The Kids Yoga Resource

Story yoga for kids stretches the body AND encourages literacy and imagination

Guest Post by Judie Hurtado.

If you have children, have met a child or been around children in any capacity, then you know that they love hearing a good story. Most children thoroughly enjoy being read to.  As a kids (and adult) yoga teacher and a mom to two girls, I’m all too familiar with being asked to read them a book.

When I teach kids yoga classes, I often read a book and incorporate yoga poses that go along with the book.  They love it!

Below is recent story I created and shared.  I highlighted all the words that are yoga poses.

A Beautiful Sunny Day

I took a walk on a beautiful sunny day. Hello Sun! (Wave hello to the sun with both arms).  I saw a tree with big green leaves.  Then I saw an Apple tree. I reached up high to pick an apple.

I cleaned the apple with my shirt. I looked at it, smelled it and took a bite. I chewed and chewed.

A bird came over and took a bite. Another bird came over.  (The children shared what kind of bird was eating their apple). I liked sharing my apple.

A butterfly flew on my shoulder! Then it flew off to a flower.  I decided to smell the flower. (Again, the children shared what type of flower they saw).

A bumblebee was also next to the flower. It buzzed and buzzed. (Children make buzzing sounds).

I was tired so I decided to take a short nap.  Breathe in and breath out.  Ahhhh…..

I woke up and stretched. When I looked around, I wasn’t at the park. I was in my own bed. It was all a dream!

The children especially enjoyed the ending.  One little girl asked me to read the story again without the yoga poses.  The class was a great success. 

Whenever I read a story, I am sure to engage the children and invite them to use their imagination.  For example, I asked them to tell me what kind of apple they picked or what colors were on their butterfly. The children love participating and are very eager to share!


Judie Hurtado, RYT, has been practicing various styles of yoga for over 13 years but has always been particularly drawn to vinyasa. She has studied with many teachers, including Jennifer Kohl at Lotus Yoga in Montclair, where she completed her 300-hour yoga teacher-training program. She received her Kids Yoga Certification through Karma Kids and Every Kids Yoga: Teaching Yoga To Children with Special Needs through Craig Hanauer.  She is also a Reiki Practitioner and a Health and Wellness writer.  She can be reached at judie.hurtado@gmail.com. She also blogs about her fitness and spiritual adventures at www.judiesjuice.wordpress.com.

Message from Lisa Flynn, ChildLight Yoga: 
Notice as well, the story need not be complicated or overly verbose. A good rule of thumb...the younger the children, the simpler the story. Use familiar objects, sights and sounds. And, don't be afraid to let them stretch their bodies and imaginations by encouraging them to make up poses where there may not be an obvious choice. All in all, story yoga (whether using books or self-creations) encourages literacy skills and imagination while stretching the body.

What stories do you share with your children? Could you weave in some yoga poses?  Please share!

For more on utilizing story and storybooks in kids' yoga classes, check out these previous posts:
Bringing Children's Books to Life with Yoga: Part I
Bringing Children's Books to Life with Yoga: Part II

Yoga 4 Classrooms Card Deck Review & Giveaway: by Omazing Kids Yoga

The Omazing Kids Yoga review of our new Yoga 4 Classrooms Card Deck is well, Omazing!  We especially appreciate that Angela Moorad, the founder, notes the features that we feel make the deck and Yoga 4 Classrooms program unique, comprehensive and user-friendly. 

Highlights of the review....

Wow…. The new Yoga 4 Classrooms Activity Card Deck has it all!  The Y4C card deck provides an easy to use, well-rounded & comprehensive approach to yoga for kids. It is a “must have” for classroom teachers & kids yoga teachers.

Here’s what I LOVE about the Y4C Card Deck:

    •    Yoga is so much more than just “poses” so it is refreshing to see this expressed so well in a kids yoga product!

    •    The instructions on the back of the card are easy to understand & often provide ideas for partner variations, ideas to include books & music and other classroom extension ideas.

    •    The cards would be very easy to use in any setting with the use of standing & chair poses (no need for yoga mats or floor space) and do not have anything in them that could be viewed as “religious” (no Sanskrit words, Om symbols, etc..) thus avoiding the potential objections school administration or parents might have.

    •    The cards are colorful & large enough to be seen in a group setting.

    •    The cards are color-coded by category.

    •    The illustrations on the cards depict kids of diverse ethnicities & abilities.

    •    The words on the front of each card capture the essence & purpose of that activity or pose and would be easy to use as “affirmations”.

    •    The “Be Well” cards  address “Yamas” & “Niyamas” of yoga via “Character Education” in a classroom-friendly way. Yamas are social disciplines –  how we behave toward others & Niyamas are personal disciplines – how we care for ourselves.

READ MORE AND ENTER THE GIVEAWAY HERE.

Children's Yoga Teaching Tips

1.  When teaching children yoga, be friendly and firm.  In the words of the Dog Whisperer:  You are the Calm, Assertive, Pack Leader.

2.  When doing a yoga posture or exercise, children will breathe unconsciously no matter how much to tell them to breathe.  To encourage conscious breathing say something like, “Breathe so you can hear yourself and only yourself breathing”, or “Let’s take five big breaths together, inhale/exhale one, inhale/exhale two….”

3.  Story yoga works best when you remember the “glue”that holds it together: 1. step-by-step instructions, 2. Breath co-ordinated with yoga movement (ex. “breathe in as arms go up, breathe out down”).  3.  To ease transtions and encourage focus, end each pose/exercise with “Breathe in…(pause)…breathe out, and relax.’”

4.  Let most of the chatter go by, and keep teaching.  If there is a group restlessness, bring more large motor movement into the mix (ex. frog hops, monkey jumps for younger ones, downdog to plank and back for older ones.)

5.  Routine brings security. New material brings fresh interest. Use a combination of both in your class planning.  More routine from 2-6, more variety for 7 and up.

Shared by Shakta Kaur Khalsa.  Shakta has been teaching yoga and children for over 3 decades, is the author of several yoga books, mother of a teenager, happily married to Kartar for over 30 years, and oh yes--founder of the Radiant Child Yoga program, a teacher training program for keeping kids joyful, aware, strong, and beautiful. It works for us adult children too... View all posts by radiantchildyoga →

Learn with Yoga - ABC Yoga Cards teach kids yoga, speech, language and literacy

Learn with Yoga-ABC Yoga Cards for Kids
by Christine Ristuccia, M.S. CCC-SLP
Publisher: Addriya
Ages 2 and up
Retail Price: $20

As fun as yoga is for kids, many enjoy themselves more with a prop or other object to lead their practice. Yoga cards are great ways to learn individual poses as well as sequences, and Christine Ristuccia’s deck, “Learn with Yoga-ABC Yoga Cards for Kids” has the added benefit of teaching speech, language and literacy as well.

Aimed at children two years and older, these cards feature 26 poses, one for each letter of the alphabet. Each pose is laid out on two 5x7-inch cards: one for the child or student, and another for the parent, caregiver or teacher.  

The child’s card shows a full-sized illustration of a yogi in a certain pose, with another picture of the object such pose is named for.  Lastly, a bold Uppercase and Lowercase Letter is printed in the corner.  For example, Downward-facing Dog includes a yogi in the down-dog posture, the image of a dog as well as the letter Dd.  On the back, Ristuccia lists benefits, such as “gets your anger out,” and “calms you down,” and verbal cues to guide positioning.

The adult’s card includes a similar illustrations and verbal cues, but includes dozens of questions related to reading readiness, language development and conversation starters.  Examples include "What rhymes with dog?," "What sound is at the end of "Dog" and "Do you have a dog?"

These cards offer hours of fun, if you can keep a young child’s attention that long!  Luckily, the questions are optional, and if one day you focus only or a few cards including these exercises, another day you might group several together to create a sequence and focus only on the poses.  (The cards are also color-coded into various types, including warm-ups, resting, basic and other activities geared towards different challenges or strengths, such as fostering creativity or calming aggression.)

Recently, two of ChildLight Yoga’s students, age 3 and 6, tried out these cards during an afternoon yoga practice with their mom.  While mom tried to engage the kids with a few of the questions, the kids both seemed more interested in performing each pose, then moving on to the next.  Not surprisingly, the 6-year-old yogi had a longer attention span and stayed on her mat performing each of the 8 poses chosen.  The 3-year-old was in and out of the practice, walking away at times but returning when a pose looked fun.  

At the end of the practice, mom asked each of the little yogis what they liked about the cards.  

“They all gave me a good stretch, especially Elephant!,” said the 6-year-old, referring to the E card and its standing pose.  

“They made me feel strong,” said the 3-year-old.  

When mom asked what they didn’t like so much, they both said they didn’t like answering questions.   (What is a great concept for a classroom or studio environment may not work as well at home.)

Mom also gave her feedback of the double card format.  

“It was confusing to go between the two cards, as each one had a front and a back,” she said. “I think the publisher might have made it more simple, such as a child-friendly front and a back aimed at the grown-up.”

Besides the double cards and what might be too many literacy and language development questions, these are cute yoga cards that provide a lot of options for incorporating yoga into a child’s day.  They can be used at school, playtime or bedtime and for a wide age group. ~ Amy Bevan

Amy Bevan is a freelance writer, local reporter and host of The PranaMama, an online wellness and lifestyle magazine, and frequent contributor to ChildLight Yoga's blog, The Kids Yoga Resource.  She is also as certified ChildLight Yoga Instructor and Itsy Bitsy Yoga facilitator.  Amy resides in South Berwick, ME with her husband and three young children.

Note from ChildLight Yoga:  We are impressed with the thoroughness of this particular kids' yoga card deck - so impressed that we are carrying them in our boutique.  The format and content of the deck lends itself well to uses in therapeutic sessions with occupational therapists, physical therapists, and speech therapists, as well as in children's yoga classes and even at home, as described by our guest reviewer above.  Our opinion? A big thumb's up!

TRUST ME . . . You Should Read This

 

As the sun finally starts to shine a little brighter and the last of the snow melts, I begin to think of warmer weather, of springtime, and of the potential for life and growth once again!  In the coming weeks, I will use the inspiration of spring to explore the theme of Trust (Satya).

What does is mean to have trust?  Consider the following three definitions, as provided by dictionary.com.   

1. To rely upon or place confidence in someone or something

In this day and age, when our nightly news is filled with terrifying stories from around the globe, it can sometimes be difficult to think of trusting others. However, without the ability to see the kindness or genuineness in others, we are left lonely and separated from the greater community around us. How do we teach our children to be cautious, but also trusting of the overall goodness that people possess?

To me, it is about reinvesting in connections. Our technology keeps us connected at a moments notice, but it does not allow for the same level of comfort or richness that an in-person conversation can provide.

This spring, I will be trying to spend less time in front of my computer or phone and more time in person with those I really care about. I will be reinvesting in these friendships and taking the time to see how the people I care about are doing. I will give support, and I will also build connections with people whom I can rely on when I’m struggling and need the comforting hand of a friend or loved one to help pull me back up on my feet.

 2. Reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence

Trust is also about understanding ourselves: who we are and who we want to become. It is about challenging ourselves, dedicating ourselves to things that matter to us, and confidently sticking to the core values that underlie the actions we take in our lives.

 3. Confident expectation of something; hope

If you had asked me in January whether this winter would ever end, I admit that my hope, my faith, was challenged! And yet, here we are in April. The street parking spots have returned to their normal sizes and the sidewalks are once again easily accessible.

An important aspect of trust is having hope and believing in your own ability to actualize those hopes that you hold most dear.

In the coming weeks, we will be working with our students on building their sense of confidence and trust in themselves as yogis and as individuals. We will also be focusing on ways to remain engaged with our neighborhoods in ways that facilitate the building of community, of connection, and of trust.  Lastly, we will spend time thinking about what our hopes are for ourselves and for our world and how we can be part of fulfilling these visions.  We will learn how to nurture our relationships, our world, and ourselves.

We invite you to join us on this journey. We will do yoga, we will do art, we will talk, we will play, and we will breathe!

Happy Spring!

Ideas for helping students build their sense of confidence and trust in themselves

1. Have each student identify a yoga move that they have not yet been able to master. Encourage them to pledge to spend a few minutes each day practicing this pose. The goal is to push themselves to accomplish new things and have confidence in their abilities. However, the other goal is to recognize that sometimes this takes time, effort, and endurance in order to achieve.

 2. Before class, cut handprints out of cardboard (they can be also purchased in packs from many craft stores). Ask students to write, on each finger, one personal strength that they feel they possess. Then in the center of the palm, write one thing that they want to keep working on. Offer an opportunity for each student to share what they have written and facilitate a conversation on how students can work towards accomplishing their goals.

 Ideas for remaining engaged with our communities

1. Inspire students to pick a cause and volunteer a weekend of their time. Not only does this encourage investment in their community, but it is also a great way to foster a sense of competency in kids.

2. Bridge Building . . . I love building bridges with kids! I assign kids into groups of 2-3, depending on the size of the group, and give them popsicle sticks and masking tape. Bridges can be suspended from two chairs, tables, or any other raised surfaces, but no part of the bridge can touch the ground. The assignment is to build a bridge that can handle the weight of ten soup cans (that I lug into class). This game requires teamwork, communication, negotiation, and creativity in order to be accomplished. Additionally, it can also be the start of a productive discussion around the metaphor of bridges: how do we get where we want to go? How do we build metaphoric bridges in our own communities? How do we support ourselves, our loved ones, and our communities?

Ideas for fostering hope

1. For an art activity at the end of class, invite students to think about a person in their lives who could use a kind word. Perhaps they know of a sick relative, a neighbor, or a friend who is going through a hard time. Provide supplies for students to write an encouraging and loving card to this person.

2. Group mural: Provide a large piece of paper (a role of butcher paper works nicely) and invite the group to create a mural about their hopes for themselves and for the world. This activity not only requires collaboration, but it also demonstrates that what a group of people can create together can be more powerful than what one person can do on their own.

Katie Novick, a Licensed Social Worker, received her teaching certificate from Childlight Yoga in 2010 and is the newest member of the CLY Merrimack Valley team. She has been running therapeutic groups with children and adolescents since 2008 and is excited to be focusing her group experience on helping kids to learn yoga skills that they can carry with them for the rest of their lives.  Katie believes that yoga can be used to help children build physical and mental strength, to feel in tune with themselves and with their peers, to learn skills to help them relax when the world gets stressful, and to increase children’s sense of self-esteem.

For information on ChildLight Yoga's classes for adolescents (Girl Time Yoga, Karma Teens, Peace Ambassadors) and all other ages, please visit www.childlightyoga.com.  Classes are currently available in Merrimack Valley area and Newburyport, MA as well as Portsmouth and Dover, NH.

 

 

The best kids yoga classes address students' needs

by Joy Bryan Markley

I prepare for my Friday kids yoga class by spending several hours on the preceding Sunday thinking about a topic that I believe will have great meaning for my young yoga students. I try to connect the upcoming class theme to a topic that I have an idea may resonate well with young students. But sometimes, despite all my careful planning, the best yoga classes seem to simply follow from what my students need that day. And, I love this.

For example, one chilly fall session I was all set to talk about peace, and practice the warrior series of poses. I had recently read the cute little book, Peaceful Piggies Meditation. With lights low and everybody very still and quiet, my young yoginis loved our 5-minute sitting meditation that followed this story. And, so, I wanted to carry on with that topic and have my students make piggy puppets and recreate the peaceful piggy storyline with our own twists and turns. However, earlier in the day one of my students had revealed to me that she was very sad because her aunt, who had been free from breast cancer this past summer, had recently and very sadly, succumbed to another form of cancer just that week. She was very down as her family planned to attend the funeral some distance away. So, with that in mind, I threw my well-thought-out lesson plans aside and decided that "what it feels like when we lose someone we love" would be our yoga session topic.

As I revealed the topic of the day to my yoga class, love and loss, one of my youngest yoginis groaned, "Oh, no, I hate this topic," while the rest of the group sat perfectly still on their mats, staring straight at me. Several girls told us about pets who died and how they missed the ones they loved but not the ones who bit them. Ya gotta smile. Kids are so honest. One serious little girl told us about longing for a grandmother she never knew; one who had died years before she was born. She went on to tell us how sad she was for her dad because it was his mom who had died when he was a young boy. I am always amazed at how deeply kids feel, and not just about themselves.

Hope, a 5th grader, with tear-filled eyes, told us about how her whole family was with her grandmother as she passed away not so long ago at the age of 91. We had a short discussion about what a great, long life her grandmother had. And then I told the girls about my morning. Before I left the house I grabbed the first rain coat I found in the closet, a red rain coat. As I slipped the bright red jacket over my shoulders I remembered, "This is my mom's coat." Sliding my hand into one of the pockets, I felt my mom's lipstick, pink lipstick. She loved pink. I twisted the tube to get a better look at the color, imagining my mom applying this very tube of pink lipstick to her lips and thought, "Miss you mom." The girls were wide-eyed as I told them my story. Not one of them could imagine her life without her mom.

Although we could have spent the entire 75 minute yoga class talking about our feelings when somebody we love dies, I shifted the direction of the conversation and asked the girls what they do when they feel sad. One girl told us her mom gave her $40 when her grandmother died and she felt much better :) Another said that her family goes out to eat. In fact, she went on, her family goes out to eat whenever something good or sad happens. Yet another student said that she likes to go for walks in the woods to lift her mood. And Lidia told us that she tries to just push sad thoughts out of her mind. Several girls said that their parents had bought them puppies, gerbils, or other furry creatures to ease their sadness. I laughed as I told them that I had done that very same thing after my mom died. Four weeks after my mom quietly passed away in her sleep, my husband and I bought a lively and crazy yellow lab puppy and it did make me feel better.

With all that heavy talk in the air, we stood up and began our asanas (yoga poses) and pranayama (breath work). We lifted our mood with Bunny Breath; Celia demonstrated. I showed them Conductor Breath and we all laughed at the energy it created. We hissed with Snake Breath, as we moved up and down in Cobra Pose. "Look," I noted, "how moving our bodies and changing our breath can change our mood." We all laughed. Each girl then led us through her favorite yoga pose...Sun Salutation, Rockin the Baby, Rag Doll. And we found 10 minutes after meditation to make our piggy puppets.

I love my kids' yoga classes because I think a lot about what we discuss and what transpires during class well beyond our hour and 15 minutes together. What I teach reflects me and in that, my classes are all very personal. And so following this class I thought about how as human beings, young and old, we all suffer through sadness and loss. Whatever works to ease our suffering, be it $40 from a kind and loving mom, or Conductor Breath in a class full of yoga friends who all know how you are feeling...whatever works, I think, is worthy of thought and consideration as it may help us find ease and grace in our lives.

Reprinted from the YogaLife NH blog.

Joy Bryan Markley is a kids yoga instructor, teacher and educational psychologist in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.  She's a 500 hour RYT in Classical Yoga for adults having trained through the Yoga Life Institute of NH.   She also trained with Lisa Flynn taking both the introductory and advanced yoga training for kids through ChildLight Yoga.  Joy very much enjoys and feels grateful for the opportunity to teach yoga, relaxation, and meditation to elementary-aged yoginis.  

How do I Manage Challenging Behavior in a Kid's Yoga Class?

We've all had children with challenging behavior in our classes, whether in school or in the studio.  And we all know just how much this behavior can take your class off task if we allow it to. Recently, I received the following email from a former trainee and thought I would share it with you, along with my response.

 "I need some suggestions for reigning in an unruly child.  I teach a group of six 6-yr olds.  It is a 30-min after-school club.  No parents attend.  I have one child that refuses to participate, runs around the classroom, yells at other children to stop staring at her and is just rude.  The moment the stamps come out, she pushes to be first and is generally not nice.  I am at a complete loss.  She is getting worse each class and disrupts the flow of the class, which is already very short.  This is the second session she has signed up for and we still have several classes left.  I would like to be able to include her in a peaceful way so that she can benefit from the class.  Any suggestions?"

Great questions!  It sounds like she either a) has some social/emotional challenges, or b) hasn't had boundaries set for her before.  Have you spoken with the parent/s?  I like to sometimes note what I am seeing without sounding accusatory. In a simple, matter of fact (out of ear range of the child) way, you might ask the parents for suggestions, eg, how do they respond to that type of behavior at home or during other activities.  This shows that you are willing to try to reinforce whatever is being taught at home. 

 A few other thoughts:

 

1) One of the yoga class rules is that we must stay on our mats for safety (unless otherwise directed).  I do tell the story of the boy who 'forgot' the rule, came off his mat, and turned around and tripped and broke his tooth...not to frighten them, but to get across the importance of and reason for the rule.  Then together we rub glue all over ourselves and roll around on top of our mats to 'paste' them to the floor.  Then, we use our hands to pat the mat down.  Both of these activities are quite grounding!  

  

2)  Have consequences set up if the rules can not be followed. 3 warnings rule works pretty well.  Remind the child/ren that he/she has a CHOICE.  And be okay with their choice- stay unattached to any particular outcome.  You will get a child who opts to sit aside and watch rather than participate (for the time being).  Be okay with that.  

  

3)  Respect is also a BIG rule.  What does that mean?  Listening to the teacher and others who are sharing, following along with the class (or sitting quietly to watch).  Lots of lesson can be discussed here...non-stealing (stealing attention, etc.)

 

4)  Give her some control - have her lead an activity.

 

5) Sit next to her and put your hand on your shoulder or knee as needed to calm and soothe.  Make her your 'special' buddy to keep her engaged (don't say that, just act it so by partnering with her and engaging her directly whenever you can.)

 

6)  Reserve the stamps for those who participate, are respectful and stay on their mats.  If that doesn't apply to her, she shouldn't have a stamp/reward.  Be sure to set up this understanding in advance -  that this is how you will handle things going forward  (you can't change the rules halfway through, but in this case, I would say go for it).  If she's not able to get a stamp, be sure to chat with her alone after class to be encouraging, eg, "I know it can be challenging for you to stay on your mat.  Today, you made a choice to not follow the rules that we have that show respect and ensure all our safety.  But I also know that next week is another opportunity to make a different choice.  I'm here for you and know that you can try again and be successful.  I can't wait to see that next week!"  I would then share with the parent what happened and this converstation in a very positive and unattached way.

 

 7)  Finally, and most importantly, remember to have compassion.  We can't possibly know all that our students are bringing to class with them.  Anxiety, a feeling of being 'out of control', anger, and many other emotions often play a major role in bringing about challenging behavior. The angst-ridden behavior is often a coping strategy.  We can remain loving and kind, while also being firm with our words and follow through.  Setting up expectations in advance, reviewing what it coming next in a class, paying a little extra attention and handing over some control (eg, choices) creates a feeling of safety which can help alleviate some of that anxiety and lead to more cooperative behavior.   

 

Remember, yoga teaches children tools to manage their emotions, so your student is in the right place. I've had several students, who at first struggled to settle into the class dynamic, but over time were able to do so - and very successfully.  Having said that, I have also had a student who I realized was not quite ready for a group class.  Try the tips above without attachment before making any decisions. If the class is deemed inappropriate for the child, you may consider offering private sessions, allowing the child to settle into the routine and expectations before reintroducing him/her into a group setting.

 

 I hope some of this is helpful to you.   Please review your ChildLight Yoga Teacher Training Manual for many more suggestions.  Readers, if you have other ideas on handling challenging behavior in a kids' yoga class, please do share.  We're all ears!