How Yoga Can Help if Your Kids Drop Out of School and Join the Circus – A Yoga Game for Worry

Worry is imagining all the things that CAN go wrong. Its like creating a personalized haunted house in your head.  Worry is illusions, smoke and mirrors, things that haven’t actually happened for real. Like our kids flunking out in school and having to join the circus!

Back to school time is a popular time for worrying.  We help ourselves and our kids by looking worry straight in the eye and seeing it for what it really is – a trick of the mind.  The Yogis say the mind is like a wild stallion that must be reigned in.  We’ve got to tame that stallion so that it can preform the tricks we want, not put us in danger!

So if you or your kids are worrying this week about back to school stuff, take off the pressure with a little fun by asking, “How bad would it really be?”

The “How bad would it really be?” game helps us learn to laugh at the tricks of the mind and put the mind in it’s rightful place.  For instance, if school does go horribly wrong a yogi could get many jobs that a regular education does not prepare them for.

How bad would it really be?  If school doesn’t work out, kids can always join the circus!  They could do a balancing act on the 80 ft. poles.

How bad would it really be? Since there’s so may animal yoga poses don’t forget the petting zoo fast track.

How bad would it really be? A child who likes meditation may choose Sand Sculpture for their livelihood.

How bad would it really be? Bendy Em seems to be fitting in fine with her yoga background:

How bad would it really be? Look what a calm and steady state of mind can help you with:

How bad would it really be? If none of these work out, this shack may be the dream job of a lot of children:

By facing worry with a light heart we can better transform it and think about what we like instead of what we don’t like.  When worry takes the reigns – try playing this game to take the reigns back. Soon you’ll find there is really not that much to worry about after all!

Tame that stallion and go for a pleasure ride.

What games do you play that help adults and kids with worry?

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: Thanks to everyone who filled out the Survey and entered to win the prize Romancing the Stove, A Practical Guide to a Lifelong Celebration of Eating for Health by Samahria Ramsen.  I will be contacting the winner from Alfred, ME, USA!   Everyone’s input was so valuable to guide the direction of Young Yoga Masters for the coming months.

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?

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!!

Contest: Win “Once Upon a Pose”

Once Upon a Pose

A Guide to Yoga Adventure Stories for Children
by Donna Freeman

For this kids yoga book review, Donna sent me two free copies of her new book: Once Upon a Pose: A Guide to Yoga Adventure Stories for Children.  One copy I’ve used for my kids yoga classes and one copy I’ll give away.  Leave a comment on this blog post between now and next Wednesday May 12, 2010 for your chance to win this book.

When I pulled Once Upon a Pose out of the envelope and took a look through it, I was amazed by how much guidance there is, especially for new kids yoga teachers.  There’s one page after another packed with information about kids yoga.   I e-mailed Donna to tell her this isn’t a book – this is more like a kids yoga course.  When Donna calls this a Guide, she isn’t holding anything back!

Here are a few highlights that make this book unique:

• Classroom Topics from pre-school to grade six that your yoga classes can support,
• 10 complete yoga adventure stories – with simple fun themes and scripts for teaching,
• Bilingual: the stories are in English and in French,
• Lots of Pictures: charming pictures of both boys and girls!

Donna Freeman is no stranger to Young Yoga Masters.  She has inspired us with a series on Character Development since last September.  In the interest of full disclosure – I think she is great!  However, Donna and I are not in business together (although I am an Amazon affiliate).  Investing in Once Upon a Pose (it’s under $20!) will provide a lot of time-saving guidance for those new to teaching yoga to kids.

For Any Parent or Teacher Who’s Ever Wondered: What Yoga Should I Teach Today?
Donna Freeman has poured her experience and passion into this guide.  Once Upon a Pose stands out  for any one who has ever thought:  What yoga should I teach the kids today?  With Once Upon a Pose you can open up to one of ten ready made classes and the fun can begin.

To win a copy of Once Upon a Pose: A Guide to Yoga Adventure Stories for Children
leave a comment on this post by Wednesday May 12, 2010. Good luck to everyone who enters.

Thanks again to Donna Freeman of Yoga in My School for providing the prize for this contest.

Earth Day and The Earth Element

Photo from Seven Spirals, A Chakra Sutra for Kids Book

Today is Earth Day but we know we want everyday to be earth day!

In honour of Mother Earth I’ve three strange and unusual yoga things planned for yoga class today:

1. Earth Yoga: We lie down on the floor and begin jumping all parts of the body like popcorn.  First we lie on our back, then do it again lying on our front.    Both are very grounding as all parts of the body are lifted then dropped back down improving circulation.
2. Sun Salutations: A little talk about the earth element, rooting down, and being grounded as we do the Sun Salutation.  The light of the sun brings the earth to life.  The light within us warms our lives. Yoga helps our inner light to shine in our lives.
3. Earth is Manifestation: The Earth represents manifestation.  When we relax today we’ll have a daydreaming session about what kind of life you want to manifest.  Unfortunately we don’t have time to draw in these classes (they’re only 30 minutes).  The kids will have to paint a picture in their minds eye.

Young Yoga Masters Updates

• I’d also like to invite everyone to click here to listen to Donna Freeman (Yoga In My School blog) interviewing me about Yoga for Boys.  I give some useful tips for motivating boys to do yoga, themes I use with boys, and my favorite exercises for boys.
• Thanks to nursingschools.net who named Young Yoga Masters as one of the 100 Incredible Yoga Teachers Who Blog.
• Upcoming Kids Yoga Teacher Trainings:  The April 30-May 2 weekend training has only 3 spots left.  Sign up ASAP to reserve your spot before the course is filled.
• A new Kids Yoga Teacher Training Weekend is taking place at Tula Yoga Studio in Toronto on Sat. May 15 & Sun. May 16. For info and registration info click here.

As always, feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Happy Earth Day,

Aruna
Aruna@YoungYogaMasters.com

Kids Yoga for Disabilities

First off, take a look at this fun video of two Canadians, Rick Mercer (comedian/host) and Rick Hanson (Man in Motion hero/educator) blowing away all ideas of what one can and cannot do when one has a disability:

Pretty Amazing, Eh!

This Friday marks the beginning of the Paralympic Games  in Vancouver.   It’s another event that shows how ABLE all people are.  The first Paralympics Games were held in 1976 in Sweden and this Paralympics has  five sports:

• alpine skiing
• biathlon
• cross-country skiing
• ice sledge hockey
• wheelchair curling

Here’s a link to a whole page of activities from Official Website of the Paralympic Movement. I’m looking forward to reading this worksheet in my kids classes:  A Fairytale:  A Class Discussion of Inclusion it’s a great story with discussion questions included.

I also want to try the Sitting Volleyball Skills Sheet with a soft volley ball for younger kids.

When it comes to yoga, are there any limitations that could prevent a child from joining a class?  Considering that kids yoga is already so imaginative I think kids yoga can be done by all.

The best tip for teaching yoga to someone with a disability:  talk to the person to  find out what works and what won’t work for their particular situation.  They’ll be able to tell you what they need to make it possible, what they want to try and what they can’t.  Don’t make assumptions!

If you’re stuck for ideas – a simple Google search of “wheelchair yoga” produces over 400,000 results!

Finally, this book  Susan Laughs by Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross is recommended for discussing disabilities with young kids.  It looks like a great book that I’ve just added to my wish list.  Let me know if you’ve seen this book or if you have any other ideas for including all kids in yoga classes.

Contest: Win an Animal Yoga Book

Animals Do Yoga… and So Do I

book by Angela Faith Miller, illustrated by Susie McColgan

US $12 softcover, $18 hardcover

This book review comes with thanks to the author, Angela Miller of AnimalsDoYoga.com. She  sent me two complimentary copies. One I used in my kids yoga classes to see how it worked with real kids.  One copy will go to a random reader who leaves a comment on this post – so please leave a comment for a chance to win!

Animals Do Yoga… and So Do I is a beautifully illustrated picture book.  Eleven animal pictures go with the eleven yoga pose pictures.  The pics are big and bright and the text is minimal.  Click here to see a couple sample pages.

Animal Yoga is a Hit with Kids
Kids love animals so the theme is a winner especially with young kids.  I also like the full-page pictures for holding up in front of a class.

When I introduced this yoga book to my preschool classes I wanted to see how the kids would follow along.  I read it as written, without giving any extra directions. Most of the poses were easy for the 2 – 6 year old kids to do.   In the thirty minute classes, we got through seven or eight poses.  We also did a short relaxation/meditation at the end of class that was not in the book.

This book also has, what I consider for preschool kids, intermediate poses.  These poses take more instruction and skill to teach, which is not given in the book.  They also take time and patience for the learners and the teachers.  For example, it took me about 6 minutes to help fifteen 2 – 4 year old’s learn to hold Fish pose for a few seconds.  The pictures and text in the book don’t always give enough explanation to do the poses.

My Recommendations:
I recommend this book for Kids Yoga Teachers, Yoga Teachers with kids, and experienced Yogis with kids.  The themes of yoga and animals will surely inspire children who like picture books.  I think it would be especially fun to do as a family or one-on-one, and in situations where you have time to learn the Intermediate poses.

However there are no explanations of the yoga poses in the book.  Beginners may want more info on the details of the yoga poses.  I wish there was a short pose guide for beginners at the end of the book.

Once the kids learn the poses, I could see young yogis pulling out this book to do on their own.  Animals Do Yoga… and So Do I could be a catalyst for a yogic lifestyle, a lifestyle that many of us wish we started when we were kids!

If you’d like to win the book, leave a comment on this post.  Contest closes Thursday morning at 11 am (March 4, 2010) when I’ll announce the winner and do a post about Teaching Yoga to Preschool Kids.

The Word I DON’T Say In Kids Yoga, Do You?

A couple years ago I wrote about how I accidentally swore in a Kids Yoga Class.   In my defense, it wasn’t a swear word when I was a kid!

But this post about Yoga Music got me thinking about another word that has become TABOO in many kids yoga classes.

The word?

The word is:  G O D

You see, if this word is in a song, I don’t play the song in my kids yoga classes.

This word just doesn’t work for me in Kids Yoga.  There is a chance it will miss the mark with the many religions (and no religions) of the kids, teacher, and parents.  Even in adult yoga classes I give an explanation of what I mean if I (rarely) say the GOD word.

God means something different for each person.

Once I had a complaint in a mostly Christian school, and the complaint was about NOT using the word GOD !  And I get the irony:  Why wouldn’t Yoga and God go together?

The President of America uses it in his speeches.  If the kids use it, I have no problems.  But, I don’t use it.

Thank God for freedom of religion.  Each person can decide for themselves – there is no right or wrong answer here.

Right now, kids yoga teachers from all over the world are making decisions about whether to say it or not. What have you decided to do?   Do you use the “G” word?

(Please leave your comments below.  Any comments that are dis-respectful or too “preachy” will be removed.)

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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