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?

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

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?

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