Hello, Spring!! Spring has to be one of my favorite times to teach children’s yoga. There are so many possibilities with yoga classes and the energy of the children shifts. There’s more sunshine, happiness and laughter. There’s more enthusiasm. The children are excitedly counting down to Summer and sharing their outdoor adventures and activities.
This past month, I went with the below themes and had a successful month in all of my classes. I also led another yoga/mindfulness assembly (which I absolutely LOVE- access to 150+ children in a school setting and teaching them the power of their breath??! Incredible!)
April Showers Bring May Flowers
This is one of my favorite classes to teach in April. We make a rain shower with our bodies (Thunder, Lightening, Rain and Wind) and then grow into yoga trees and flowers. We practice moving slowly – because it takes time to grow big and strong, like a tree. Next, we practice blooming fast – because suddenly, a flower can bloom overnight.
Spring Animals
Over the years, this class continues to be a hit. This can be taught during the year at any point in time, but the discussion surrounding baby animals and what they grow into is always interesting. I was able to introduce the word “tadpole” this week to a number of students. We practiced swimming like tadpoles, with our bellies on the floor, straight arms and legs and our hands and feet hovering above the ground. Then we crawled into frog pose and I encouraged everyone to keep their heels down in a yoga squat. We moved on to frog jumps, down dog and puppy pose.
A great variation of this class is to pick a few animals and have the students brainstorm what the animal pose looks like.
We had such a great discussion about baby animals this week that when I cued a pose, I told the children to put their “paws” at the top of the mat. We all erupted into laughter and I have been
Sun Salutations
“Dance for the Sun” by Kira Willey is my goal for my preschool program. By the end of the school year, I want my students doing a Sun Salutation without me having to demo the poses. I love talking about the longer days in the Spring. We say thank you to the sun in yoga by doing Sun Salutations. By the end of our three/four years together, they are strong and capable of doing it in its entirety. It brings me so much joy to watch them move through the poses in synchrony. They are always so proud of themselves- I am, too!
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