Wanna hear a joke?
Jokes are fun for kids and adults yoga – even when they are groaners. The point of joking? Don’t take life so seriously. In fact one of the best ways to feel Unity is to just have fun.
Laughing Yoga for Kids
Whenever I want to have fun with the kids in yoga class we do Laughing Yoga. It is a great way to get everyone to have fun and relax and enjoy the bliss of living. Laughter is a powerful tool to get people breathing deeply too – especially with belly laughter, not to mention all the health benefits – just ask Patch Adams, an MD who started a movement to get clowns in every hospital.
Whenever I want to have fun with the kids in yoga class we do Laughing Yoga. It is a great way to get everyone to have fun and relax and enjoy the bliss of living. Laughter is a powerful tool to get people breathing deeply too – especially with belly laughter, not to mention all the health benefits – just ask Patch Adams, an MD who started a movement to get clowns in every hospital.
The other advantage of laughter yoga is that it helps people learn how to lighten up. When we do laughter yoga with kids or adults, we will do different yoga poses and laugh while we do them. Sometimes, we just laugh alone too. But before we begin laughing I like to explain one thing.
I want people to get themselves to laugh, too often people feel they have to be tickled (or hear a joke) to laugh. Here’s how I teach it:
I want people to get themselves to laugh, too often people feel they have to be tickled (or hear a joke) to laugh. Here’s how I teach it:
Invisible Fingers are Tickling You
Lets Imagine “invisible fingers” are tickling us. I ask someone what invisible means and get different definitions. But I make sure they also learn that invisible means “in” which is inside you, and visible. In-visible means you see it inside; which is not the same as non-visible or un-visible. I liken it to their imagination – which we see inside us first too. Now as you do the pose everyone feel the invisible fingers tickling you and laugh.
Lets Imagine “invisible fingers” are tickling us. I ask someone what invisible means and get different definitions. But I make sure they also learn that invisible means “in” which is inside you, and visible. In-visible means you see it inside; which is not the same as non-visible or un-visible. I liken it to their imagination – which we see inside us first too. Now as you do the pose everyone feel the invisible fingers tickling you and laugh.
Laughter Yoga: Tree, Bridge, and Cow
This way everyone does the yoga pose and it helps with classroom management because real tickling can lead to big pile ups of kids. We do laughing tree, tickling bridge, and even in cat cow we will laugh like a cat and a cow would laugh.
It is a lot of fun and no one in the room can resist smiling when they hear all the laughter.
By the way, in case you don’t know:
What did the police officer say to the yogi who was meditating?
You have the right to remain silent! (Did you laugh?)
You have the right to remain silent! (Did you laugh?)
Aruna Humphrys
www.YoungYogaMasters.com
