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3 Olympic Themed Kids Yoga Ideas

3 Olympic Themed Kids Yoga Ideas
3 Olympic Themed Kids Yoga Ideas

Olympic Themes for Kids YogaThe weather today in Canada is cold and snowy, perfect for getting cozy in front of the TV to watch the Olympic Games. This morning I was up early to watch the women’s moguls competition.  One Canadian athlete made it to the podium and one lost control on her run and went out of bounds and did not finish the race.

In post-event interviews, the medalist described persevering through challenges with sickness in her family and her sister getting cut from the Olympic team.When she got to her last run she said she let all that go and claimed the moment as her moment to shine. She got the silver medal.

The other athlete was in contention for a gold medal but experienced an agonizing defeat.  She fought back tears as she shared how difficult it was to lose her standing, but she had to accept there is nothing she can do to change it now, she will hold her head high and move forward.

I like watching these athlete’s courage, the strength it takes to put yourself on the world stage. The victory is euphoric, but most athletes at the Olympics compete for a personal best, knowing they will likely never land on the podium.  There is always the risk that you will experience a “personal worst” moment, and you must be willing to take that risk.

While I’ve certainly never participated in the Olympics, I know the courage, dedication, and commitment it takes to put yourself out there. Just teaching a yoga class was difficult at first, then moving to part-tine business, and eventually to a full-time career in yoga. As a trainer, I see new teaches work through their nervousness in their first kids yoga classes too.

We all “go to the Olympics” in our own way, which is why it makes a great theme for kids yoga classes.

Consider sharing the sports ideas and also the difficult parts of competing and dealing with winning and losing.  Here are three ideas ways the Olympics theme can be used in your kids yoga classes this week.

3 Olympic Themed Kids Yoga Ideas

1. How the Olympics Can Help Sore Losers

What if kids don’t want to even risk playing a game because they don’t want to lose?

Helping Sore Losers by Using the Olympics and Yoga
Click the image to read the full article.

2. Olympic Yoga and Valentine’s Day

Building a pyramid to talk about the foundation of doing your best as an athlete or whatever you strive to do.  Lots of winter Olympic pose ideas here!

three kids make a pyramid like the podium of the Olympics and discuss the founations of success
Try mini pyramids like a Podium for an Olympic Valentine’s Day theme, the top can be either kneeling or standing. Make sure you have mats or a spotter.

3. Olympic Games that Build Concentration and Focus

More yoga poses for the Olympics and how your lesson plan can be adjusted to suit for different age groups.

family yoga, families doing a rowing arms pose that can be used in an Olympic themed lesson plan
Rowing Arms in a Family Yoga Class. Rowing can be adapted for different settings and age groups.

 

Sometimes when you start teaching kids in September, it can be difficult to find new ideas and lesson plans for the end of the year. Let’s get inspired by the spirit of the Games and the universal drive to reach for our own personal best, and give kids a gold medal yoga class.

Upcoming Events

Upcoming Kids Yoga Teacher Training Courses and Dates in Toronto at this link
Our next Kids Yoga Teacher Training starts soon!

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Conscious Intention Setting for Teaching Yoga – Free Workbook

Welcome to the first newsletter of 2017.  Today I have a free downloadable workbook that I’ll explain more about below.

I also want to make sure you know about the Early Registration Special that runs to the end of the weekend on the next module of Kids Yoga Teacher Training.  The upcoming Themes and Dreams Certificate is a favourite because of all the songs, stories, meditations and philosophy for Kids.  If you are planning to get Certified as a Kids Yoga Teacher this year, register now to reserve your spot.   We’re also polishing up the details of the 95 Hour Summer Certification 2017 – you can get a sneak peak here.  Let me know if you have any questions about Kids Yoga teacher training.

Tools to Consciously Set Your Course for 2017

The beginning of 2017 marks the beginning of a new year and the passing away of an old one. Appreciating the fact that all things are temporary, they are born, they grow, and they pass away is an integral part of the yogic life. It helps us truly appreciate them while they exist and to learn from them to create better tomorrows.

A new year brings a natural opportunity to reflect on the year that just passed and to consciously set intentions for one that is coming up. My meditation teacher always warned that if you don’t set your own vision for your life, you will be living the vision of someone else. I have lived other people’s visions of what life should be and I prefer to set my own course!

Writing Your Goals to Create Your Life

For this reason I started keeping journals of my goals, plans and desired lifestyle when I started meditating regularly.  When I look back through my journals I can see that everything I’ve done, including Young Yoga Masters, Ambassador Yoga and even finding my husband, were shaped by the intentions I wrote in my visioning journals.

The benefits I got from my visioning practice inspired me to start teaching a yearly workshop for Conscious Intention Setting seven years ago.  It is always offered at the beginning of the year and it’s called the Kundalini Kick Start (I got my adult yoga training in Kundalini Yoga). During the workshop we do yoga, meditation and conscious intention setting.

Historically the workshop sells out and many who attend are past grads. I love to reconnect with you all in person through yoga and meditation, the practices that brought us together. I know we teachers have to consciously make time to keep our own practice healthy!  This is one great way to do this.

Kundalini Kick Start 2017 is a 3-hour workshop happening in Grimsby (between Hamilton and St. Catharine’s) on Saturday Saturday Jan. 14  and in Toronto on Sunday January 15 (with co-teacher Daya Kaur Khalsa)

Conscious Intention Setting for Yoga Teachers Using the Free Download Worksheets

However not everyone is able to make it to Toronto for this workshop, so this year you can use the worksheets below to participate in the process.  Having a conscious intention setting ritual to begin a new year helps us to create the work and life we want for the upcoming year and beyond.

In Kundalini Kick Start we do a thorough yoga set and one or two x 11 minute meditation sessions before we dive into the visioning for the new year. Consider attending a yoga class or doing an hour of yoga at home, then meditating before you start. Make an afternoon of it. You’ll be glad you did!  It will help you look at what you want more clearly.

Then use this free downloadable workbook (modified from Kundalini Kick Start) to guide you through the process.  It’s a way to think through and vision the year ahead for yourself personally, socially and professionally. Below are descriptions of what’s in its pages.

Reflections on 2016- Page 1

Yoga Teacher worksheet to reflect on the past year, what worked, what didn't work in 2016
Page 1 of Workbook

Reflection on 2016.  You can start with positives and what went right for you in your personal, social and professional life. Or you may be drawn to look at What Didn’t Work first.  Some yogis say the mind comes up with negatives first and fastest so that you can avoid danger. You can fill this out in any order that suits you.

Then take the reflections from what went right and what could have worked out better to draw some lessons to carry forward into 2017.

Your Vision for Yourself for 2017 – Page 2

Yoga teachers use this worksheet to look at what they want in the year ahead for business, personal, and community.
Page 2 of Workbook

Now turn your focus towards forming a vision for what you want to be in 2017. What you want to be will determine what you will do and what you do will lead to what you end up having in your life. This is the Be/Do/Have model for forming a vision for your life.

What You Need to Achieve Your 2017 Vision – Page 3

Yoga Teacher worksheet of what you need to attain your goals and visions for the year ahead.
Page 3 of Workbook

Once you’ve sketched out a vision for 2017 you can look at what you need to bring that vision to reality. In this worksheet you identify what you lack.  Often yoga teachers train themselves to focus on gratitude and the positives.  Allow yourself to feel what is missing when you set your vision because our lack can provide the clue to the direction we need to go.

It might be training you need, resources that are required, or relationships that need to be developed.  It might be letting go of other things to make room for what you really want.  Search your heart and apply your yogic wisdom then put what you need on paper to clarify how you feel now.

How to Spend Your Time and Maintain Balance in Your Life – Page 4

Yoga teachers look at time management to help follow through on their goals for 2017
Page 4 of Workbook

Before moving onto action steps, take some time to think about how you currently spend your time during a typical twenty four hour day. Ideally, how would you like to spend your time? Fill in the twenty-four hour pie chart with estimates of what you do during a typical day and what you would like to do in an ideal day (don’t forget to include a good night’s sleep).

Turn Your Vision into Action – Page 5

Yoga teachers take all the insights from the workbook to clarify their goals and vision for 2017
Page 5 of Workbook

Apply the insights from previous pages to add action steps you can take to build upon your vision and move it forward. Be as specific as possible in this part.

Timelines for Action – Page 6

Yoga teachers use the worksheet to sketch out a timeline for their goals and visioning using the workbook.
Page 6 of Workbook

Take the action steps sketched out on page 5 and arrange them on the timelines in a sequence that seems appropriate to you.  Is what you have written realistic?  Do you need to adjust your goals, plans or timelines to be able to have a balanced life?

You may want to print out one or more of these pages again to update and modify your vision as you learn more about what you want and whether it is really what you thought it would be.

Let your vision be a work in progress that you return to and update as a living breathing force in your life.

Finally, congratulate yourself!

You’ve earned it. It’s not easy to take time out to think about what you love about your life, what could be improved upon and how you might go about doing that. But taking the time to do that helps you move towards what you really want from life so you don’t keep doing the same thing over and over again out of habit.

Have a beautiful balanced 2017!

 

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6 Strategies to Protect Children From Troubling Times

Toddler holding American flag

Protect Children Through Troubling Times

Children are like sponges, absorbing the energy around them. Once they’ve internalized their environment they begin to reflect it back outward. They may not know why they feel afraid or even that what they are feeling is fear. It’s up to us adults to protect kids by creating a healthy emotional environment for them.

In times of emotional distress, how can we make ourselves and the children around us feel safe and grounded? The key is to give ourselves some perspective and a few messages of hope. Here are 6 strategies for feeling grounded again:

  1. Practice mindfulness – take a few slow, relaxing breaths and bring yourself into the present moment. Remind yourself, in this moment, in your own home, you are safe. This will help you release fear of catastrophes that are formulating in your mind. Follow up with yoga and meditation to refocus your mind in a healthy way.
  2. Acknowledge life is not always easy – There may be very difficult times ahead and the only way to get through them is to keep grounded, strong and healthy to do the important work ahead. I moved through my pain and disbelief by talking it through with friends. These like-minded people helped to remind me that life may not be easy but having the support of others makes getting through the hard times easier. No matter our distress, finding positive minded individuals can get us through it.Silhouette of woman holding up baby
  3. Focus on personal or family goals – Our path doesn’t always move forward in a straight line. Sometimes things drift too far left and other times too far right. They may even seem to be going backward at times. It’s our job to ensure we keep moving towards our goals and well-being regardless of the detour the world throws at us. The world will come around to join us eventually.
  4. Focus on personal values – Ask yourself “What’s important for me and my family? What do I hold dear?” Don’t let your values go out the window when times are tough. Hold on to them because they will be your guide and anchor during the hard times. Those with strong values guide others who are feeling lost. It’s during troubling times more than ever that it’s important to have leaders who remain focused on their true values.
  5. Conserve your mental energy – Limit the amount of time you read or watch news. A continual barrage of bad news or dismal forecasts can be mentally exhausting. Just like the student in the story of the empty cup, once your mind is full of unhealthy ideas there is no room left for healthy ideas. Save your energy to tend to your well-being. Don’t spend it on fear and worry.
  6. Take action – Sometimes the only thing that helps is doing something concrete. Honor your feelings. Sometimes even anger and fear can spark positive action. Focus on clear and easy things you can do. Donate to a cause. Volunteer to help a group in need. Bring yoga and meditation to those in distress. Teach children why you hold your values so dearly. Or choose to not add to the doom and gloom, especially when children are around.

Circle of hand holding of various skin shadesAccepting Disagreement

Yogi Bhajan had a saying, “If you don’t see God in all, you don’t see God at all.” This is a reminder that everyone is different and they have their own lived experience. Yes, there are terrible people in the world and we should not give terrible people a free pass to do terrible things. But not everyone we disagree with is a terrible person.

We can use the tools of mindfulness, awareness and yoga to continue to work together to make the world better for each other and for all our children, even in troubling times.

Now Your Turn… Share Your Strategies

Have you found strategies for keeping centered during times of stress? Do you need suggestions?

You can share your ideas in the comments. Let’s come back to these when we need them!

Other News

Link here for Kids Yoga Teacher Training courses in Toronto Ontario Canada new orleans USA If you’d like to fill your cup with more yoga and meditation tools and resources visit the Upcoming Kids Yoga Teacher Training Courses page.

Information Interviews: A Helpful Tool for Kids Yoga Teachers To Get New Classes

Creative Commons Interview Photo

Want to teach kids yoga classes but not sure where to start? Every country, state, city and neighborhood is unique, so a great way to find out what will work where you live is through information interviews.

What are Information Interviews?

“Information interviews” or “informational interviews” are conversations in which an entrepreneur or aspiring employee contact an expert in the field they intend to enter to ask questions and gain valuable insight into their potential career path. While this type of interview is conducted without the intention of securing a job, it is an excellent networking tool and a great excuse to make contacts.

We’ve gone through these informative posts on the topic and updated them to help you get started with the information interview process. They’re tailored specifically to those interested in expanding their children’s yoga businesses in places like daycare and preschools, however, they offer helpful suggestions for anyone looking to get started with their own information interviews.

Writing Your Information Interview SAurvey

1. Writing Your Information Interview Survey

Not sure where to get started? Preparing for the information interview is the best way to ensure your success. Aruna has outlined helpful suggestions for how to get started based on her own experiences conducting market research. Read the full article here.

Information Interviews Questions to Ask

2. Information Interviews: Questions to Ask

Still not sure what to say during the interview? Here Aruna has outlined some useful questions to ask when interviewing experts. Read full article here.

Scheduling Information Interviews

3. When to Schedule Information Interviews

The timing of your information interviews can play a crucial role in the response you get. Unsure of when the best time to make a call is? Read the full article to help you plan what time is best for you.

Have you ever conducted information interviews? Comment below with any questions or helpful tips!

Upcoming Events

Thinking of a Full or Part-time Career as a Kids Yoga Teacher?

Give yourself a solid foundation in Kids Yoga and the Certification and Practical Experience employers are looking for.

How the Olympics and Yoga Can Inspire Children to Believe

How the olympics and yoga can insprie Children to believe
How the olympics and yoga can insprie Children to believe

Helping Sore Losers by Using the Olympics and Yoga

“I Don’t Want to Play If I Get Out!”

At the end of a kids’ yoga class I announced, “Now it’s time for a game.”

To which one child responded, “Is it a game where people get out?  I don’t want to play if I get out.”

Today’s blog post is about olympic spirit and the joy of playing. It includes important yoga philosophy that can help children, especially kids who have trouble with losing, understand why it really isn’t whether you win or lose, its how you play the game.

Competition for Kids: Good or Bad?

This yoga lesson plan aims to show kids that competition is not necessarily good or bad, rather our perception of competition is what makes it so.

When competition is seen as a rivalry, it’s easy to understand why kids don’t like to play. They risk the chance of becoming “losers” rather than participants.  The root of the word competition means “to strive together.”  In this sense of the word, competition can be a wonderful experience of completely involving yourself in a task, bonding with a team, improving a skill, and striving towards a goal.

Take the example of the school children in this picture. They broke the world record for the largest Olympic rings.

 

children, competition and the Olympics
School children work together to break the world record for largest Olympic rings

To give kids a fresh look at competition, consider a lesson plan with this insight from my yoga teacher, Yogi Bhajan.  He said we all have three minds:  the Negative Mind, the Positive Mind, and the Neutral Mind.

The Negative Mind

The negative mind is not negative meaning bad.  It is awareness of the negative, the dangers and obstacles that will result from a choice.  Simply put, the negative mind may think “if I play a game then I might lose”, which might make someone less inclined to play at all. The negative mind thinks that losing makes a person a loser. It pays attention to all the things that could go wrong in any given situation.

Ask the kids for examples of the negative mind in their life or with family or friends.

The Positive Mind

The positive mind is not necessarily the good mind because of the word “positive.”  It’s thinking that helps us see opportunities and pleasant outcomes.  The positive mind may think, “I’ll play and I’ll win, and that will make me a winner”. It is the mind that realizes that there is value in trying your best, no matter the outcome.

Ask the kids for examples of the positive mind.

The Neutral Mind

The neutral mind weighs both the positive and the negative, and then decides.  It quickly recognizes that everything can potentially have dangers and opportunities that can be evaluated before a decision is made.  The neutral mind also sees how both negative and positive events help you grow.

The neutral mind thinks, “I may lose or I may win, but that will not determine who I am. I will play for the fun of doing my best, being part of a team, and becoming a stronger player.”

Ask the kids when they have noticed their neutral mind in action.

Yoga Poses for the Neutral Mind

To strengthen the neutral mind, try yoga poses that raise your energy from the base of the spine upwards.  Examples include:

  • cat cow
  • bridge pose
  • bicycle legs
  • leg lifts

Then move to yoga poses that open the heart:

  • archer pose
  • warrior poses
  • yoga mudra (hands clasped behind the back) while standing, sitting in rock pose, or resting in child pose
  • bow pose

Squeeze and Release Relaxation

Finish with a body scan for relaxation. Squeeze your feet tight, hold, then release your feet.  Squeeze your legs, hold, then release them.  Continue through the body, from the feet to the face. This body scan show kids that many things, like tension, can be both harmful and useful depending on how they are used.

Leave a  silent period at the end to let the children rest in a neutral space during relaxation.

The Olympics are wonderful example of striving together.  Try watching the Olympics together to observe athletes handling both victory and defeat.  These athletes can be valuable role models to help children discover the joy of striving, regardless of whether you win or you lose.

With a neutral mind, what matters is playing the game.

Share your thoughts and ideas in the comments below!

Upcoming Kids Yoga Teacher Training Certification

 

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Character Development – Empathy

The Discovery of Mirror Neurons – A Scientific Understanding of Empathy

Jeremy Rifkin author of The Empathic Civilization: The Race to Global Consciousness In a World In Crisis

“All humans are soft wired with mirror neurons.  So that if I’m observing you, your anger, your frustration, your sense of rejection, your joy, whatever it is, and I can feel what you’re doing, the same neurons will light up in me as if I’m having the experience myself… we’re soft wired to experience another’s plight as if we’re experiencing it our self.”   – Jeremy Rifkin

In the video below, senior lecturer on trends in science and technology, Jeremy Rifkin suggests that science shows that we’re actually soft-wired to be empathic. Something the yogis taught when they said we are all One, we are all connected.  Were the yogis referring to mirror neurons?

Rifkin explains these stages of development in children to help us understand empathy:

  • Empathic distress: when a baby in a nursery cries, all the other babies in the nursery cry, we don’t know why but it’s called empathic distress.
  • Mature Empathy: at 2 1/2 years of age, once a toddler can identify them self (like in the mirror) then they know that if they are observing someone else have a feeling, they know if they feel something they know they are feeling it because someone else has it.  They are two separate beings.
  • Self-hood goes together with empathic development: Around 8 years of age a child learns about birth and death.  They learn where they came from and that they have only one life and that life is limited and fragile.  This allows the child to experience another’s plight in the same way they experience their own life challenges. When we understand that we are all struggling to live, then we develop more empathy for other human beings.

Increase Self-hood, Increase Empathic Development

The way I understand what Mirror Neurons show us, we are born ready to empathize with others.  Through our culture, education, and upbringing we are conditioned otherwise.  Through our frailty and imperfection we actually become closer to each other, more connected, because of our soft wiring for empathy.

How Mirror Neuron soft-wiring can be used for Empathy and Kids Yoga

  • Teachers/Parents actually help kids develop empathy by admitting to mistakes and struggles.  It’s helpful to express frustration when there are behavior problems.  Tools like the Yoga Man vs. The Stressor coloring pages relay the stress we face and challenges we must overcome and help us connect with kids because of our built in ability to empathize,
  • Yoga poses that are difficult provide a group experience that help children relate to each other – in yoga this means it will build your class rapport when you introduce new challenges to overcome together,
  • Self awareness developed through yoga and meditation may also increase empathetic development – in kids yoga this means time for discussion, breath awareness, and meditation can also help kids develop empathy.

Can Empathy Help the Environment Too?

I highly recommend watching the video above.  Not only does Jeremy Rifkin propose that empathy could lead to a global human consciousness, he also suggests that empathy towards other species (animals) and the planet will lead to the solutions to our environmental issues.

For more information on Empathy and the Yamas and Niyamas you can also check out this guest post by Donna Freeman of Yoga in my School.

November’s Character Education theme is Empathy.  Did you know about Mirror Neurons?  How will understanding the science of mirror neurons help you with character development and teaching kids about empathy?