How to Start a Kids Yoga Program at a School

Back to school looms closer and closer.  This is good news for kids yoga teachers interested in finding new classes.   Here are some pointers, from experience, on how to get a kids yoga program into a school.

How Well Do You Know Your School System?
The first thing to do is to get to know your school system and curriculum and this is where we give thanks for the internet. Search your city name and “education,” “Ministry,” or “Board” until you find the official government website.

You’re about to learn a new language – the one used by your school.  Write your proposal using the language from their curriculum NOT yoga language.  You won’t find a single requirement for chakra opening in a school curriculum.  Each school system has their own vernacular, learn it and use it as much as possible in your proposal.

Physical Education Curriculum:
What is it called and what are the curriculum requirements.  In my area (Ontario, Canada) the Health and Physical Education program is divided into “Strands” (see what I mean about language!).

There are three strands in Grades 1 – 8, and four in high school.  When you’ve got a good idea of how your yoga program enhances the curriculum, then who do you talk to?  Usually its the Physical Education Department Head.

Class Sizes – How Many Can You Teach?
Also look on the website for the typical class size.  This will help you determine how many classes you can teach at a time.  If you put two classes together, one teacher can stay for yoga while the other gets to catch up on other work.  It also cuts down on expenses.  My area tries for 23 students or fewer in primary classes.  Put your class size limits in your proposal as well as how many classes you can teach in a row.

Professional Development for Teachers:
Can you sweeten the package by adding a free class to teachers at the staff meeting if they book you for a minimum number of classes?  Talk to the department head, VP or Principal of the school about how you can save them money and time.

Other Types of Education in the Curriculum:
Examples:  Stress Management, Character Development, Healthy Schools initiative, Michelle Obama introduced the Let’s Move program.  Tap into these with kids yoga.  Please share any grants you know of in the comments!

Lunch-Time or After School Classes:
These classes usually involve charging each student enrolled.  If you can get high numbers you can keep the cost down and still make a living.  Approach the Parent Board at the school as a way in.

Daycare Classes:
Some regions offer daycare programs for after school.  Approach the daycare manager about doing a weekly class in each room.

Make someone’s life easier.
Who ever you approach, make their life easier.  No one wants a program that means more work!  Deliver a great kids class.  If you can’t, get the yoga and kids yoga training to do it. You’ve got to know how to manage and run a kids yoga class or you’re program won’t last.

Become a Reliable Resource for the School
Most of the places I teach kids yoga, I’ve gone to for over 7 years, some schools for 10 years!  It’s better to return to a school rather then to keep finding new classes.  If you make the whole program stress-free, they will want you back and this is good for everybody.

The Time is Now:  The Week Before School Starts
All this information is very timely!  There is a window right before school starts where the teachers are back to work but the students aren’t.  In Ontario the teachers start back on Sept. 1 but the children don’t come back till Sept. 7.  Find the window and go in with a proposal.  Or wait a month till the back to school rush is over. You may be able to help the teachers meet their requirements.

All the best to everyone out there working to increase kids health and happiness.  Please feel free to add any insights or links you have to the comments and let’s get more kids doing yoga!

Aruna Kathy Humphrys
www.YoungYogaMasters.com

More News

The Fall Schedule is here! Don’t miss out on the Young Yoga Masters Kids Yoga Teacher Training course.  Its like no other!  Pass on the wisdom of yoga to the future generations!  Too see the upcoming courses click here.  To bring the Young Yoga Masters training to your area contact:  Aruna@YoungYogaMasters.com.  Registration is now open.  I’d love to meet you in-person for this inspiring and practical training.

Contest:  Win Romancing the Stove, A Practical Guide to a Lifelong Celebration of Eating for Health by Samahria Ramsen.  To enter fill out the short survey here.  Contest closes:  August 31, 2010.  Thanks to everyone who has already filled out the survey.  Your input will guide the direction of Young Yoga Masters.

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:

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?

To Diana – for 14 Years of Yoga

I had my youngest student ever In my last training – a 14 year old!  She fit in wonderfully (I admit I am her biased aunt).  Everyone in the course worked so well together and brought something unique to the course.  Among the small group we had a Montessori teacher, gymnast, Pilates teacher, school teacher, yoga teacher, mothers, daughters, and a babysitter (Diana).  Some playing many of these roles.

Now I don’t want to take all the credit for my awesome niece. Her parents, grandparents, teachers, friends probably helped too.  But I realize Diana has always had yoga in her life and she’s always liked it.  So here’s a little anecdotal evidence as a tribute to prove how Yoga has helped my 14 year old niece become a beautiful young woman and fledgling yoga teacher.

To Diana – for 14 Years of Yoga

• for the excitement of waiting for you to be born, with the use of a few relaxing yoga breathing techniques (some by your mom – and a lot by me in the hallway!) to help us be more relaxed to welcome this beautiful baby girl into our lives,
• for playing yoga games, listening to yoga music, and doing kids meditations on so many four hour drives to Ottawa,
• for having a yoga birthday party – because you love yoga (picture here)!
• for taking kids yoga classes at studios whenever you could find them because your “yoga aunt” lived too far away to teach you regularly,
  

  Kids Yoga with My Niece and Nephews (back in 2003)

• for posing for countless yoga pictures,
• for winning an award for your grade eight graduation and before your name was announced everyone knew it was you because they called you the girl who brings a smoothie to school every morning (something you got from a girls yoga book.).
• for being the youngest person to take my kids yoga teacher training (14 years old).  You took it, as you said,”because I like yoga and it may help me connect better with the kids I babysit.”

Thanks to everyone who was at the kids yoga teacher training in Pickering!  It was a wonderful course and everyone had so much to offer.  Including the 14 year old!

For anyone out there who wants to bring yoga to kids – I’ve seen how much it works, not only with Diana, but with so many of the beautiful kids I’ve taught over the years who are now becoming teenagers and adults!  Even a little yoga on a walk or in your living room can plant the seeds for a yogic lifestyle and attitude.

Who else has seen the long-term benefits of yoga on children they know?  Please share your stories in the comments.

5 Potential Life Saving Summer Safety Tips That Should Not be Ignored

Yesterday I was saddened by some tragic news at the daycare where I teach yoga.  They were grieving three recent deaths in the community. These occurred in two separate incidents outside of the daycare – but all involved drowning.

A three year old boy drowned at home when he wandered off and fell in the pool.  He was a student at the daycare. The shock and sadness still lingers in his classroom.

The other involved the uncle and cousin of a school age student.  They drowned in a lake while playing in the water.  The uncle tried to save his son who started drowning when the lake dropped off and suddenly got deep.

In the last week there have been ten drowning deaths in Ontario, of these seven were children or teens.  Regardless of where you are – education is the key to safety.  Today, to honor our dear friends at the daycare we are going to take time out for some safety reminders.

5 Potential Life Saving Summer Safety Tips That Should Not be Ignored

1. Water Safety: It only takes seconds to minutes to drown in water.  If children can’t swim they should wear life jackets in any water that can get deep. Kids who are going to around water regularly should take swimming lessons so they practice how to breath and move in the water.
2. Life Jackets: Everyone in a boat should wear a life jacket.  Especially if you are boating with kids.  Three of the deaths in Ontario occurred when a father, who wasn’t wearing a life jacket, drowned.  Eventually his two kids, who were wearing life jackets, drowned as well.
3. Child-proof Doors and Windows: Homes with infants and toddlers must be child-proofed.  This includes always locking doors and windows to dangerous areas like pools or balconies.
4. Back in when you park your car: The police here recommend this simple tip to help prevent accidentally hitting small children when backing out of a driveway.  You’ll have a good view of what is going on to safely back in and park.   When you are leaving – you drive forward with a good view. Back in to park then forward out when you leave.  Think about doing this when you park at a school or daycare or any homes with kids around.
5. First Aid: Take first aid and CPR training and have a first aid kit.  When accidents can’t be prevented, you may know something that could save a life!

Pause Now for Safety
Please pause for a minute right now and think of any situations recently when you have wondered if your kids and you are safe.

Now think of what you can do to still have fun but also play it safe. Can you change a routine or habit that would make more sense in terms of safety?

We will miss our dear friends and relatives at the daycare.  We can also learn from the mistakes and stories of others so that we don’t make the same mistakes.  Let’s all take a moment to reflect on our own intuition and feelings about improving our safety.

I’d love to hear any other safety tips you can offer that may help us all be more safe.

New Start, New Courses, & New York City

Did you ever notice how the word “news” has “new” in it? I guess its obvious but  I noticed it when I started planning the summer. Mostly I think of news as doom and gloom. But when I realize it probably started a long time ago with someone saying, “Hey, what’s NEW?”  News is way better from the NEW perspective.

I’ve got NEWs.

New York City Get Ready!
First, I’m very excited to be taking a girls-only trip to New York city. We’re leaving  behind our husbands and jetting off to the Big Apple playground. It happens that in Central Park they are trying to break the World Record for the largest Yoga Class. I’ve got my free ticket but you know how New York can be with so much to do.

But what I’m really wondering is – Can anyone recommend a good Vegetarian restaurant?

The First NEWs is New York city, but there’s still New Courses and New Starts.

Announcing New Courses:
New Kids yoga Teacher Training courses in Ontario, Canada. I invite you to join me. The dates are here or in the upper right corner of my website. While I love writing the free blog – these trainings are my business. I’m here to tell you, you CAN make a  living teaching yoga.  But in my opinion it’s easier if you specialize. I didn’t know it 12 year ago, but specializing in kids yoga was one of the best moves I made, especially as more and more teachers graduate.  You want to stand out from the crowd.

If you want to become a kids yoga teacher I’d love to see you in Ontario. Last May, one person flew here from Mexico (hi Valeria!) for the course and she was happy she did. She said,

Everything was useful! The fact of seeing the Class Creator and the
structure of  classes really helped me start to imagine how my own classes could be.
I didn’t have an idea of how to teach children without being like a clown
and doing animal poses.

Aruna really explains everything clearly and is completely honest
because she  reveals some secrets and shares the resources.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!
Loved the course. Wow!!! : )

- Valeria Dagnino Ibanez
Yoga Teacher, Mexico

Did I also mention how beautiful Canada is in the summer? It truly is. If you want  to try something NEW and USEFUL, check out the upcoming trainings.

And finally, the New Start.
My husband sometimes accuses me of expecting him to read my mind. After one such… discussion, I also realized new blog readers may have a similar experience when they first visit my blog.

In the information age – the problem is not knowledge – its sifting through all the knowledge. I’ve got 181 posts!  Where to start?  You can’t read my mind.

So my New Start is a New “Get Started Here” page. It has 5 blog posts to get you oriented. And one of my favorite funny stories of when a 2 1/2 year old girl peed on my yoga mat. If you’ve recently found my blog – you may find this link helpful.  It’s on the blue toolbar at the top of the website.

So what’s new with you?

Wishing you all great New’s. I’ll be back late next week to tell you about New York City.   But if you have any recommendations for New York  City veggie dining, or other not to be missed things, please leave a comment.

- Aruna Humphrys
www.YoungYogaMasters.com

Classroom Management: Do you ask kids questions like these?

When teachers or parents start getting frustrated with children they often resort to asking questions to get back control of the situation.  The problem is when these questions aren’t really questions but are criticisms disguised as questions.

Questions like these don’t help with classroom management and don’t help the child correct their behavior either.

For example:

1. A pre-school teacher assisting in yoga class who pulls an overactive 3 year old out of the room, stands over her asking:  “Are you a baby? Do you want to go to the baby room?  Why are you acting like a baby?”
2. A parent overheard in the grocery store saying (loudly) to a little 3 or 4 year old girl:  “If I’m right beside you, why are you yelling?”

If these children answered it would probably go something like:

1. “I guess I am a baby because you’re talking to me like I’m a big loser and an idiot.”
2. “I’m yelling because that’s what you do when you want my attention.”

These types of questions just don’t work.  I’ve NEVER  heard a child give what I suppose is the desired answer:

1. “No I’m not a baby, so I will stop my goofing around and start acting like a three year old.”
2. “Mommy, you’ve pointed out my error so well, I better use a softer voice.”

In my experience, children never actually answer these types questions. They just stand there frozen, not sure what to do or say, feeling bad about themselves.  In terms of classroom management, it may stop the behavior for a while, but in the long term it doesn’t provide the leadership required to help children become the leaders of the future.  It lowers their self esteem by making them feel incompetent.

Instead of Questions, Be a Role Model…

A great teacher doesn’t let unwanted behavior go unnoticed either.  We don’t serve children if they can’t sit still or aren’t aware of how loud they are talking.  Instead try some other approaches.  Like:

1. the teacher assisting can calmly walk over to an overactive three year old and sit beside them and with one or two words, remind them of what everyone is doing (“cobra pose, everyone is doing cobra pose”), and modeling the behavior they want,
2. A tired mom in the grocery can drop down, look her daughter in the eye and say, “Please speak softer” in the same tone she wants her daughter to use.

Both Yoga and Classroom Management require Sadhana, a consistent practice that helps us succeed at our goal.  Sadhana is done with devotion, not with criticism or questioning.  Consistency brings us to the state we desire through practice, reflection on our actions, and observation of what we are doing and how it is working.

Teachers and parents are role models  for children in ALL we do.  These children will become the role models of the future. We need to commit to consciously creating the kind of class we want the same way a true yogi commit to their Sadhana.

This week bring awareness to your use of questions.  Are they real questions waiting for real answers or criticisms disguised as questions.  If you are not sure, what answer are you looking for when you ask?  If you want the child to answer with a specific response,  it’s probably not a real question.

If you realize it’s a criticism, and you don’t know what else to do, start by simply stating your frustration, “You’re moving around too much.”  or “You’re too loud.”   It’s an honest starting place and a move away from those other questions.

Then re-direct with a precise description of what you.   And do it like the yogis – with consistency, with love, and make it like a mantra – short, sweet, and elevating!

Please feel free to share your classroom management stories and how you re-direct children.  It will help all of us to get new ideas and tools.

Aruna Kathy Humphrys
www.YoungYogaMasters.com

P.S.  Thanks to everyone who entered the Eoin Finn DVD Giveaway for Pure and Simple Yoga.  The random winner is Betherann – who blogs over at ww.kitchencourage.com.  Congratulations.

Not an Ordinary Month

From April 16 – May 16 I’ve had three extraordinary weekends.  It was a great escape from the ordinary.  The three pictures below are from three Young Yoga Masters trainings held on three different weekends at three different studios.  It was a powerful month with many sincere and wonderful people, the kind of people who really care about kids!

And I don’t want my adventure to end!  I love seeing everyone come in a little quiet, wondering about this new experience.  Soon we bring out the child in ourselves.  Learning together, yoga-ing together, meditating together, working together, playing together and even a little dancing together.  Soon everyone is smiling, new connections form, and friends have been made.

This training is specially designed to bring out the non-competitive aspects of yoga not only for kids but also for us as teachers.

Like this picture from the Kids Yoga Teacher Training Course at Moksha Yoga Milton.  Joe, who’s teaching in this picture, did my training in 2009 and now he teaches two kids classes a week.   These are kids whose parents are taking an adult class in the hot room at the same time.  These classes are a real service for the parents, kids, and the studio.   There are so many kids to teach!

Joe arranged for me to do this training at his studio.  All the trainees joined his kids class and he taught a part from the curriculum.  It was invaluable to see the kids having so much fun doing the yoga from the course.

The next weekend training was at the Lotus Yoga Centre in Toronto.   In the above picture you can see everyone getting into the spirit of kids yoga, playing one of the kids yoga games.  All the games in the course are co-operative – as in no one gets “out.”  They are really fun but also develop focus, awareness, and health.

And finally a big shout out to all the folks from last weekend’s training at TULA Studio. It was a great mix of those from yoga backgrounds as well as those who already work with kids in other settings.  In the Young Yoga Masters training we draw on the experience and knowledge of those attending.  The last part of the training is how to create your own classes, and everyone sees how they can put their own stamp on their kids class.

The trainings were a big success and all three studios are interested in hosting the Young Yoga Masters Kids Yoga Teacher Training again.

For a Weekend Out of the Ordinary

Now, my goal is to continue with extraordinary adventures and bring the Young Yoga Masters training to new frontiers and I need your help.  If you like reading the Young Yoga Masters blog, if you love yoga, and if you really care about kids, I want to come to your area for a weekend Kids Yoga Teacher Training.

Contact me to find out more information and also how you can take the training for free.

E-mail:  Aruna@YoungYogaMasters.com for more details.

Why settle for another regular weekend, when you can explore the fabulous world of Kids Yoga.  You’ll be glad you did!

Aruna Kathy Humphrys
YoungYogaMasters.com

P.S.  Thanks to everyone who entered to win the kids yoga book:  Once Upon a Pose by Donna Freeman. The random winner of  the book is

Shani Butler who said:

Thanks for always sharing! I am excited to check out this new book. Sounds like it will have some fresh ideas for my preschool & elementary school yoga classes! Thanks!!

3 Simple Health Tips for Kids Yoga Teachers

Recently I’ve been feeling the excitement, perhaps the over-excitement, of life.  With so many things on the go  I got run down and decided to stop everything for awhile to get back to a healthy state.  My Mentor, Tulshi Sen, always said that when things get overwhelming it’s time to stop everything and re-connect with your hearts desire.

These wise words have guided me through some intense times although when I first heard them I didn’t believe I could stop EVERYTHING.  I now know that only by stopping can I change track both physically and emotionally.

Stopping got me thinking about how important it is for us to take care of ourselves as teachers.  If we get sick or run down we can’t do what we love to do – teach.  If we don’t acknowledge  we’re sick and keep teaching, we spread sickness around instead of happiness.

By stopping, I saw I was getting robotic, completing tasks without experiencing any joy in doing them.  I missed the signs of not eating well or not getting a good night’s sleep.

When I rested I realized three tips that were missing from the Health and Safety part of my Kids Yoga Teacher Training Curriculum.  They help us stay healthy as teachers.  These three simple health tips remind us to slow down, examine our habits, and sometimes stop altogether so we can do what we love:

1. Wash Your Hands Between Classes
   Recently a child I teach ended up in hospital for a week with a virus.  If you teach multiple classes in a day you may be carrying a virus around from class to class.  Slow down so you can wash your hands after each class.  You’ll help stop the spread of illness from one class to the next and also to yourself.
2. Sleeve Cough/Sneeze
   When I was a kid we were taught to cover our mouth with our hand when we coughed or sneezed.  That habit was so deeply ingrained in me it took months to change – even though it was obvious just how germ-y our  hands and everything we touch will become if we cough into them.

   The new etiquette: if you don’t have a tissue sneeze into your sleeve rather than your hand.  This keeps your hands clean for when you touch other things like your yoga props or the children.  Hopefully you know about this one, but I still see people covering their mouth with their hand – probably out of habit.  Teach this to the children you see sneezing in your class as well and everyone will stay healthier!

3. If you are Sick - It’s time to Stop
   Teaching yoga is important but if you are sick it is a time to stop what you are doing and reconnect with what is important.  If it means canceling a class then cancel it.  I know it is hard to do, especially if you are self-employed, but it is worth it.   What amount of money is more important than good health?

Yoga and meditation help us become the Masters of our Destiny.  When we get run down we forget the power we have to change our lives.  Stopping helps us realize that we don’t HAVE TO do the things that are causing us to be run down.  The only thing we have to do is give ourselves the freedom to live a happy and healthy life.

Yoga for Boys Preview and Upcoming Events

Here’s the inside scoop on some upcoming Young Yoga Masters events including a sneak peak of the new pictures for Yoga for Boys:  Yoga Man vs. The Stressor project.   The April Kids Yoga Teacher Training is almost half full, so if you’ve been thinking of registering – do it soon.  Plus, I’ll be at a booth at the Yoga Show and Conference in Toronto at the end of March.

Here’s what’s happening:

Yoga Man Teacher's Version

Yoga for Boys: Yoga Man vs.  The Stressor

You may have noticed the link on the blue tool bar on my blog that says “On-line Teaching Tools.”    Since there are so few Yoga for Boys tools, I began working with some boys to create Yoga Man vs. The Stressor.

Now, it’s very close to being ready, I want to get it done by the Yoga Show (March 26).  All three pictures in this blog post are a sneak peak of some of the picture included.  They’ll be much more, but I’ll wait till its ready to give you the full details.

I welcome your comments on it.

Kids Yoga Teacher Training:  Friday April 30 – Sunday May 2

The next weekend Training is starting to fill up.  The training is kept small (maximum 20 students) and right now, it’s almost half full.  If you would like to join us for this inspiring weekend, register soon before it fills up.  For full details click here.

Kundalini Yoga at the Toronto Yoga Show (booth 913)

I’ll be at the Kundalini Yoga booth on Saturday March 27 from  3 -5 pm and Sunday March 28 from 4 – 6 pm  at the Toronto Yoga Show and Conference.

If you’re going, stop by to say hello to me or come by at any time to pick up your free sample of Yogi tea.  We’re at booth 913.

If I don’t see you there, let me know if you have any questions about any of these events.

Kids are Eating a Wheelbarrow full of Sugar….

I just can’t resist passing on this TED talk with chef Jamie Oliver.  He became an inspiration for me after he did the TV series on changing the food served in school cafeterias (watch to around the 10 minute mark for Oliver’s rant on this topic).

But one of the most jaw dropping part comes around the 11:30 mark where kids try to identify common vegetables – and get most of them wrong.

And the wheelbarrow full of sugar is just from the MILK kids drink at school over five years.

Take a moment and watch the video and find out how all these problems are treatable!

Today’s kids are expected to live 10 years less than we are expected to live.  All because of unhealthy eating and living.  The future of kids yoga needs to include Yogic eating.  This will help teachers develop a healthy yoga business and a healthy lifestyle. We can educate kids, parents, and even other teachers about yogic eating.  It includes healthy foods, snacks, and how to cook healthy meals (especially vegetarian).

Once you know how, cooking at home is less expensive, taste better, and according to Jamie Oliver, helps you live longer.

Jamie Oliver and a thousand smiling yogis agree!

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