Instructor: Margaret Askelsen
Community: Grade 6, School Setting, 30 minutes
Plan Creation Date: February 17, 2015
Yoga Calm Principle/Lesson Goal: Listening
Lesson Plan:
Calm
- Chime – Listen to the chime. Students are instructed to close their eyes and to listen till they can no longer hear the chime. At that time, they are to put their hands in front of their chests.
- Belly Breathing – students bring arms down and open eyes and a student is called to the front of the class to begin leading the breathing with the Hoberman sphere. Breathe to a count of 8 …in and out
- Compliment – I ask for two students to compliment the student who led the breathing activity. I ask the student to make eye contact and to listen as the compliment is said. The student replies with a thank you.
Activate
- Balance Pose – Practice standing on the right foot. Practice standing on the left foot. See if the class can stay on one foot for 20 seconds Then ask if they can listen to the voice in themselves that believes they can balance. What does that voice say to them?
- Mountain Pose – Students practice getting into the mountain pose. Ask them to listen to what a strong mountain might hear on a windy day, on a rainy day, or on a clear, sunny day.
- Tree Pose – Ask them to think of the kind of tree they imagine themselves to be. Are they a maple, or a weeping willow or a strong oak tree? What does a tree hear as it stands in the woods?
- Block Creek Game – Walking on the River Trail as Night Falls: Tell students that you will be practicing a walk , but this time they will have a friend who will help them in the stillness of the night. Arrange yoga blocks on the floor. Have one student walk on the blocks (blindfolded) and have a student on each side of them who will guide them. Ask: What words does a good friend say when you are alone and afraid? What kind of voice does a person use when they are guiding a friend?
Calm
- Personalized Relaxation – Students use mats and lay down on the floor. Play an App of bird sounds and water and wind. Use a guided visualization: Tell students we are at a creek. They are walking on the rocks. Listen to the sounds of the birds and to the rippling water, listen to the soft wind as the leaves flutter on the trees.