounds.

To Make the Dog go Pee-Pee

Bend your knee and rotate your belly and chest upward. Raise one leg up and ‘mark your territory’ just like dogs do. Keep your hands pressing downward and your arms straight. Dogs leave their scent so other animals know they´ve been there. Lift your opposite leg too.

Note to Parents and Teachers

Take turns walking the dog. Children love to “walk their parents” and give them instructions too. This role reversal is very empowering and fun for the kids. Grab a hold of the back of their shirt like you´re holding a leash. Lead them around. Give them directions; slower, faster, turn around, sit, stay, roll over. Let your doggy rest after the walk. Have her lie on her back with her arms and legs in the air. Scratch her behind her ears. Scratch her belly too. Give her a bone and a kiss on her nose before she rolls over and stretches back into Down Diggety Doggy Down.

Activity Ideas for Home or Classroom

Body Benefits
This pose strengthens the legs and arms as well as relieves stiffness in the shoulders. With regular practice, Down Dog can also help correct curvature of the spine such as scoliosis.

Math Medley/Musical Musings/We All Win
Play the Canine Calling game. One child creates a pattern of growls, barks and other doglike sounds. The other child repeats it, and adds more sounds. Go back and forth. Have fun with your whole family.

Awesome Anatomy
This pose works the muscles of the legs; ankles, calves and hamstrings. When you first do this pose, your leg muscles might feel really tight, but with time and practice they will grow stronger and more elastic.

Character Education
Dogs that are treated well have great loyalty to their owners. What does it mean to be loyal? What are some of the ways children can take care of their dogs? Grooming, feeding, loving…..what else can you do to keep your pet safe and happy?

Butterfly with Antennae

by YogaKids Team

When the butterfly first emerges from her cocoon, she will rest on a twig and spread open her wings to dry. Then she will gently flap her wings to warm them up before she takes off on her first flight. Where would you fly on your first flight?

Instructions

Begin in the “L” pose.
Bring the bottoms of your feet together with your heels close to your body.
Open your knees out to each side.
Extend your neck and the top of your head towards the sky. Stretch your spine long and strong.
Place your hands at the sides of your head and stick out your fingers for antennae.
Pull your arms back—now they’re your wings. Breathe in and out as you flap your wings forward and back. Flap your leg wings up and down, too.

Notes for Parents and Teachers

Did you know you have antenna? Remember the times that you’ve sensed something before it occurred, or had a hunch and were right. This is called intuition. Intuition is having knowledge of something you haven’t seen. Our antenna help us achieve this. Try to honor your children’s instincts. It empowers them, and teaches them to trust their inner knowing. It’s an important survival skill to acquire at a young age. Balanced with a sense of love and trust in one’s self, this inner knowing will build confidence and trust that will serve them for life.

Activity Ideas for Home or Classroom

Ecological Echoes

Insects, like the butterfly, use their antennae like reptiles use their tongues. They are like a “sixth sense” to help detect danger, smell, and get a ‘reading’ on things in the air.

Quiet Quests/Visual Vignettes

Close your eyes. Get quiet and listen. Wiggle your antennae around. What do you sense? What do you see, smell or feel? Draw a picture of what you experience with your antenna.

Laughing Language

Take a butterfly journey from A to Z. Think of a place to go that begins with the letter A. Fly there right away. Then think of a place that begins with B and fly there, too. Fly through the alphabet, all the way to Zanzibar.

Brain Balance

Flapping your leg wings up and down and your arm wings back and forth, is kind of like rubbing your tummy and patting your head. It takes coordination and communication between the brain and the body. Practicing your butterflying will stimulate the dendrites (the branches of the brain cells) to grow and make new neural pathways.

That Makes Me Smile!

by YogaKids Team

October 3rd is World Smile Day, this is a special day that encourage smiles and acts of kindness around the world on that day.

How can you make people smile?

Here are a few ideas:

Say something nice to a friend, like, “I am glad we are friends”.
Help your mom with chores around the house
Bring your teacher an apple
Share something with your brother or sister
Smile at everyone you pass on the street
Write a letter or email to a relative you haven’t seen in a while

We hope these tips inspire you to come up with some of your own ideas to spread kindness on October 3, or any day!

The Beauty and Brilliance of Bees

by Don Wenig

by Don Wenig

Last spring I started a new adventure as a beekeeper. I’ve been cultivating a native wildflower garden for the past several years and who better to enjoy the flowers but the bees? Perhaps in return we’ll enjoy some of the honey they produce.

This has been such a learning adventure. Because of my lack of experience and understanding of how the hive works, my bees rans out of space to expand and — without consulting me –decided to swarm.

They just took off! Moved on in search of a new place. Oh no…no honey! Of all the nerve! The bees left in search of greener pastures with absolutely no regard to my bruised ego.

It seemed to me that all was lost. No queen, no eggs, a significantly reduced bee population, what had I done? Had I failed the bees? Had the bees failed me? Had I jumped into something I had no business attempting? Ok…breathe. I’m a novice and have a lot to learn. It’s ok.

To get help in this unknown territory I reached out to a gentleman I had recently bee-friended. An experienced bee keeper named Bill. Bill is a lanky 72 year old vet with a twinkle in his eyes. He loves bees, is knowledgeable, has unquestionable faith that things are just as they should be.

He suggested I slow down and trust in the bees. If the hive was supposed to survive it would…or maybe it wouldn’t. The hive has a collective consciousness and will do it’s best to find a new balance. Thanks guru Bill.

While I sat on pins and needles the worker bees made a new queen…something, I learned, they do. While I wasn’t looking the new queen hatched, flew out, mated, came back and started fulfilling her sole purpose of laying eggs. The hive took care of business. Restored balance. They’re back and better than ever. Trust in nature.

All of life is a learning adventure. What if that’s all we’re really here for? Isn’t that natural curiosity and daring what we love about our kids? What they thrive on? To try new things, to learn from everything around them and from one another? A big YogaKids YES!

The bees are teaching me about patience, trust, ease and awareness. To be gentle and compassionate towards myself. Like Bill…simply be present to what is. Whether it’s the hive that swarms or life presenting the infinite surprises that it does, take joy in it all, love it all, be kind, celebrate and bee happy.

YOGAKIDS POSES TO DO WITH YOUR KIDS!

Beezing: Begin in Child’s Pose. Reach back and interlace your fingers behind you. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and lift your arm wings up. Move your head, upper body and wings back and forth as you fly like a bee. Bring your tongue to the roof of your mouth. Hum and buzz like a bee. Land on a flower and practice straw sipping as you sip the tasty nectar from the flowers.

Electric Circle: 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.

Caprese & Seasonal Eating

by Jessica McNeil

Caprese is a simple, delicious Italian salad. It is pronounced: kah-PRAY-zeh.

Caprese is one of my favorite summer dishes, and it’s best enjoyed when the ingredients are in season. What does that mean – “in season”?

When you eat foods that are in season, that means you are eating food that is naturally growing and being harvested at the time you’re eating it. For instance, tomatoes are harvested throughout the summer, so that is the best time to eat them. Although you may still see tomatoes in the store in wintertime, they are not in season at that time. The reason they don’t taste great is because they must be shipped from a place where they ARE in season, and since they must be transported by truck, they have to be picked before they are fully ripe. So the tomatoes you eat in the winter are not-fully-ripe fruits that have been sitting in boxes from the moment they came from the greenhouse — or even a different continent* — and have been through a long road-trip to get to you.

On the other hand, if you and your parents can go to a farmers market in the summertime, where the farmers pick the fruit they sell very close to when you buy it and bring it home, you will likely get better tasting produce that is in-season and ripe. Freshly picked summer tomatoes and basil will make the very best caprese.

*About food from different continents: For instance, in the autumn here in California, I often see spring fruits — like blueberries — at the store that have been shipped from Chile, which is in South America. The seasons in the northern hemisphere are opposite of the southern hemisphere. When it is winter here, it is summer in Chile; in fall here, it is spring in the southern hemisphere. Do you have a globe? Can you see how far away Chile is? Imagine the long drive those blueberries had to make! I wonder if they bugged their blueberry moms and dads the whole way here…

Do you know what types of fruits and vegetables can be grown where you live? Which ones are in season now?

Serves: 4

The shopping list:

4 beautiful locally grown tomatoes (depending on season)

16 ounces of fresh mozzarella (It might be labeled “Buffalo Mozzarella”)

1 small red onion

1 large handful of fresh basil

4 teaspoons Extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

Kosher salt

Basil pesto (see recipe)

The Prep

Slice tomatoes into ‘coins,’ that are the width of your pinky finger nail.

Slice your mozzarella the same size

Chop your red onion into small squares, the smaller the better… Very very small (parents may want to supervise or lend a hand here).

The Fun Part

Serving dish: One large white plate

With a large spoon, scoop a 1/4 cup of your previously made basil pesto onto the base of the plate. Smear the pesto around so that it evenly coats the center of the plate.

Layer the tomato and mozzarella on top of the basil pesto so that it covers the entire plate. You should have green on the edges from the pesto and nothing but beautiful layered white mozzarella and red tomatoes in the center.

Evenly drizzle both your olive oil and balsamic vinegar on top of your tomatoes and cheese.

Season lightly with salt and pepper

Garnish the plate with a sprinkle of red onion and lastly fresh basil leaves.

Changing the World… One YogaKid at a Time!

by Karen Martin

It is mid-summer and I am reminded of a story about a boy walking along the ocean. As he walked along, he would stoop down, pick up a starfish, and toss it back to the sea.

Another beach visitor, upon seeing this, stopped the boy and asked why he was doing this. There were many, many starfish past the water’s edge. The visitor figured the boy could never return all of them; why would the boy take time to do what appeared to be an impossible task? Why bother? What difference would it make?

The boy straightened up, smiled, pointed to the starfish in his hand, and said, “It makes a difference to him”.

Last summer, one of my evening teen classes had only one attendee. Having a single student in a yoga class can challenge your teaching skills when you have prepared for a larger class. My ideas of group and partner poses went right out the proverbial window with the realization that this student was the only one showing up. But the needs of that student ended up being better served by our one to one lesson. It had a lasting effect on me as an instructor and as a person.

Abandoning most of what was planned became my strategy. I followed her lead and allowed her to take me on her journey. She opened up about how life was affecting her, some unique challenges she was facing, and emotions she was dealing with. We focused on what she wanted to achieve during our time together. She wanted movement and time to talk. She wanted to do her favorite poses. She wanted to talk some more. And at the end of the class, she created a flow sequence from all of the poses we worked on that session, naming it “Water Serenity Flow.” I was so inspired by this that I created a picture representation of the vinyasa to give to her and to share with my other classes.

I learned so much in that hour lesson that its teachings still resonate with me today. Meet the student where they are, not where you want them to be. Listen, be present, be flexible. And make a difference in the life of that one starfish.

Water Serenity Flow

Talking Turtle
Bridge
Bubble Fish
Lord of the Fishes (right)
Wave
Lord of the Fishes (left)
Table Top
Spouting Dolphin
Waterman (Superman swim)
Ragdoll
Frog
Repeat!

The Benefits of Yoga for Children

by YogaKids Team

YogaKids Founder Marsah Wenig with Children

Our children live in a hurry-up world of busy parents, school pressures, incessant lessons, video games, malls, and competitive sports. We usually don’t think of these influences as stressful for our kids, but often they are. The bustling pace of our children’s lives can have a profound effect on their innate joy—and usually not for the better.

I have found that yoga can help counter these pressures. When children learn techniques for self-health, relaxation, and inner fulfillment, they can navigate life’s challenges with a little more ease. Yoga at an early age encourages self-esteem and body awareness with a physical activity that’s noncompetitive. Fostering cooperation and compassion—instead of opposition—is a great gift to give our children.

Children derive enormous benefits from yoga. Physically, it enhances their flexibility, strength, coordination, and body awareness. In addition, their concentration and sense of calmness and relaxation improves. Doing yoga, children exercise, play, connect more deeply with the inner self, and develop an intimate relationship with the natural world that surrounds them. Yoga brings that marvelous inner light that all children have to the surface.

When yogis developed the asanas many thousands of years ago, they still lived close to the natural world and used animals and plants for inspiration—the sting of a scorpion, the grace of a swan, the grounded stature of a tree. When children imitate the movements and sounds of nature, they have a chance to get inside another being and imagine taking on its qualities. When they assume the pose of the lion (Simhasana) for example, they experience not only the power and behavior of the lion, but also their own sense of power: when to be aggressive, when to retreat. The physical movements introduce kids to yoga’s true meaning: union, expression, and honor for oneself and one’s part in the delicate web of life.

A Child’s Way

Yoga with children offers many possibilities to exchange wisdom, share good times, and lay the foundation for a lifelong practice that will continue to deepen. All that’s needed is a little flexibility on the adult’s part because, as I quickly found out when I first started teaching the practice to preschoolers, yoga for children is quite different than yoga for adults.

When I had my first experience teaching yoga to kids at a local Montessori school, I looked forward to the opportunity with confidence—after all, I’d been teaching yoga to adults for quite a while, had two young children of my own, and had taught creative writing for several years in various Los Angeles schools. But after two classes with a group of 3 to 6-year-olds, I had to seriously reevaluate my approach. I needed to learn to let go (the very practice I had been preaching for years) of my agenda and my expectations of what yoga is and is not.

When I began to honor the children’s innate intelligence and tune in to how they were instructing me to instruct them, we began to co-create our classes. We used the yoga asanas as a springboard for exploration of many other areas—animal adaptations and behavior, music and playing instruments, storytelling, drawing—and our time together became a truly interdisciplinary approach to learning. Together we wove stories with our bodies and minds in a flow that could only happen in child’s play.

The kids began to call me Mrs. Yoga, and I called them Yoga Kids. We continued to work and play together until our creations bloomed into a program called YogaKids. The program combines yogic techniques designed especially for children using Dr. Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences. Gardner, an author and professor of education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, describes eight intelligences innate in all of us—linguistic, logical, visual, musical, kinesthetic, naturalistic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal—and emphasizes that children should be given the opportunity to develop and embody as many of these as possible.

In keeping with this theory, YogaKids integrates storytelling, games, music, language, and other arts into a complete curriculum that engages the “whole child.” We employ ecology, anatomy, nutrition, and life lessons that echo yogic principles of interdependence, oneness, and fun. Most of all, our program engages the entire mind, body, and spirit in a way that honors all the ways children learn.

Taking the Practice Home

If you’re planning to teach yoga to kids, there are a few general things to know that will enhance your experience. The greatest challenge with children is to hold their attention long enough to teach them the benefits of yoga: stillness, balance, flexibility, focus, peace, grace, connection, health, and well-being. Luckily, most children love to talk, and they love to move—both of which can happen in yoga. Children will jump at the chance to assume the role of animals, trees, flowers, warriors. Your role is to step back and allow them to bark in the dog pose, hiss in the cobra, and meow in cat stretch. They can also recite the ABCs or 123s as they are holding poses. Sound is a great release for children and adds an auditory dimension to the physical experience of yoga.

Children need to discover the world on their own. Telling them to think harder, do it better, or be a certain way because it’s good for them is not the optimal way. Instead, provide a loving, responsive, creative environment for them to uncover their own truths. As they perform the various animal and nature asanas, engage their minds to deepen their awareness. When they’re snakes (Bhujangasana), invite them to really imagine that they’re just a long spine with no arms and legs. Could you still run or climb a tree? In Tree Pose (Vrksasana), ask them to imagine being a giant oak, with roots growing out of the bottoms of their feet. Could you stay in the same position for 100 years? If you were to be chopped down, would that be OK? Would it hurt?

When they stretch like a dog, balance like a flamingo, breathe like a bunny, or stand strong and tall like a tree, they are making a connection between the macrocosm of their environment and the microcosm of their bodies. The importance of reverence for all life and the principle of interdependence becomes apparent. Children begin to understand that we are all made of the same “stuff.” We’re just in different forms.

Think of yourself as a facilitator rather than a teacher. Guide your children while simultaneously opening your heart and letting them guide you. They’ll no doubt invite you into a boundless world of wonder and exploration. If you choose to join them, the teaching/learning process will be continually reciprocal and provide an opportunity for everyone to create, express themselves, and grow together.

This article was first published by Yoga Journal, August 28 2007.

Using the YogaKids Elements for Children with Depression

by Julie Pate

Depression is the most common mental health problem in the United States today. According to The National Institute of Mental Health, depression affects 17 million people of all ages, races, and economic backgrounds. Rates of depression among young people in America have been increasing steadily for the past 50 to 70 years. An estimated 2.8 million adolescents aged 12 to 17 in the United States had at least one major depressive episode in the past year. This number represented 11.4% of the U.S. population aged 12 to 17. As many as 1 in every 33 children may have depression; in teens, that number may be as high as 1 in 8.

Causes

In depression, the sympathetic nervous system is over activated, and the parasympathetic nervous system is under activated. As in adults, depression in children can be caused by any combination of factors that relate to physical health, life events, family history, environment, genetic vulnerability and biochemical disturbance. Depression is not a passing mood, nor is it a condition that children will just grow out of. In her book Yoga for Depression, Registered Yoga Teacher Amy Weintraub says that alienation from life is the root of depression. Children today are overscheduled, overstimulated, and moving at an exhausting rate. From school to activities to long hours of homework at night, there is little time for play, reflection, or connection. Many American children have lost their freedom to play and explore on their own. Often children have structured games, lessons, activities, and aren’t allowed to hop on their bikes and explore the world. They often don’t get the chance to use their own creativity to find fun, make new friends, or learn new skills. The increase in technology use has caused children to become isolated from each other, family and the world. Many children have their faces in a screen, and are missing out on making meaningful connections with loved ones and friends. There is a drive in our society for everyone to be the same, and anyone that differs from that ideal suffers. Children are losing the chance to shine their own unique light on the world, and rejoice in their own magnificence.

Symptoms

Symptoms of depression include: Irritability, anger, sadness, hopelessness, social withdrawal, changes in appetite and sleep, difficulty concentrating, fatigue and low energy. In addition, some children exhibit physical complaints (such as stomachaches, headaches) that don’t respond to treatment. Loss of interest in activates that they used to enjoy, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, impaired thinking or concentration and thoughts of death or suicide are also cited as symptoms.

“I tell you; deep inside you is a fountain of bliss, a fountain of joy. Deep inside your center core is truth, light, and love, there is no guilt, there is no fear. Psychologists have never looked deep enough.” – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

How Yoga Helps

Yoga teachers cannot diagnose or treat depression, but can give children and their parents many tools they can use to alleviate the symptoms of depression. Yoga addresses the root cause of depression: the energy drain caused by the overreactions of our mind to the stress of our world and the pressures of our own fears and desires. Yoga strengthens feelings of joy, peace, and connectedness. New Hampshire Hospital study, conducted with 113 psychiatric inpatients, researchers found that those who participated in a yoga program for depression displayed improvement in all five negative emotion factors tested by the Profile of Mood States (POMS). Factors included tension/anxiety, depression/dejection, anger/hostility, fatigue/inertia, and confusion/bewilderment.

How YogaKids Helps

YogaKids creator Marsha Wenig created 14 original Elements which allow yoga teachers to take yoga’s very adult tools and make them child friendly. The Elements also allow teachers to accommodate many different learning styles and conditions in one class. The Elements help teachers create fun, educational and safe yoga classes that kids love.

The Eight Limbed Path

In The Yoga Sutras by Patanjali, an eight limbed path is outlined. Patanjali’s threads of wisdom lead us on a path towards living a peaceful life, which still remains relevant today some 1600 years after they were written. Creating a yoga program for children based on this path will give teachers many tools to help students reduce suffering, and learn to live vibrant, happy lives.

Yamas and Niyamas

The first two limbs of Patanjali’s path are yoga’s guidelines to help us make skillful choices in our daily lives and they include the Yamas: kindness (ahimsa) , truthfulness (satya) , nonstealing (asteya) , moderation (Brahmacharya) , generosity (aparigraha) and the Niyamas: purity (Saucha), contentment (Santosha), self-discipline (tapas), self-study (Svadhyaya) and surrender (ishvara pranidhana). These guidelines can be woven into a group or personal practice for children teaching them practical ways to integrate all of these qualities into their daily lives. When practicing the yamas and niyamas, children will find these guidelines will help them live happy productive lives honoring themselves, others and the environment. These guidelines will also help children deal with difficult situations and give them a blueprint for conflict resolution and help them avoid behaviors that may cause suffering. Below, are a few examples of how to teach the Yamas and Niyamas to children.

Yamas and Niyamas in Action

The YogaKids program uses reading and literature with their unique Element called Reading Comes Alive with Yoga. Using this Element, teachers will find many wonderful books that can be incorporated into a yoga class to teach children about the Yamas and Niyamas. In the book Fill a Bucket by Carol McCloud and Katherine Martin, children learn how our buckets can be filled with happiness and love when other people treat us well, and in turn, we can make other people happy with our actions. They also teach that our buckets get filled when we practice gratitude, help others, and spend time in nature. This is an example of how to weave both kindness (ahimsa) and contentment (santosa) into a children’s yoga class.

Tapas or self-discipline is a wonderful Niyama to bring into a child’s personal or group practice, often children suffering from depression have lost their fire, they have little desire. This Niyama can be practiced in asana by having students practice a challenging pose like Warrior 1 (Virabhadrasana I) for a short period of time, and gradually increase the length time.

Another YogaKids Element is Affirmations. Positive affirmations can be added to many poses to weave in this sense of power that many children are lacking. Having the children repeat, “I am strong, I am bold, my own power, I will hold!” will help children affirm their own strength while practicing a powerful pose. Practicing tapas in many different ways will help depressed children improve their energy level and mood.

Asana

Asana or physical postures that are performed in a mindful way to help strengthen, and stretch the body to alleviate physical discomfort and pain will be an important tool for children suffering from depression. A well-thought-out asana practice can help student’s develop a healthy relationship with their bodies, improve energy levels and mood, and increase both strength and flexibility. Asana poses that have a warming (Brahmana) effect would be excellent for children suffering from depression because they tend to be sluggish, can’t get off the couch, with little motivation. The YogaKids program has many energizing poses such as Volcano where students can explode all their tension out while lifting their arms up over and over again just like a volcano exploding. Yoga Teacher BKS Iyengar said “we will never get depressed if we keep our armpits open”. Heart opening poses such as S is for Snake or Cobra pose (Bhujangasana) will help students feel uplifted. Twists such as Twist and Blow will help students wring tension from their spine.

Pranayama

“When we restrict the breath, we are diminishing the spirt. When we relearn to breathe fully and deeply, we are enlarging the spirit and reconnecting with the Self. “– Amy Weintraub

Pranayama on a very basic level is simply conscious breathing, and even very young children can expand and become aware of their own breath. Breath work can give children a special tool they can use when they feel afraid, stressed, or nervous. It can be practiced in the classroom, car or on the soccer field. Our breath and nervous system are linked, so if we slow down and strengthen the breath, we are also strengthening the parasympathetic (peaceful) nervous system. Our breath is very individual to us; it is similar to our thumb print. Children suffering from depression tend to have a shallow breath, so if we can strengthen the breath, suffering may be reduced. YogaKids Bunny Breath is similar to Kapalabhati Pranayama and is a fun child-friendly way to teach children an energizing breath.

Pratyahara

This limb translates as “to withdraw oneself from that which nourishes the senses”, it is about turning inward. Children today are bombarded with sense stimulation, from sweet candy and drinks, to loud cartoons, to fast carnival rides; they become slaves of the senses. This limb encourages a turning inward which offers students a quiet calm that can have long-lasting positive effects. The YogaKids Element Visual Vignette allows children to use markers, crayons, glitter, and other craft supplies to express their creativity. A popular Visual Vignette activity is “The Mind in a Jar”. Sinking glitter is put in a jar with water and a bit of glycerin, children shake the bottle and sit quietly and watch as the glitter sinks slowly to the bottom. As the glitter sinks, so do the thoughts, and by the time the glitter sinks to the bottom, students feel calm and peaceful.

Dharana

The sixth limb of yoga is concentration, as Yoga Teacher TKV Desikachar described in his book The Heart of Yoga, Dhr means to hold. The essential idea in the concept of dharana is holding the concentration or focus of attention in one direction.” Even very young children can enjoy the benefits of dharana with a simpleYogaKids technique using a Hoberman Sphere. Children gaze at the ball and watch as it slowly opens and closes. Even very young YogaKids will be totally focused using this method.

Dhyana

The seventh limb takes dharana one step further, and the concentration is held and a link is established between the object and the subject. In the example above, students keep their focus on the Hoberman Sphere for an extended period of time, and create a deep connection with the sphere.

Samadhi

The eighth limb means “to bring together, to merge” and our identity melts away, and nothing separates us from the object, we become one with it. As BKS Iyengar states in his book Light on Life “In the speed of modern life, there is an unavoidable undertone of stress. This stress on the mind builds up mental disturbances, such as anger and desire, which in turn build up emotional stress. Meditation will not remove stress. Meditation is only possible when one has already achieved a certain ‘stressless’ state. To be stressless, the brain must already be calm and cool. By learning how to relax the brain, one can begin to remove stress”. In Dharana and Dhyana students reduce stress and allow for deeper states of peace to occur. In Patanjali’s final 3 limbs, students have the opportunity to connect to the sweetness of their own essence which is pure light, pure love. The YogaKids Element Quiet Quest incorporates all three of Patanjali’s last limbs with activities such as Swim Ducky Swim, Guided Visualizations and Lemon Toes. All of these activates will help children calm down, and slow down the “monkey mind”.

Conclusion

The world our children live in today is growing evermore stressful. YogaKids has many tools to offer children suffering from either depressive disorders, or random bouts of depression. As Yoga Teachers, we do not diagnose or treat depressive disorders, but we can offer reduction of suffering. Yoga’s many tools also offer relief without a long list of side effects, and children will learn tools that will help them their whole lives. Yoga at a young age can teach the ability to create balance in kid’s lives. YogaKids provides an effective approach along with helpful tools to make it simple for parents and teachers to connect, contribute and lay the ground work for healthy, happy lives.

References

Adele, Deborah. (2009) The Yamas and Niyamas. Duluth, Minnesota. On-Wood Bound Books

Desikachar, T.K.V. (1995). The Heart of Yoga. Vermont: Inner Traditions International.

Gray, Peter. (2013) Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life. New York, NY. Basic Books

Iyengar, B.K.S. (2005). Light on Life. Rodale Inc.

Iyengar, B.K.S. (1981). Light on Pranayama. Harper Thorsons

Iyengar, B.K.S. (1993). Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Thorsons

kidshealth.org

Weintraub, Amy. (2004). Yoga for Depression. Broadway Books

Wenig, Marsha. (2003) YogaKids: Educating The Whole Child Through Yoga. New York, NY. Stewart, Tabori & Chang.

GHelp children with depression as a Certified YogaKids Teacher!

Questions for Your Words

by Karen Martin

Another Saturday of cleaning found me working to remove paper that somehow became stuck to the kitchen counter top. Actually more like glued. Irritating. I could scrub it off with lots of elbow grease, energy and sweat. Using lots of rigorous and repetitious effort. Or I could spray cleanser on the area and let it soak for a bit. Returning later, it would easily wipe clean. Less energy but still get the job done.

How our words are used can be thought of in a similar way. In wanting to get my point across, I sometimes use the first approach (lots of elbow grease) for discussing a sticky situation. Constantly repeating my same words, like relentlessly scouring a spot over and over. The conversation becomes less give and take and more my unbending position being expressed. I (foolishly) think it is effective (at the time) but eventually find that it falls on deaf ears and just totally wears me out.

The second method where stuff just “sits” for a bit? I compare it to a brief chat with thoughtful listening. Then allow time for meaning and relevance to sink in. Expectation for an immediate response and subsequent action can wait (the spot is annoying but not harming my counter top)! We have time to evaluate our discussion points. When the source of irritation is revisited we can probably come up with a workable solution.

We talk with our teens at many points during a YogaKids class. It is not only our choice of words that matter but how we choose to verbalize our instruction, directions, and feedback. A guideline that has been helpful is Satya (truth), choosing words that will do the least harm and the most good. I have had many occasions to hear “teen drama” accounts of what happened in school, at sports, etc. that the kids arrive all abuzz about. It is a great opportunity to use Satya. Three questions can be considered when discussing any criticism, reaction, or response:

Is it true?
Is it kind?
Is it necessary?

Challenge teens to explore each of these questions on any topic that begins to trend in your class! It can be a wonderful springboard promoting compassion, empathy, and understanding. Establish boundaries that include parameters of acceptable conditions to speak freely but without harshness to others. Practice active listening. Acknowledge feelings. Be present. Observe. No judgment. No hasty solutions. Just listen.

Isn’t it amazing how the most mundane tasks can reveal a different way of thinking? It can enhance our approach with how we interact with teens. And maybe we can be more effective without all that scrubbing.

Learn how YogaKids can help you teach children of all ages and abilities!

Karma and the Helper’s High

by Julie Pate

Karma means action or deed, but also the result of an action. Hindu spiritual teacher Sri Swami Sivananda said, “There is a hidden power in karma or action which brings in fruits of karmas for the individual. The consequence of an action is really not a separate thing. It is a part of the action and cannot be divided from it.”

Much research has been done on the positive effects of doing good deeds or karma. When we engage in good deeds, we reduce our own stress — and experience what scientists are now calling the “helper’s high,” which is a feeling of empathy and love. The feeling we get from helping others is one aspect of what Sri Swami Sivananda was referring to as the fruits of karma.

Karma is woven into the fabric of the YogaKids program. YogaKids creator Marsha Wenig asks us to make commitments to our students and ourselves, and to teach with authentic joy and love. After graduating from the prestigious YogaKids program over four years ago, I continue to honor Marsha’s original intent for the YogaKids program — and always teach each class with a sense of playful optimism that brings joy to my students. Each YogaKids class I teach is a unique opportunity to work on my karma by sharing the many gifts yoga has to offer with each student.

Recently, I got the chance to practice Karma Yoga when I was asked to volunteer at a local charity. I was asked to teach a class for children who had a parent diagnosed with cancer — or, in some cases, a parent who had died from cancer. The YogaKids program is a perfect fit for this group of kids because it is fun, interactive, and just plain joyful. Children directly effected by cancer need to have fun, and they need to feel like there is fun to be had in the world. They need to understand that they deserve to have fun. These are all key components in every YogaKids class I have ever taught. YogaKids has taken the very adult topic of yoga and made it undeniable playful. Yoga encourages us to live in the moment; it teaches us to see the joy that is in the moment and not to worry about the past or the future. This concept of living in the moment is very beneficial for children who have experienced loss, as it helps them experience pleasure and happiness.

I arrived on a hot Tuesday in July with a bag full of props: beanie babies, breathing balls, coloring pages, markers, crayons and a joyful bounce in my step. Courtney, the director of the program, shared with me that they had yoga teachers come and work with the children in the past. She paused before adding, “it just didn’t work.” She didn’t have to tell me why it didn’t work because I already knew. The yoga they taught was basically an adult yoga class, and it just wasn’t fun for the kids. It was too serious. She said that it almost felt sad for the kids. “All that quiet listening to their breath,” she said. “The kids had too much time with their eyes closed to think about their sadness and grieve — and some kids afterwards said they felt worse then before they started the class.” I reassured Courtney that this class would very different from what they had experienced in the past, and that there was much fun to be had.

A large circle formed of children, volunteers and staff. Within the hour, we created, shared, moved, danced, barked, meowed, and mostly just lived from the joy in our hearts. The children were able to stay in the moment, because each moment held their attention with creative movement, laughter and imagination. The hour flew by, and ended with lemon toes — a guided exercise that helps children ring the tension out of their bodies. It left these kids feeling, as one child noted, “happy and calm.”

As we rolled up our mats and said our goodbyes, I was met with many a “thank you” and genuine positivity for the feeling the hour brought to the group. After the class, Courtney shared with me all the different aspects of the class that had surprised and delighted her and the students. “We would love to have you back,” she said. And I would love to come back.

As I floated out the door of the center, a wonderful event occurred. A deer walked across the street only about ten yards away from me. I was in a vey populated Chicago suburb; a deer siting is a very unusual occurrence. The deer is a Chinese symbol for good fortune and longevity. The word for deer in Chinese is “lu” and is a homonym of the word “income.” Consequently, the deer represents a prosperous and fortunate long life. “What an unusual coincidence,” I thought. This deer was an affirmation that I was fortunate to have worked with this group — and fortunate to have the YogaKids tools to positively impact them. I saw the deer as the fruit of my good deed. My karma.

I had parked a few blocks away from the center. When I arrived at my car, I saw a parking ticket was sitting on my windshield. I remembered that in my excitement to get to class, I had failed to put money in the meter. “Now that doesn’t seem like good fortune,” I thought. But when I took a closer look at the notice, I realized it was not a parking violation. It was simply a warning. “What a wonderful turn of events,” I thought. I didn’t see the violation as a “warning” — more of a sign that the Universe is supporting me, giving me back a little bit of what I’m putting out there. As the best-selling author Elmer Leterman once said, “Good fortune happens when preparation meets opportunity.” My preparation was the volunteer work, the opportunity was my empty meter, and the good fortune… well, I create the possibility of good fortune every day when I choose to volunteer and teach YogaKids. I had much to write about that night in my gratitude journal. The quote for the day was, “My Helpers High.”

Improve your karma as a Certified YogaKids Teacher!

EYE Love Yoga

by Alicia Mauldin

Many of us read stories to our children from the moment they are born (or before) and celebrate when they begin to read on their own – it might even rank right up there with their first word, first step or riding a bike independently. When my youngest child was in the first grade, I was told he was “behind” in his reading and we should do extra reading practice every night. We did, but it did not help.

He actually tried reading glasses for two years, but that did not help either. He did not like to wear them, and it was just another battle added to his already frustrated state while reading. He attended extra tutoring and worked with a world-renowned reading program. Though he slowly improved, he was trying to catch up with a moving train, as the demands in his grade/ classroom continued to increase as well.

He had a short attention span, quickly fatigued, got fidgety when we read together; homework took hours and don’t get me started on studying for spelling tests! He is smart – really smart – and excels in math and science, yet he sometimes he misses the answers on tests.

When I read him a question he missed on a test, he verbally answers it correctly. He knew the answer, he just misread the question. His grades were not reflecting what he learned in school; they were reflecting what he could read and comprehend on the worksheets and tests.

At the conclusion of 3rd grade, we returned to the eye doctor. She finally determined he had a “tracking” issue. His vision was 20/20, but his eyes were not working well together to send the message to his brain! It was then that we were referred to a developmental optometrist who explained to me what my son was actually seeing. Each eye was seeing its own picture, so he often saw two of each letter, overlapping and sometimes moving around on the page. No wonder he was so tired after trying to read for 10 minutes!

After a detailed evaluation, he began vision therapy. I am not sure what I was expecting, but when the doctor walked us through the daily exercises – all I could think was “this is totally YOGA!” As a yoga teacher for over 12 years and a YogaKids Teacher too, I could not believe yoga was the answer. Even the doctor was surprised when I shared that his exercises were basically yoga poses and breathing!

The doctor began by telling my son to practice barefoot for greater awareness. He then guided my son to practice deep breathing; slow and steady with even inhalations and exhalations (similar to the YogaKids Take 5 breath); he added raising the arms overhead and lowering them down again to help lengthen the breath.

He then taught my son to stand tall and allow his arms to swing to the right and wrap around his body, then repeat to the left, scanning the horizon as he goes– similar to Scarecrow/Ghost Coat Swing. In YogaKids we learn crossing the midline of the body is great for balancing the two hemispheres of the brain! (This exercise also relieves tension in the neck and shoulders.)

He also introduced balancing on one foot! Really? We do this all the time in yoga (Tree pose)! His goal was to start with one minute and work up to three minutes on each foot – longer than we typically hold balancing poses in YogaKids classes, but a great challenge for him!

As I learned more about movements to improve his vision, they included typical childhood activities – which many kids don’t do anymore. Movements that require the left and right sides of the body to work together – skipping, jumping jacks, patty cake and even inverting the body to help oxygenate the brain (like in Down Diggity Doggie Down pose)!

In the end, his vision therapy was playtime! He was doing things kids do, while helping his eyes improve and cooperate. He is in the 5th grade now, and we continue to focus on reading improvement, still trying to catch that moving train. It is not a magic formula, but now he has some tools to use when he gets frustrated with reading or his eyes need a break. Being able to identify what he needs and communicating those needs with both his teachers and us has enabled us to help him find success in the classroom!

His eyes love yoga and we do too!

The Yin and Yang of a Child’s Life

by Teya Johnson

“If every eight year old is taught meditation, we will eliminate violence from the world within one generation.”

–Dalai Lama

Just think about that for a moment. My first yoga teacher training was for children. It was an extensive year-long program with almost three hundred hours in credit. Time invested in our youth is something worth giving. Yoga provides an outlet for children to practice mindfulness, peace education and look deeper within ones’ self.

Mindfulness practices allow the child to be alert and aware. Benefits of mindfulness include decreased depression and anxiety and increased happiness. Peace education helps the child become an advocate in an environment where there is also hate and misunderstanding. And as a stronger, confident individual at a young age, this develops with maturity and redefines the future. Being thoughtful and mindful of ones’ self and others brings well-being and worldly acceptance into the picture.

Being able to share all of this with children through yoga is such a blessing. In my yoga classes for children, I incorporate these topics in a variety of ways. We touch on the basics of anatomy and meditation. Meditation permits the child to calm their mind and body. It helps them to be okay with turning inward to discover their own answers and acceptance. Yoga coming alive through reading allows the body to move to interpret stories being read aloud. Visual vignettes help children feel the rhythm and flow of music and use different parts of their bodies to create art. Active yoga-inspired games let the children forget who is watching and just be themselves.

There is something to be said of the yin and yang of life in general. I truly believe that yoga and the skills it provides can be the yin to the yang of children’s lifestyles. So many children are overly stimulated with not only all sorts of electronics but so many extracurricular activities including an assortment of different sports as well. Yoga helps children listen with a caring heart. As a lifelong learner, I enjoy sharing my passion of yoga with others because it can bring smiles and a new sense of consciousness to ones’ life. With yoga, children can stretch, relax and breathe in a way they’re not normally accustomed. Yoga is such a great compliment to everyday life.

Reaching Teens with Written Words

by Karen Martin

Ever since I can remember, my “down” time has been spent reading. Nothing beats curling up in a warm, comfy chair with a great book. And secretly, yes, I did enjoy the summer reading assignments for school! It is no wonder why Reading Comes Alive With Yoga (RCAWY) is the Element that ultimately encouraged me to learn the YogaKids way.

One of my favorite places to go is the local library. I hunt through the children’s section in search of colorful picture books where the artwork can really inspire great visuals for younger readers. But while I find reading material quite readily for the 10 and under crowd, I have to get a little creative for my older students. I can’t read a lengthly novel to them and they’re not so interested in picture books anymore! Fortunately, the value of the written word comes in many forms…

In my Teens classes, I use poetry to encourage introspection — an activity that teens really gravitate toward. The poem “Breath” by Thich Nhat Hanh connects meaning to the breath. I read each line with a pause afterwards so that we can take several quiet breaths together. This is a great way to both bring attention to the breath and begin a class with quiet mindfulness.

Song lyrics are a perfect way to connect with teens. “Clocks” by Coldplay focuses on how time keeps slipping away and how we feel about our choices in life. Chris Martin’s lament about “missed opportunities” is a perfect kind of teen-friendly melancholy. Playing “Clocks” during Sun Salutations, we do a number of rounds while the urgent beat keeping us moving forward. We end in Child’s Pose for the final chorus of “Home, home where I wanted to go, home.” On our mats we find our home, our quiet center.

Parables and short stories about philosophy are a great tool as well. In my class, we’ve read, Life is Like a Cup of Coffee — a parable about living a fully engaged, caring and happy life. The theme gets reenforced with an art project — as my students create pictures illustrating the good in their cups (lives).

I love teaching teens — and I love sharing what I know about teaching teens. Join me in the YogaKids We All Win online course as we talk about this topic– and so much more!

Teen Yogis Become Team Leaders

by Karen Martin

Encouraging teens to “teach” your class can be a lot of fun! Handing over portions of the class to these willing yogis can build confidence and expand their knowledge of a yoga practice. Permitting greater control to these older students creates more give and take in the learning process. And selectively portioning out lesson segments allows you to manage the process without losing focus and direction. Engaging teens in this way can lead to some surprising results!

Leading a familiar vinyasa flow (sun salutations) can be a good start. Each teen can have a chance to add a special modification to the series while leading the class (from the teacher’s mat of course!) through the asanas. Or the teens can be challenged to create an original vinyasa flow. This can be a singular, pairing up, or small group activity. Poses can be assigned or chosen and then sequenced by the teens. The result is taught to the rest of the class.

Another activity involves an introduction to the YogaKids Elements for older teens. Use simple words to guide the students as to what the Element is and ideas on how to use it with their pose. Give them time to work on their own. Whenever possible let them collaborate on ideas. For example, have the students create a repeating pattern (Math Medley) using Tree pose by varying their arm and leg positions. Another idea would be to have the teens decide on poses that would be used to tell a story (RCAWY). Have them share a story about a day they walked through snowy woods and what they saw, heard, and felt. Enhance the story by using all of the senses (even the sixth sense)!

Another favorite student-led activity in my classes is Quiet Quests/Savasana. Talking the class through progressive muscle relaxation (tensing and then relaxing areas of the body) allows the teen leader to gain a sense of timing, allowing for these responses without rushing through the sequence. There is also the opportunity to observe tension and relaxation in fellow classmates. And who doesn’t like ringing the chimes to “awaken” everyone at the end?

Another component of final relaxation can be a guided visualization. A teen leader tells a story during the silent reflective time. This is great practice using a voice that helps the listeners “paint a picture” in their minds. At closing circle, ask your group what music they would like to hear next time they meet. Write down the requests that would be acceptable for your lesson. When meeting again, ask the teens to determine where and how the music would be incorporated into the lesson plan.

These suggestions can help yoga to resonate with your teens. Allowing them ownership in the process can be very empowering!

Teaching Techniques: A Safe Haven

by Karen Martin

A new addition has arrived in our family. He is a bundle of nervous energy, in search of acceptance, stability, and routine. We are his temporary family, helping to prepare him for a new start in life, which happens to also coincide with the beginning of the New Year. We are fostering a 10-year-old rescue dog named Chicory.

We have provided Chicory with a place of warmth and coziness with his own bed and blankets in a sunny room. He is learning that this is his space, his safe haven. Security and comfort can be found here. He is settling in, making our house his home. His sense of self is emerging with his growing calmness and acceptance of our family and surroundings. In much the same way, yoga can create this safe space in our lives. And it can begin with a simple yoga mat.

I have accumulated many yoga mats over the years. Mats can come in various colors, shapes, and sizes. They are fun for kids and with a little imagination can encourage creativity. One of my favorite mats was a gift. Two very dedicated and enthusiastic 6-year-old yogis presented it to me. This was not just an ordinary mat. It was bright green with a beautiful rainbow and flowers painted across the length of it!

Savasana can be individualized on each mat. Spreading out the mats in the room allows for fewer distractions by fellow students. Props such as bolsters and pillows can be used in this defined space, facilitating greater relaxation. Knowing we “stay on our mats” encourages the opportunity to “let go”, sinking into calmness with security.

Mats can be a safe-zone. Kids can be in their own space, a place of solitude and contemplation, even in a class of thirty students! Initially students associate finding their “happy place” on the mat. Their body, mind and spirit feel the quietness and peacefulness. Eventually being grounded and calm accompanies them once they step off the mat. These feelings are carried within.

And Chicory? He has become more accustomed to the rhythm of life here with us. And our house has become his home.