Instructor: Carrie Lipe
Community: 15-21 year olds, Alternative High School, Classroom Setting?
Plan Creation Date: May 24, 2013
Yoga Calm Principle/Lesson Goal: Stillness
Class Length: 90 minutes
Props: iPhone/Speakers for Music, Breathing Feathers or Pinwheels
Lesson Plan:
Calm
- Belly Breathing – with Pinwheel or Feathers: 10 breaths. Breathe slowly on the Pinwheel or the Feather. Lengthen and deepen your breath, using the feather as a visual clue to help. See if you can invite your breath to be about the same length on the inhale and the exhale
- Mindful Moment on Stillness – Close your eyes and enjoy listening to the stillness for 1 minute
Activate
Seated Stretches
- Seated Wrist and Arm Stretches – extend in front and hold, above and hold, back and hold
- Seated Side Stretch – with arms overhead, stretch to the side, sit bones held evenly on the floor
- Seated Twist – strengthen back, chest forward, look to the back, one side, then the other moving as quietly and smoothly as possible
Hands & Knees Poses
- Cat/Cow – be a quiet transformer, shifting silently and smoothly from cat to cow and back, following your own breath, about 5 times each
- Alternate Arm/Leg Kick – move slowly, balancing, focusing pose, alternating sides – about 5 times each side
- Stretch Back /Cobra/Stretch Back/Upward Dog – stretch back, looking forward, then move forward into a silent Cobra, slowly repeat, moving into Upward Dog instead of Cobra.
- Stillness in Child’s Pose – rest quietly, relax elbow, face and jaw. Listen to the stillness inside you.
- Cobra – move into another Cobra
Standing Poses
- Downward Dog – from Cobra, raise hips, lower head, shifting your gaze to behind you, stabilize/still your gaze, and hold this pose for a few quiet breaths
- Forward Fold – Walk between hands, keeping head down, hold forward fold a few breaths, relaxing head, feeling the stretch along your back and hamstrings
- Monkey – lift gaze, straighten back, hands on shins, look up quietly
- Still Mountain – ground feet, steady your mountain, close eyes and imagine a quiet snow falling gently on your mountain, feel the flakes settling ever so softly and silently on your mountain
- Sun Salutation Sequence – led by Students
- Sequence Right Side – student volunteer leads right side, see how quietly we can make the transitions between leaders, be mindful as leader to provide opportunities for the class to listen to stillness
- Sequence Left Side – quietly transition to new student leader.
Standing Balance Poses
- Tree Pose – new student leader, listen to a quiet breeze blow through branches, then return to stillness, notice the difference between breezy and still
- Dancer – transition to dancer, quietly
- Standing Pigeon – same student lead standing pigeon, stand on one leg in stillness on a branch that is moving slowly in a quiet breeze, feel as your body adjusts to the movement.
- Eagle/Fly Away – new student leader, quiet, focused Eagle perching on the edge of his nest, quietly surveying the landscape below, gather his energy, then fly away, silently spreading wings and tail feathers, sailing through the air with steady stillness
Floor Poses
- Rock and Roll – gently and quietly, like you are riding in a boat on a smooth lake with an up-and-down ripple
- Knees To Chest – lie on back, holding knees close to chest
- Alternate Leg Extensions – alternately extend one leg, hugging other knee into chest, switch
- Floor Twist – enjoy the sensation of your back relaxing, letting go
- Superman – switch to belly. Alternate the exertion of holding Superman for three breaths with totally relaxing on belly. Repeat. Listen to the stillness when relaxing.
Calm
- Silence – staying on belly, let’s be completely still for 30 seconds; switch resting on other cheek; listen again for 30 seconds.
- Imagine Stillness – imagine that you are lying in the grass by a very still lake – the surface looks like a mirror
- Relaxation – You see a momma deer and her baby come to the lake for a drink of water. You have to be very still so you don’t scare them away. You watch the mommy and baby deer as they drink water from the lake. They hear a faint noise, and raise their heads. You see a drop of water glistening on the Momma deer’s mouth. The water droplet softly falls from her mouth, hitting the surface of the lake, creating circles of ripples that slowly move outward. The Momma and baby bend their heads down for another drink. Then they slowly walk back into the woods, disappearing behind the trees. You notice the leaves of the trees shining with sunlight, moving and scattering patterns of light and shadow across the ground. You hear the leaves whispering ever so softly.
- Stay quiet and still for a few minutes, listening to the stillness between your breath, and to the stillness between your thoughts.