Kids Yoga

Yoga with Kids!

I remember my first kids yoga job, it was in a great preschool setting. I taught one class, ages 18 months to 2 years old and a second class, 3 to 5 years of age. Each class was only 25 minutes in length and full of energy!

From my personal experience working in different class settings and from the training classes I have received, here are some tips that you may find helpful when teaching yoga to your children or in a classroom setting.

1. Be creative with the poses. It helps if you make stories, scenarios, themes around poses to engage the children’s imagination, they will have fun and you will too! For example you can use the scenario of walking through the woods or flying through space. Don’t worry too much about it all making sense, I have found that kids will go with the creativity even if you are having them reach for the sun then painting rainbows before becoming a monkey.

2. Ask questions. Kids love to be involved. For instance while doing the butterfly asana with the children you can ask them all sorts of fun questions like: “What color are your wings?” or “Where are you going to fly to?”. You can have them flap their ‘wings’ at different paces if their butterfly is flying fast or slow. Try to use every opportunity to make the pose come to life.

3. Keep the pace moving. By keeping the motion flowing it will sustain the childrens’ attention. It is very difficult for the young ones to hold poses for long periods of time, since they love to wiggle. You may find that the amount of poses you do in your kids class greatly varies from an adult class, so don’t be surprised if you go through 10-20 poses in one class session.

4. Play games. Games are great because they give variety to the traditional yoga poses as well as keeping the children moving in a healthy way. You can either tell the children it is time to play a yoga game if you find their minds wandering or you can sneak it in there to mix up the routine without the introduction. Some hits among the kids are:

_ Leap frog (have them leap and make sounds around the room or in place)
_ Yoga says (‘yoga say’ do triangle, the kids then demonstrate that pose)
_ Yoga telephone (exactly like the game telephone but substituting a yoga pose, the last

child will then demonstrate the pose)

Working with children can be challenging but it is a great experience that is worth it. You may just even find that in the end you sometimes will be the student and the kids the teachers.

Have a beauty filled day!

riNa

Meditate

rock solid

Meditation – Lets Stroll With A Muse

Take your seat on your yoga mat. Ground your sitting bones, connect to the energy and rhythm of the earth. Feel free to incorporate your own personal hand mudras into this practice. Bringing the art of meditation to your daily life not only will bring you peace of mind, improved spirit but has countless physical benefits as well. It has been reported that meditation improves mental concentration which can be utilized in other aspects of your life, helps cells receive more oxygen and other nutrients in abundance; Boost the immune system, helps in times of emotional stress and anxiety, raises self confidence and countless other benefits. Even the most famous faces have recognized the benefits of meditation such as Steven Seagal, Richard Gere, Tiger Woods, Tina Turner, Orlando Bloom and many more.

Allow your eye lids to soften and be relaxed in their closed state. Bring your attention to the movement of your breath. With each inhalation and exhalation settling you deeper into meditation you are unlocking the key to being in the present moment. Start breathing in three conscious parts. Expanding your belly out like a balloon when you inhale and allow your belly muscles assist in expelling all the air out of your lungs on your exhalation as they contract. You want to do this three part breathing for about three to four rounds. Allow your breath to return to its natural rhythm and bring your observation to the world of thought. Observe your thoughts as they enter your mind and let it go (as a cloud passing by) appreciate the thought, place no attachments and let it go.

If you’re finding your thoughts as being too distracting, try this simple trick. Each time you exhale, try silently saying a word to yourself. By focusing on this word it will help you maintain your concentration on this moment and not allow the mind to wonder on anything else. I like to choose a word that denotes a positive energy feeling the benefits of saying it over and over again.

Practice makes perfection and one has to be diligent in setting a time each day for your personal meditation. Enjoy the benefits of this ancient healing art implementing it into every aspect of your life. If you find it difficult to sit crossed legged in a quiet place, don’t let this discourage you because you can practice in more places than one! Meditate while in your seat at work, in the elevator, while making photo copies for that big presentation, cleaning your home, grocery shopping, putting your child down for a nap! The more you bring your awareness to aspects in your life where you can plug in your mediation and breathing practice you’ll find that your day’s is colored in a more peaceful and abundant tone.

Corpse Pose – Relax Me Please

This pose is unique that it allows for many paths to be taken to the same destination of deep relaxation.

Start by coming to a lying position on your back (you may find it more comfortable to place a thick mat on the ground or even several blankets) the key is comfort for your spine and warmth so make sure you’re wearing socks and grab a blanket and or sweater.

Rest arms at the side of your body (palms open to receiving from the sky) or in any other position that provides the most comfort for deep relaxation. Allow eyes to be in a relaxed closed state.

To give the muscles of the body a jump start into deep relaxation there is a quick and easy method.

Lets try together, start to breath with intention. Inhale through your nostrils and allow that fresh new air to sink deep into your lungs, imagine them filling every inch creating a rise in your belly and chest. Release the muscles of the head and soften your eyelids, lips, chin, cheek and tongue. You can also go through each physical body part and perform a localized tense and release mechanism, for example begin by tensing your toes then release, move onto your calves, your thighs, your buttocks and so on until you have covered your entire body and relaxed all those tense muscles.

If you are a more visually minded yogi, try assigning a color to the air you are inhaling and imagine that color becoming alive in your body with each inhalation. If visualizing that you are in your favorite place works for you, go for it! Perhaps being on a warm sandy beach by the vibrant blue water is what sets your heart at ease, or curled up on a cozy arm chair by a fire place while your pet cat is purring on your lap is your form of meditation.

The beauty of relaxation techniques are the multitude of paths a yogi can choose to take. The above were only a few suggestions but there are much more possibilities out there. Regardless of what the visualization is, we know what relaxes us into our own true self, trust that intuition, have fun and be creative.