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You are here: Home / Archives for yoga poses

yoga poses

How to Meet the Needs of Kids in Yoga

My suitcase is at the front door and I’m heading out for a Kids Yoga Teacher Certification in New Orleans tomorrow. Though it is the 7th time I’ve taught this 95 hour program, I’m as excited as the first time.  I’ve been learning some new training techniques and I can’t wait to try them.

One that’s on the forefront for this course is putting the needs of the participants before the needs of the activity.

put the requirements of the particpants before the requirements of the activity in kids yoga

As a trainer, this concept is realized by changing some of the typical rules of training, for instance, we don’t always cover every square inch of the manuals.  Rather, we make sure learners thoroughly grasp each idea and concept and stay engaged.  If I see anyone’s eyes glaze over, I’m not doing my job, even if I am covering the manuals!

The same is true of kids yoga.

kids activities must meet the needs of the kids not the needs of the activity

Using a lower net makes the game fun!

Some of the rules of yoga go out the window. Imagine a five year old playing basketball.  The rules of basketball state the basketball net is supposed to be 10 feet high.  Now if rules were rules, that five year old would think basketball was the worst game ever because they could never get the ball in.

So we lower the net so a five year old can have fun playing.  We break the rules.

Why? Because we put the needs of the participant ahead of the needs of the activity.

One problem many adult yoga teachers come across when they teach kids yoga is that alignment takes a back seat to engagement. For a yoga teacher from a strict alignment background (think Iyengar or Bikram), this feels like torture.

Alignment is important but does not always meet the needs of the learner. To meet the needs of kids:

  • we may choose a pose, like a standing forward bend, simply because someone mentioned an Elephant in our story.  The standing forward bend may not normally go next in a sequencing protocol, but any pose works in a play based kids yoga class
  • we may play Yoga tag and not check alignment because they’re not “It” anymore
  • we may make noise in a yoga pose, when we are supposed to be breathing deeply.

We put the needs of the participant ahead of the needs of the activity.

This is one method of an effective kids yoga teacher.  It’s also a mark of a good training too.  So for all those joining me on Friday in New Orleans be ready for lots of interactive activities that make learning fun.

For those of you teaching kids yoga, in what ways do you put the needs of kids before the needs of yoga?

Upcoming Events

Kids Yoga Teacher Summer Certification

Complete your 95 Hour Certificate with Young Yoga Master’s Yoga Alliance Registered Children’s Yoga School training.  Check out our upcoming schedule here:

Kids Yoga Teacher Training Yoga Alliance Registered Childrens Yoga School
Click this image for prices and more details of the Summer Certification

Adult Yoga Retreat

Looking for a great Yoga Get Away to deepen your own practice of Adult yoga?

I’ll be teaching at this yoga retreat for adults with a host of other wonderful teachers and musicians.  Come give yourself a weekend that will deepen your personal practice. See my upcoming adult yoga schedule here.

Yours truly,

Aruna

YoungYogaMasters.com

 

Filed Under: Attitude, Classroom Management, Kids Yoga Tagged With: Kids Yoga, kids yoga teacher training, physical literacy, stress management, yoga poses

3 Quick Attention-Getters

It’s handy to have a few quick attention-getters for those moments when your yoga class is getting excited, maybe even too excited.

a boy smiling after doing a downward dog tunner
Attention Getters in Kids Yoga

I have used many different tricks over the years, I like to change it up to keep it interesting for the kids and myself.

So here are 3 of my current favorites.

Please share your favorite attention grabber, and for any bloggers reading, share your favorite blog post about getting attention. What do you do to help kids heads turn and start paying attention?

Reminder of Early Registration Deadline Today on Summer Kids Yoga Teacher Certification

Also, don’t forget that today is the super early registration deadline for the 95 Hour Kids Yoga Teacher Summer Certification, You can save over $270 if you register today.  This summer get a thorough training with a Yoga Alliance Registered Children’s Yoga School, including practicum with actual kids classes, all in one training this summer.  Check out the 2 locations and full details here (with all the registration buttons now working!).

This is the time we need to make deposits on our training location, so by registering early, you’ll help us get an idea of our numbers, and you’ll save by signing up early.  Thanks to those who have already registered from around the world!

Now back to our tips:

Attention-Getter #1

Give Me a Hip, Give Me a Lip

This one is as simple as it sounds.  You say “Give me a hip.” and put one hand on your hip. Then say, “Give me a lip.” and put your finger to your mouth like you’re saying ssshhhh.

Now give it some attitude:  Give me a hip, give me a lip.

Oh no you didn’t!  Oh yes you did!  Even tweens like to do this one – especially with attitude.

 

Attention-Getter #2

The Big Old Alley Cat Looking for Mice

kids do child pose in kids yoga pretending they are a mouse hiding from a cat
Kids Learn Child Pose as part of a simple yoga flow.

For the younger yogis, I play on an activity from a short yoga flow we do using Cat, Dog, Snake, and Mouse pose.  When we get to Mouse, we’ve got to stay very still because Cat is just around the corner.  This big old alley cat is looking for some lunch.  Stay very still so the cat doesn’t find you!

After we’ve done this game in a few classes, I can pretend I’m the alley cat anytime and the kids will quickly go into child pose and quiet down.

Sometimes I don’t have to say anything, I just do my alley cat walk and once the first child sees it, they react, and soon all the kids are doing mouse pose without even a word from me.

 

Attention-Getter #3

Breathe In the Big Me, Breathe Out the Little Me

 

a kids yoga teacher points to her nose as she takes a deep breath in and 4 kids follow along doing yoga breathing
Breathe In the Big Me is a Breathing Routine that Helps Kids Pay Attention

My classic yoga attention-getter is a big yoga breath.  I call out, “Breathe in the Big Me” and you fill yourself with air and stretch your arms up to open up, your ribs too.  When you are full of air you feel big and powerful! That’s the big me.

Then it’s time to “Breathe Out the Little Me” and exhale and let your arms float down.  This is when you let go of anything that may be troubling you or making you feel small.  It’s a way to let go of doubt and insecurity.  Let the Little Me go out with each breath.

I use this breath to finish most yoga poses.  I use it so much it may not seem like I’m doing it to get attention, but I know that it’s a routine that kids know and follow, and helps kids keep their focus.

Now Share Your Favorite Attention Getter

Please leave a comment to share your current favorite Attention-Getter.  Do you stick with the same one or do you switch them up?  What do you do to get the attention of your kids at home?

 

Upcoming Kids Yoga Teacher Training

Kids Yoga Teacher Training Yoga Alliance Registered Childrens Yoga School
Click this image for prices and more details of the Summer Certification

Summer Certification Super Early Bird Pricing Ends Today

Register Early to Save!

Details Here.

Filed Under: Kids Yoga Tagged With: classroom management, Kids Yoga, kids yoga teacher training, Yoga Games, yoga poses

Beyond Bones: Kids Yoga Poses and Philosophy From a Skeleton

This week I’ve been stalking the aisles of the Halloween section of my local stores.  There are a few big skeletons I’ve had my eye on and if they don’t get sold they will go on sale, usually 60 – 80% off.   Big skeletons are my new favorite prop in kids yoga class for the Halloween season.  Actually I brought my Skeleton into my adult class too and will start using it for more than a Halloween theme.

The rattling bones get kids attention. Its amazing how the concept of bones comes alive with a craft store skeleton.

A Skeleton Teaches More than Bones

a boy doing yoga on a pumpkin orange yoga mat
Halloween Yoga for Kids

But the big reason I like to use Skeletons in yoga is because it reminds me of my beloved teacher who taught me why I should not fear death.  More on that below, here is a little video from my front porch showing you some of the fun ways I use my skeleton in yoga class.  A Skeleton is a great prop!

 

You may be surprised that the Skeleton is useful beyond Halloween. In our Kids Yoga Teacher training, the Themes and Dreams Certificate weekend, has lesson plans based on the teaching of the meditation Master I studied from for 11 years.  Themes like why we do Yoga and why we Meditate.  They are simple explanations that kids get. Explanations beyond: it makes you healthy.  Even the teachers get more connected to their own practice when they hear the reasons explained in these kid friendly way.

Themes and Dreams Kids Yoga Teacher Training Certificate

Themes and Dreams was the first teacher training I developed for Young Yoga Masters and its a condensed and powerful weekend.  It brings the yogic teachings to life.

This yoga philosophy inspired me to follow my dreams.  It’s the reason why Young Yoga Masters became a reality.

One thing I see again and again in the Kids Yoga Teacher Trainings are people who also want to bring their dreams to reality.  They want to live a life with meaning.  It motivates me to fulfill my dreams and aspirations even though, at times, they feel impossible.  Courage is a big part of doing yoga and meditation.

Proverb: “Most people tiptoe through life
trying to make it safely to death.”

Fearless Kids Yoga Teachers

My meditation teacher would remind us that we are going to die, that life is limited, don’t pretend you are have an endless number of tomorrows to start living.  Why are you playing it safe, he would say, you’re heading for your grave anyway.  That’s the other reason why I like to bring the Skeletons into kids yoga class.  I want children to live fearlessly, not fearing even death. Can you imagine?

The Kids Yoga Teacher Training Ages and Stages Certificate with Janet Williams, also covers anatomy for kids.  In this course you appreciate all the body does for you, it feels like a miracle to be alive.

Ages and Stages Kids Yoga Teacher Certificate

When it comes to following my dreams, there are some big projects that I’m working on in Kids Yoga Training. I haven’t seen anyone else doing them so it is very exciting.  It’s also easy to think, maybe no one is doing it because its not worth doing.

That’s where a good yoga class to get in my body and out of my head, and a playful romp with a skeleton reminds me that I don’t have that much to lose anyway.  I’d rather live my life following my passion, than tiptoeing to my grave.

What about you?

Upcoming Events

Become a Certified Kids Yoga Teacher

I encourage anyone with an interest in inspiring yourself to live big, and share that passion with the next generation to consider signing up for the upcoming weekend certificates or the full 95 hour Yoga Alliance Registered Children’s Yoga Teacher Certification.

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

Here is the link to the dates an info.  I’m sure you will feel uplifted by the experience and carry this fire of inspiration to those you meet.

I’d love to see you there.

Filed Under: Kids Yoga, Lesson Plans Tagged With: Halloween Yoga, kids yoga teacher fears, kids yoga teacher training, Philosophy, skeleton, yoga poses

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.

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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
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!

 

 

 

Filed Under: Kids Yoga, Teacher Training Tagged With: book reviews, partner yoga, stories, yoga poses

5 Ideas for End of School Year Kids Yoga

“You’re not going yet!?”

Right after we do yoga breathing at the beginning of my toddler class, on three year old exclaims, “You’re not going yet!?”

Because we do yoga breathing at the end of class too, she sometimes things we’re coming to a close.  She doesn’t like to say good-bye and I have to admit, especially as we’re drawing to the end of another school year, I can relate!

Yoga in the Classroom

I’ve written before about the sadness I experience as a teacher at the end of the school year. I’ve done yoga with kids from their diaper days, to seeing the big gap in their front teeth,  to them transforming into adults.  If you’ve ever got the privilege to teach in the same school long term, you know what its like. Relationships form, we make connections that light us up when we see the kids in our classes.

A six year old student that I’ve taught since she was two years old was in the hospital with pneumonia this winter, we didn’t know if she would make it, she was very sick.  Thank God she returned, much tinier, after missing three weeks of school. Now she’ll be moving on to grade one. Simply put, I love her. But from past experience I’ve seen that for most kids, the last class is no big deal. They’re thinking more about summer holidays, swimming, or learning to ride a bike.

Its me who’s silently saying, “You’re not going yet!?”

Fortunately we have many powerful yoga teachings about attachment to help us let go and move on.  The good news is they work equally well for children and teachers.

5 Ideas for End of School Year Yoga

Idea 1: Normalize The Process:

In yoga, the Hindu philosophy explains the cycle of Brahma (Creator), Vishnu (Sustainor), Shiva (Destroyer).  In Kundalini Yoga we say Sa (Universe) Ta (Life) Na (Death) Ma (Rebirth). In Christianity, Christ died so there could be a resurrection of new life. So many spiritual practices point to teachings on the cycle of life: Endings lead to new beginnings.

In my end of year classes I try to bring this to life with a theme about cycles. Consider using these yoga flows:

  • Growth Cycle: start with a seed (child pose), become a sprout (kneeling with upward hands) then grow up to a plant (mountain pose), the plant creates a flower (standing with upward hands), the flower blossoms and dies (downward dog) which plants a new seed (child pose).
  • The Seasons (warm-up first):  Spring (half-wheel/bridge lifts – inhale up, exhale down), summer (from corpse pose come to legs up to 90 degrees or shoulder stand), fall (plow pose), winter (corpse pose).
  • Meditation for Change: If thoughts go to sadness about losing someone, use the “Sa Ta Na Ma” meditation to refocus your mind during these times.  Here’s a link to how the Kirtan Kriya Meditation is done.  I regularly do this meditation for about six minutes with children. 

    Saying Good-bye lets us practice Non-Attachment.

Idea 2: Take Care of Unfinished Business

This may be the last time you will see some of the kids so if there is anything you want to share, now is the time.  Yogi Bhajan said “I did not come to collect students, but to train teachers.”  As teachers we want to build students to be ten times as powerful as ourselves.  I think about how I can make these children ten times more powerful than I am!  That’s how I will know I’ve done a good job. The wheels start turning in their young minds when they hear my last instruction to go and teach what they’ve learned.  They sit up a little taller and consider who they can teach yoga to. Now their yoga practice doesn’t have to end when my classes end.

Idea 3: Gratitude Circle

Etch out some circle time for each person to say what they are grateful for about yoga and each other.  An attitude of gratitude helps us remember all we have instead of crying about what we don’t have.

Idea 4: Make a Wish and Let It Go

When the three year old I mentioned says “You’re not going yet!?”  at the beginning of class, we make a wish and then let it go.  Consider giving kids their wish emotionally, “Wouldn’t it be great if we could do yoga together all day.  That would be so fun, wouldn’t it?”  I recommend you DON’T finish it with, “But we can’t do that” or some other negation of the wish.  Just make the wish and let go of it.

Then move on to thoughts of all the fun things planned for the class, “Now we’ve got our warm-up song, our yoga poses, downward dog, cobra pose… and our meditation. Wow, we’ve got a lot to do together!”

I’ve done this for three or four weeks with my little friend and she smiles and gets ready for yoga.  By the end of the class she’s satisfied that we’ve completed our routine.When I feel sad, I make a silent wish for the children I’m going to miss, a wish for them to have a happy and healthy future.

Idea 5: Choose Your Favorite Yoga Poses for Yoga at Home

Since the kids have done yoga all year, they know a lot.  For the last class try invite each child to name their favorite place to do yoga at home.  Then go on to have them teach each other their favorite yoga pose.

Children will get a mental picture of their home practice, bringing them one step closer to actually doing yoga at home.  Plus it’s fun to hear poses like – upside down on the couch pose or TV watching cobra pose.

You probably won’t be able to do all these in your last class.  But you may pick and choose a few of these ideas to make a smooth transition at the end of the school year.

Am I the only sentimental yoga teacher out there?

I doubt it.  I’ve met enough yoga teachers to know how open-hearted most of us are.  Have you ever grown attached to your students?  What are you going to miss about them?  Feel free to share your memories, your wishes, or your own tips in the comments because sharing is a great way of processing our feelings and letting go of attachments.

I wish for all of you a smooth transition and a wonderful summer!

 

 

“You’re not going yet!?”

There’s a three year old girl who right after we do our yoga breathing at the beginning of  class emphasizes, “You’re not going yet!?”   She doesn’t like to say good-bye and I have to admit, especially as we’re drawing to the close of another school year, I can relate!

“You’re not going yet!?”

There’s a three year old girl who right after we do our yoga breathing at the beginning of  class emphasizes, “You’re not going yet!?”   She doesn’t like to say good-bye and I have to admit, especially as we’re drawing to the close of another school year, I can relate!

“You’re not going yet!?”

There’s a three year old girl who right after we do our yoga breathing at the beginning of  class emphasizes, “You’re not going yet!?”   She doesn’t like to say good-bye and I have to admit, especially as we’re drawing to the close of another school year, I can relate!

Filed Under: Character Development, Kids Yoga, Lesson Plans Tagged With: lesson plans, non-attachment, schools, themes, yoga in school, yoga poses

3 Hard-to-Teach Kids Yoga Poses

This post is a free sneak peak at the Kids Yoga Teacher Training I offer at Young Yoga Masters.  You can get many more tools like this by joining me for one of the upcoming fall courses.  I’d love to see you there.  Click here for full details.

An important part of the kids yoga teacher training is finding out what doesn’t work in kid’s yoga BEFORE you are with the kids.  You’ve got to know age-appropriate poses, how to teach them, and how to time your classes.  Too many hard-to-teach poses can lead to frustrated, injured, or tuned out kids.

“Hard” means “Time Consuming”
For instance, these three poses can be hard to teach to kids.  Perhaps “hard” isn’t the best word, lengthy-to-teach may describe it better.  It doesn’t mean I don’t teach them.  It also doesn’t mean kids don’t like them.  In fact I do teach them and kids do like them – a lot!  Certain poses just require more time and energy.

I DO NOT recommend introducing all three of these poses in  one class. Here’s why:

Cat Pose turns into Downward Dog
  1. Cat/Cow Pose:  usually ends up being Downward Dog/Cow pose.  Hard-to-teach because no matter what you say, about 25% of the class doesn’t get the part about keeping your knees on the floor. By the time you’ve helped the 15th child figure out the pose, the first children have been doing the pose for a long time or have tuned out.

    Wheel Pose (variation)- also called 1/2 Wheel and Bridge
  2. Wheel: The kids who can do wheel pose love it – and ask for it!  So if kids ask for it, don’t give in right away.  Often 50% of older kids can’t do it.  Wheel pose takes a heap of arm and abdominal strength plus flexibility.  This can’t be taught in one class.  If you start off with wheel, you’ll have half the class watching on in awe, but unable to do it.  Then they feel inadequate doing an alternate pose.  Most pre-school kids can’t do wheel at all!  If kids ask for wheel, start off teaching the poses that build up to wheel, like table, bow, and camel pose.  Then offer up wheel to try at the end of class for a short time – the kid’s who can’t do wheel, after all those other poses, will be too tired to care.

    Donkey Kicks
  3. Donkey Kicks: kid’s love donkey kicks, but you’ve got to warn them about NOT FLIPPING OVER!  Sometimes kids get so excited they really go for it.  And then there’s the problem of KIDS GETTING KICKED.  With Donkey Kicks the teacher must be up and walking around – to serve and protect.

Sometimes when we’ve been doing yoga for a while we forget which poses are beginner, intermediate, and advanced.  Introduce yoga to kids with beginner poses, then sprinkle in the hard-to-teach poses.  Those poses will feel much more satisfying when there aren’t too many.

Do you have any tricks for teaching these hard-to-teach poses?

Do you find any poses hard-to-teach?

Filed Under: Kids Yoga, Lesson Plans, Teacher Training Tagged With: cat/cow, donkey kicks, hard-to-teach, safety, wheel, yoga poses

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