partner yoga

Free Mother’s Day Yoga Printable

Is it just me, or does it seem that the older we get the more we appreciate mom?

My mom is now in her 70’s and when I look at her I see her through all her ages, all her love and caring, all the discipline and lessons, all her mom-ness. No one else is like her and no one ever will be. Being Mother is a sacred title, especially for a daughter or son.

With Mother’s Day coming up, it’s time to honour these ladies in some big or small way, and here are some ideas and a Free Printable that just may help.

Acrostic Poems and Yoga

Remember Acrostic Poems? You write a word or phrase for each letter of your theme word. Here’s an example for MOM.

The printable below has both yoga poses and a space for an Acrostic poem for Mother. These poems are easy to do, perfect for relaxing during the last 10 minutes of an hour long kids yoga class. In fact you can do them anytime with any word you want to use as a theme. Here are a few examples: Mother, Father, Summer, Gratitude.

Lesson Plan for a Mother Child Yoga Class

You can use this printable for a your lesson plan in a few ways:

The first five yoga poses are a great warm up on their own,
Each pose can also become partner yoga, facing back to back, holding hands and hopping, just having fun coordinating the movement together.
Partners can use their imagination and put two poses together. Think: a tree under the moonlight or leapfrog hop over an elephant! Give yourselves time to be creative.
Or do your own lesson plan and let folks take the printable home to do.

Here’s what it looks like and you may find this PDF easier to print: Mothers Day Yoga Printable Young Yoga Masters.

Mother’s Day Yoga Worksheet

Mothers day yoga printable mother daughter yoga for children write an acrostic poem for mother and do the yoga poses on the handout inlcuding: half moon pose, tree pose, triangle pose, frog pose, elephant pose (standing forward bend), and relaxation

What Mother’s Day Yoga plans did you make? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

If you are considering getting your certification, check out the new training opportunities coming up. We would love to meet you there for a fun and fulfilling training.

Wishing a Happy Mothers Day to all who are celebrating.

Happy Family Yoga in Pictures and the Free Online Healthy Kids Summit

Family yoga should be part of family life. It creates healthy playtime for adults and kids where everyone is on the same level (the floor) and there’s lots of laughter as you roll about and try new things. The goal is fun.

a father and daughter hold up their Meaning Mandala pictues that show what is important to their lives — Healthy Family Activities Create Healthy Bonds

So when I was invited to speak at the Healthy Kids Virtual Summit, I chose the topic of Happy Family Yoga because I’ve seen the value yoga brings to a family. It contributes to both physical and mental health. It strengthens bonds. Family yoga is an antidote to the rushing and organizing that goes on in family life.

Family yoga should be part of every kids yoga teacher training too. Being able to teach these classes will give you an edge as a yoga teacher.

If you’re a busy mom or kids yoga teacher looking for ways to integrate healthy living into family life consider the Healthy Kids Virtual Summit, March 30th – April 20th 2015. To register for this FREE event, CLICK HERE

Here’s the short link: http://bit.ly/1CrmCyF

When you register you will get the links to these informative video interviews delivered to your inbox. My interview on Happy Family Yoga is happening on Thursday, April 16. If you can’t make it, you can watch the replay at a time that works for you.

Healthy Kids Summit with Happy Family Yoga — Click this image to register to join Aruna and enjoy all the other expert video interviews.

In case you have any doubt about the value of family yoga, here are a few pictures from the practicum of our kids yoga teacher training. You’ll see just how much fun you can have.

Happy Family Yoga in Pictures

Playing Together

Problem Solving Together: Group Train

Relaxation for Families

Mother and Daughters share a tender moment in Kids Yoga Camp. — Yoga Lets You Slow Down…Together

Is the job of raising healthy active kids up to you?

Do you feel like there is more you need to learn?

Check out the Healthy Kids Virtual Summit, March 30th – April 20th 2015 for answers to your questions on everything from exercise to nutrition.

To register for this FREE event, CLICK HERE

www.healthykidsvirtualsummit.com

3 Creative Yoga Ideas for a Classic Story

A fundamental skill for a Kids Yoga teacher is the ability to come up with creative lesson plans that keep children interested. A simple method from Young Yoga Master’s Kids Yoga Teacher Training is using stories that children already love and adding yoga to them.

One such story was created by Claire Matthews, a recent Kids Yoga Teacher Graduate. Claire is already teaching in schools during a lunchtime yoga program that is so full it has to turn kids away. Claire is also holding a Summer Yoga Camp for Kids in Grimbsby Ontario that I highly recommend. She’s an RYT-500 (Registered Yoga Teacher with 500 hours of training) and completing the 95 hour kids yoga training sets her up for the Registered Children’s Yoga Teacher designation (RCYT) with Yoga Alliance too.

Claire - Kids Yoga Teacher — Some Partner Yoga: Claire Completing the Kids Yoga Teacher Training Practicum

Here are 3 creative ideas Clarie recommends for the classic story first published in 1942: The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown.

3 Creative Yoga Ideas for The Runaway Bunny

The great thing about this story is it gives you a way to get kids to open up about what might be bothering them. At the beginning the bunny wants to run away, but never says why. If you ask the children “Why might the bunny run away?” It can give you all kinds of insights into the world of your kids.
The wonderful pictures and stories make it a natural fit for yoga. When the bunny says he will not be found because he will turn into a fish, a rock, a crocus etc these all can be paired with yoga poses like fish pose, rock pose, make a flower with arms stretched out and so on. There are at least 12 different poses that go with each turn of the page.

Claire - Hide and Seek — A Partner Yoga Pose for Hiding and Finding – No Matter Where the Bunny Runs, the Mommy will Find Him

Three: It’s also a wonderful way to get kids to recognize their support system. When the bunny feels like running away he talks to his mother. You can ask kids, “When you feel like running away who could you talk to?”

The Runaway Bunny as a Yoga story could easily fill 30 minutes or longer if you use the discussion questions. The beautiful pictures are a great asset when it comes to classroom management too. Wait till all the children are sitting down and focused before you turn the next page and find out what the bunny will say to his mom next.

Thank you to Claire from Yoga Truly for these wonderful and creative ideas to take a classic story and give it a yoga twist.

Leave a comment with your favorite classic storybooks and how you use them for yoga.

Upcoming Events:

Get the Kids Yoga Training that Gives You Experience, Tools, and Counts towards Yoga Alliance Certification

Click on the dates below for full details:

Kids Yoga Teacher Training Yoga Alliance Registered Childrens Yoga School — Click Here for Upcoming Dates

You’ll be happy you did it!

A Valentine Day Surprise In Kids Yoga Class

Show You Care on Valentine’s Day.

Last week I got a nice surprise from one of the kids at the end of yoga class that would be a great surprise for your kids for Valentine’s Day to truly show you care.

First, a bit about last week’s surprise, which came on a day that should have been a snow day. 30 centimeters (about 12″) of snow kept falling and falling, making the roads and sidewalks super slippery. Half the kids were absent. But school was on so I braved the storm and went to teach yoga.

Second, you have to know that in my toddler yoga class we finish with the toddlers coming up for a hug, it’s a little routine we all love. This study shows how Depriving Babies of Cuddles Does Long Term Harm. Hugging is an acceptable practice with this age group.

Family Yoga with parnter yoga. — Try Bicycle Legs for Valentine’s Yoga Class

Also know, two weeks ago, 7 kids moved from the toddler room (walking – 36 months) to the preschool room (3 – 5 yrs). In the preschool room hugs are not part of the routine, teachers reduce hugging as the kids get older.

The Spontaneous Hug

However, the day of the storm, with so many children away, and so many new toddlers there, spontaneous hugging broke out at the end of the preschool yoga class.

Now, here’s where I got surprised. It was something a 4 year old boy said. He kept coming back for more hugs. Every time a space opened up in front of me, there he was with a big smile and his arms out. This continued until all the kids who wanted a hug got a hug. The boy probably had five hugs and remained alone with a big smile. He said, “Can you stay all day and give me hugs?”

The reason I was surprised was because that type of big statement is usually the kind I make. He had taken my line!

A Fun Classroom Management Tip

Whenever the kids ask for something, if I can’t give them what they want for real, I give them what they ask for in a wish or a fantasy. It’s a trick I learned in this this wonderful classroom management book.

So if the kids say something like:

Kids: “No, don’t end class. Can we do one more song?”

I’ll respond: “Wouldn’t it be great if I could stay all day and we could do yoga and songs all day!”

To which they all cheer, YES!

I agree that it would be awesome and once that feeling is acknowledged by all of us, it is much easier to say, “Alas, there are other kids waiting for their yoga class.”

Granting Wishes as Classroom Management

Giving kids what they want in a Wish is an effective strategy for classroom management. Without it I don’t know how I’d deal with all the kids’ requests I receive. Here’s another common example:

Child: “Miss Yoga, can we do (kids suggestion of a pose or activity) now!”

Wish Granting Yoga Teacher: “Would you like to have a class where you got to pick all the poses?”

Child: “Yes!”

Wish Granting Yoga Teacher: “That would be fun. I’ll plan a class like that another time. Now lets do (the lesson plan).”

It’s much easier to move on when the feeling has been acknowledged. So I was surprised when the boy went straight to the big wish.

Acknowledging Feelings as Classroom Management

partner yoga — Try mini pyramids for Valentine’s Day, either kneeling or standing. Make sure you have mats or a spotter.

Usually I’m the one taking it up a notch, now here stands this 4 year old with his big wish: “Can you stay all day and give me hugs?”

Do you know what I said?

“I wish I could because I really like being with you.”

I got one more hug, and then the boy joined the line-up leaving for playtime in the gym. I didn’t need to say anything else.

On days like this, even with a miserable snow storm going on, it feels like teaching kids yoga is the greatest job on earth.

For Valentine Day this week consider surprising your kids by granting them a wish or a fantasy. Just like in yoga, acknowledging feelings helps release resistance and everyone feels good.

Announcing: Upcoming Teacher Training Specials

Kids Partner Yoga Tip, Free Webinar Replay, Free Kids Class

Three things today…

The Latest Kids Yoga Teacher Training Info
Free Partner Yoga Tip
More Partner Yoga

1. Kids Yoga Teacher Training Replay

Aruna posted a video about the Standards in Children’s Yoga. So if you’ve been thinking of getting kids training, you may want so give this a listen. This explains what is happening with the Yoga Alliance Registered Children’s Yoga School Standards:

If it is past 2021, check out our YouTube channel for the latest update.

2. Kids Partner Yoga Tip

How to Match Kids in Partners

A great tip for partner yoga comes from Janet Williams of Children’s Yoga Books. It solves a problem I have faced many times doing partner yoga with kids. It’s the problem of matching kids up with partners.

If you let the kids match themselves it sometimes works out where everyone has a BFF (best friend forever) and they partner. But often there are a few kids who don’t know who to partner with, or one kid who is not partnered and often the one who is left behind, who others don’t want to partner with, and it ends up feeling generally yucky.

If the teacher partners the children, it can feel like they are being forced to partner with someone they don’t want. Children are no the best at masking their emotions so sometimes the process of partnering children can feel awkward, even though you are trying to avoid feelings getting hurt.

Janet’s wonderful suggestion in to use cards, to create the partners.

A Fun Way to Match Children for Partner Yoga Poses

For this activity you need a deck of regular playing cards or you can print 2 or 3 of each your favorite pose cards like the Frog Yoga Alphabet Printable Cards in our Yoga Literacy Teacher Training.

frog yoga alphabet cards for kids yoga teachers — The Frog Yoga Alphabet Cards (and more) are included in your registration.

Pull out enough cards from the deck so you have pairs equal to the number of children you have in attendance (eg. for 10 children use 5 pairs). When there is an odd number, try a wild card, that joins the group closest to them, for a group of 3 kids,
Give each child a card, then tell the kids to find the children with the matching card,
When the children find their match they do the yoga pose you give or they make up a partner yoga pose for the pose on their card,
Each set of partners then teachers their pose to the rest of the class and everyone does that pose,
If time permits collect the cards, shuffle, and hand them out again to get new random pairs and new poses each time

Matching new pairs becomes a fun game and not something you are making the kids do.

Thanks Janet for the great tip!

3. More Partner Yoga

For School Age children partner yoga is usually a big hit, so you will want a lot of ideas if you intend to teach all year long.You can find more Partner Yoga here:

This free article about Partner Yoga,
The Family Yoga Teacher Training, The Chakras for Children Teacher Training, and the Yoga Literacy Teacher Training.

Kids Yoga Teacher Training Certification

Last, but not least….

You are invited to come for the next Kids Yoga Teacher Training.

Come get this new Certificate in Kids Yoga Training and leave with a rewarding weekend and tons of resources. You’ll be glad you did!

What’s Boy Culture? What it Means for Yoga for Boys

The other day in one of my kids yoga classes I was teaching a yoga exercise similar to a Martial Arts punch. For this exercise you hold your body in place and then punch each arm with a powerful “HAAA” breath. Joining in, the daycare teacher joked that this is the only time kids will get to do a punch move at school!

The teacher was joking, but there was more than a grain of truth to it. Many schools and homes have adopted a Zero Tolerance policy to quell violence and level the playing field between boys and girls. But have we gone too far? Have we developed a negative attitude toward boy culture?

yoga for boys kids — Yoga Man Yoga for Boys Activity

After discovering our Yoga Man – Yoga for Boys product, marketing expert Tia Dobi forwarded me a TED Talk that examines boy culture and the growing problems boys are facing in school.

Re-Engage Boys in Learning
The talk by Ali Carr-Chellman: Gaming to Re-Engage Boys in Learning emphasizes the problems for boys these days. Boys are tuning out of school and tuning into what gives them what they like, things like video games. But as Carr-Chellman says, “video games are not the cause they are the symptom.” Consider watching this talk if you’ve got boys:

In the TED Talk Carr-Chellman cites a study that shows the negative implications for boys in school:

for every 100 girls that are suspended from school, there are 250 boys suspended
for every 100 girls in special education, there are 217 boys in special education
for every 100 girls with emotional disturbances, there are 324 boys with emotional disturbances

These are disturbing numbers. One solution that may help is to ease up on Zero Tolerance toward the kinds of play that boys like. Of course that doesn’t mean allowing bullying or violence, but it does mean letting boys be boys.

Do You Understand Boy Culture?

It was amazing how many kids did some yoga right in the middle of our booth. We loved it because they demonstrated how much kids get inspired by the right tools. — Yoga for Boys – give them a challenge!

Consider what it means to be proactive with boys. If you’ve never had brothers, sons, or taught boys, you may not know what typical play is like for boys. If two boys are wrestling on the ground, it doesn’t mean they are violent prone or need to see a psychologist. It means that many boys like to wrestle. If a teacher tells them they are wrong or “NOT OKAY” for wrestling at recess, they are insulting boy culture, perhaps without realizing it. Schools support the way girls play and punish the way boys play.

Similarly, if we don’t acknowledge the female dominated culture of yoga, we may be alienating boys without even realizing it. Boys may walk away thinking what they like is wrong. They may walk away thinking yoga is for girls.

Tools to Get Boys Involved
Here are some ideas to help boys fall in love with yoga:

incorporate tools like partner yoga without micro-managing the poses,
use props like the Yoga Man – Yoga for Boys pictures, games, and coloring,
invite male teachers to assist you or guest teach,
promote Father/Son yoga classes or retreats.

A proactive approach to boys in yoga may help us hear the happy voices of boys exclaiming, “Is that guy doing yoga? Yoga is for boys!”

What do you do in your classes to encourage boys?

“Yoga Man vs The Stressor is so much more than just a yoga guide. The impressive fun filled games teach the children important life tools while learning fun yoga poses. These fun games will help your kids/students get in touch with what stresses them out and how to keep their stress under control.”
Intentional Conscious Parenting.com
Yoga Man product review February 21, 2011

Upcoming Kids Yoga Teacher Training

The Inclusive Yoga Weekend Certificate includes tools that help boys love yoga. You’ll also get lots of information on Yoga for Children with Special Needs. Get more information here.