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.

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!

Chocolate Covered Swiss Chard

Mmmmmm,  Chocolate!  Oh so euphoric, bittersweet goodness that melts on the tongue.

Swiss Chard, my tender green friend.  Proudly named the Valedictorian of Vegetables.

Valentine’s Day is the time of Romance and sometimes surprising coupling.  Here’s a follow up on my last post about the Romance between the head and the heart and the coming together of the Olympics and Valentine’s Day as it occurred in my three classes last Friday.  It shows that just because two things are great separately – it doesn’t mean they will make a good couple!

Teaching Yoga the Day of the Valentine’s Party
The first class at 9:15 am went off beautifully.  We discussed everything in the last post and for thirty minutes we hit the Moguls, went down the luge, and did some ski jumping (like in the Wii Fit game – for those who have it).

We finished with figure skating.  Warrior and Dancer gliding across the ice.   Then struck a pose to mark the end of the routine, smiling for the judges and feeling the victory of completion.

However for next year’s Valentine’s Day and for every other holiday that involves sugary celebration I want to be honest about what happened.  The next two classes had the excitement level of an Olympic athlete competing in front of their home country.  An energy that gives an extra push.

There was a table FILLED with the EXTRA cupcakes, cookes, and chocolates.

There were kids still sporting a chin smeared with icing,

Usually quiet children were wrestling each other on the carpet and speed skating to the door to greet me.

The lesson plan may need changing!
We tried talking about the Olympics but somehow these 4 year old’s could not raise their hand or wait for their turn.  Nor could they imagine a ski hill or focus on balancing.  After about 10 minutes of doing poses that would set records for fastest times, I dropped the lesson plan and pulled out my trusty iPod.

For the next 15 minutes we did every dance, move, shake, and wiggle song in my collection.  For the last 5 minutes, the kids actually relaxed and/or meditated with me.  We sweated that cupcake party out of their systems.

Even though I love both Chocolate and Swiss Chard, it doesn’t mean I’d put them together.  Same with Yoga and Sweets.  Whenever you can, put the yoga first and keep the chocolate away from it.

Happy Valentine’s Day to all my Fellow Yoga Lovers!

The Heart and the Head Get Together for an Olympic Valentine’s Day

Getting to the Podium:
Try a little Partner Yoga for Valentine’s Day

A  Gold Medal Week for Kids Yoga Themes

Those who work with kids know it can be a challenge coming up with themes for kids yoga classes.  Often we turn to current events for ideas and this week we’ve hit the jackpot!

Not only do the 2010 Olympics start on Friday, but Sunday is Valentine’s Day.

The Olympics are pretty easy to connect with yoga poses.  You can ask the kids about their favorite Olympic sports and how yoga could help them in that sport.  Don’t forget all the concentration poses like archer below or tree pose.  Work both the physical and the mental muscles.

I’ve posted in the past on the  Summer Olympic Games:

• Olympic Rowing for Forward Bends including some partner yoga,
• a Rowing Game that builds Concentration (using a Caller like they do in the boats with a lot of rowers),
• Archery and Archer Pose

But now it’s time for the Winter Games and a whole new look at the Olympics:

• Rowing is very similar to the Luge so we could use the two ideas above again,
• Mogul Skiers would need to do a lot of squats,
• Try some partner yoga like in the picture above – it takes a lift to get to the podium! (one child in the base could represent the head, and one the heart – see below for details)

The Romance Between the Heart and the Head - A Valentine’s Day Twist
Now with the Olympics and Valentine’s Day coming together it is a perfect time to talk about the Romance between the Heart and the Head.   How does the head – the logic, the mind, the calculations – come into play for an Olympic athlete training to shave a fraction of a second off their time?

How does the heart – the dream, the dedication, the quest – come into play?  Why don’t those Olympic Athletes quit when it starts getting hard?  How do they stay calm when the big day arrives?

Both the head and the heart are developed by a top athlete and we need to develop them too.  Not only for a healthy body, but for our dreams, our aspirations, and our goals, which make a healthy life.

The heart leads the way to what we care about, whether it’s the kids we  love, in our career, providing for our families, or in our hobbies.  Then the head follows through on the heart’s desire to help us get to our goal.

They make a perfect pair!  We marry both the head and the heart for a perfect Valentine’s Day – or a Perfect 10 in an Olympic Sport.

Aruna Humphrys
www.YoungYogaMasters.com

P.S.  Please share your ideas for Yoga Poses for the Winter Olympics or Valentine’s Day in the comments.  For a Valentine’s Day yoga game check out a game I use for a lot of fun in kids yoga.  It’s called the Heart’s Hide and Seek and you’ll find it on the Yoga In My School blog.

Quest for Excellence – Yoga and Cerebral Palsy

Quest for Excellence – Seeking Answers from YOU

Quest for Excellence is a new installment on Young Yoga Masters.  My teacher, Tulshi Sen, encourages students to ask questions when they have them because every question is a quest, and every quest has a question.  When we question, we become seekers.

Now you can help others on a quest by sharing your knowledge and experience.  Here’s the first question:

Archer Pose:  Sets the Mark for Excellence

Dear Aruna,

I have been approached by a mom of 4 children to practice yoga with her 11 year old daughter (ADHD) and her 9 year old son(Cerebral Palsy).I would just like some input on class curriculum for their specific needs.

Thank you in advance for anticipated response,

Namaste

Gisele  – CCYT
www.foundationyogaforkids.com

Thanks Gisele for the question.  I don’t have any experience teaching kids’ with Cerebral Palsy.   But I do know there are many great teachers reading who may have this experience or have worked with kids with ADHD.  Now this is the part where you the reader step up to help in our Quest? Leave a comment below and tell us:

• any experiences you’ve had working with kids with ADHD or Cerebral Palsy,
• yoga poses you recommend for a class like this,
• stories/songs/meditations for this class,
  
• helpful resources about kids with ADHD, Cerebral Palsy and yoga
  
• words of encouragement, other suggestions or comments
  

Today’s blog post is a Quest for Excellence.  Won’t you help us as we seek to become a community of powerful teachers!  Help in the Quest for Excellence by leaving a comment today.

Halloween – Did You Have these Kids Yoga Problems?

1. Overheating: some costumes are full body cover ups, some even made for trick-or-treating outside in fall weather. If you’re teaching kids wearing costumes, go for simple easy poses (tree, warrior, spinal flexes) that won’t get the kids overheated.
2. Pointy Objects: Get these out of the way before you start your yoga.  I’m talking Magic Wands, Swords, Pitchforks, and even wire used in wings and capes.  Some costumes make many yoga poses difficult to do – like lying on your belly or back if you’ve got a belt, skirt, tail or other extra appendages. I ended up doing mostly standing and sitting poses so the kids could participate.
3. Candy Overload: Depending on when your class takes place, the kids may have already ingested a lot of candy, chips, and other forms of junk food.  So hold off on any intense forward bending.  Teach a light class that you could give someone who’s just had a meal.

When I taught my classes last Friday I knew yoga was going to happen during the Halloween party. I dressed up as an Indian Princess, I’d like to know how women do yoga in Sari’s – trust me, it’s fun to wear but your legs get stopped in the long slip if you try to take a big step apart.

I also don’t give out candy, I give out bindi’s (stickers for their forehead or hand) which everyone wanted, both the boys and the girls.

To compensate for the costumes I knew the kids would be wearing, I brought in one of my felt board stories.  We started with an old folk tale about how to think positively and we talked about how to stay calm when you might feel a little afraid.

For this class the story time increased, the yoga time was reduced, we did a daydreaming session for meditation – imagining flying through the sky, and we finished with a good round of freeze dance to keep the party feeling going.

The thirty minute classes went by in no time, especially because the children were so enamored with their costumes and had a lot to say.  Halloween is such an active exciting time, yoga can be a fine opportunity to relax, daydream, and find peace of mind.

Does anyone else have any Halloween costume/yoga stories to share?

Get Started Teaching Yoga for Kids

President Obama on Kid’s Education and Setting Goals

Kids and Relaxation – a Trouble Shooting Guide

Times for Kids Yoga Classes

The times for yoga classes is one of the most common questions I get asked about kids yoga. Recently asked by Anna, another yogini in Singapore:

Dear Aruna,

After completing my yoga therapy course I stayed in Bangalore for a couple of days and I went to teach kids yoga at my friends daughters kindergarten. 4-5 year olds, we did a “yoga safari” letting the kids imagine what animals we ran into. It was really fantastic, they loved it! The total time was around 30 minutes.

What is the ultimate time frame for small kids verses older kids? 4-5 year olds 30min? 7 year olds 1 hr? The relaxation part was the most difficult, I tried doing simple Yoga Nidra but it was not very successful.

Anna Bervander, Singapore
www.theforeststudio.com

There are two questions here and I’ll start with the Ultimate Time Frame for classes. Then next post I’ll answer the part about relaxation.

The Ultimate Time Frame for Kids Yoga
There are really two factors that are involved in choosing a length of time that may be a little surprising:

1. The age of the kids.
2. The experience, confidence, desire of the teacher.

1. The Age of the Kids
It is generally true that the younger the age of the children, the shorter their attention span. But just like all generalities, there are exceptions to the rule. Generally speaking though, there is a guideline that some teachers like to use:

The Child’s age X 5 minutes = Attention Span

That means a 2 year old will have a 2 X 5 minute attention span of 10 minutes. A 4 year old will have a 4 x 5 minute attention span of 20 minutes. This rule is usually applied to kids who are sitting in a circle and discussing a topic together as a group, you can often stretch it out longer when it comes to doing something physical like yoga or a yoga game.

A Yoga Class Can Combines Many Activities
In yoga, you can use the Age X 5 Minute guideline to help decide how long the activity occurs, then put together a number of activities to create a longer class. For instance:

• Activity one: Discussion of the yoga topic or theme. For instance “What is yoga?” The length of the talk will increase with the age of the children – but the time you spend on your theme will be related to how much time you have for the class. Sometime my theme talks are 2 – 15 minutes if there is a story.

• Activity two: Yoga poses – like what Anna did with the yoga safari. You’ll want this to be the maximum time possible since it is a yoga class. Use the Age X 5 Minute guideline here but let it go longer if the kids are still interested.

• Activity three: Relaxation/meditation/songs – while adults may like to rest using the Age X 5 Minute guideline, kids times are shorter! I generally allow about 5 minutes for relaxation and meditation together.

• Activity four: Game – again use the Age X 5 Minute guideline. If you have time you can play a game for up to 15 minutes or longer with older kids. The game time is usually cut down because the class is ending. That’s why I do games at the end – the kids don’t want to stop playing!
  
• Activity Five: A closing and/or opening routine/song/mantra that you do every class.

To sum up: A younger class needs a shorter time class or a longer class with more activities. An older class can have a longer class time or less activities in the class.

2. The Experience, Confidence, Desire of the Teacher
When I first started teaching, I held shorter classes because I didn’t have the experience to teach a longer class. I was still learning different games, themes, ideas for kids yoga. I planned every class on paper and thought of what activities I would do, timing and planning it out.

Experience Helps in a Longer Class
When you’ve been teaching yoga for a number of years you become a bit of a walking encyclopedia of kids yoga. You’ve got the experience that you can plan a class quickly, often in your head. Pick a theme for the class and go, because you’ve probably taught the class 100 times already. Plus you have yoga tools, music, and props in your collection. If something isn’t working – you know a whole bunch of other ideas, songs, or games instantly.

Confidence Grows with Experience
Experience gives you more confidence to teach longer classes. For example, this summer at one daycare I teach three classes that are an hour long each. The first group is an hour long class with pre-schoolers aged 2 -3 years old! The second two groups are a mix of JK and SK kids, 4 – 5 year olds, also one hour long each.

I would have never attempted these times when I first started out! But now, the time goes by with lots of yoga, meditation, and activities. When we’re coming to the end of 60 minutes I usually have to end a game and promise we will finish it the next week.

I also have a 30 minute school age (8 – 10 years) class in a daycare because the daycare budgets for a 30 minute class only. So I work within that time with these kids – usually cutting back on the games.

One summer I did a kids yoga camp using an Anatomy theme. The kids were older and I taught 3 1/2 hours each day for five days. We drew life-size pictures of the body and filled in the body parts.

How long a Class do you Want to Teach?
What I find now, is the only thing holding me back from doing more long classes is my own desire. I don’t want to do too many of these because they take a lot of energy, your voice gets used a lot, and it’s often loud. After doing long classes, I plan time to sit quietly for a few minutes and re-energize.

Anna, I hope this helps you as you start teaching kids. It sounds like Singapore has a very vibrant yoga community.

I’ll answer the question about Kids relaxation next post.
Yours truly,

Aruna Humphrys
www.YoungYogaMasters.com

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