Instructor: Stacy Bender-Fayette
Community: Grades K-5, School Setting, 30 minutes
Plan Creation Date: November 1, 2016
Yoga Calm Principle/Lesson Goal: Stillness
Materials: Hoberman’s Sphere, picture of brain, drum, & chime
Lesson Plan:
Calm
- Belly Breathing – One student leading with Hoberman sphere and another counting off a selected number of breaths. Ask for 2-3 compliments for the leader. Have the leader compliment the counter.
- Pulse Count – What happens to your body when you are afraid or worried? What do you notice about your heartbeat. Your pulse can give you a clue into what is happening in your body. Let’s find our heartbeat and listen for 30 seconds. What is your heartbeat telling you?
Activate
- Brain Model – Showing a model of the brain, describe the job of the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex. Amygdala – Protects you when you are in danger, so you can react quickly. It is also the emotion center. Prefrontal Cortex – This is the part of the brain where you do your best thinking and problem solving. Unfortunately, the amygdala does not know the difference between a real danger and feelings like anger, worry or frustration. Explain that when the amygdala is “uncomfortable” you cannot do your best thinking, because the amygdala stops the input from getting to the thinking part of your brain. It is important to calm the amygdala, so you can get to your prefrontal cortex. Do you know how to calm your amygdala? Deep breathing! You can also calm your body and your mind with yoga.
- Calming Flow – Practice each pose in the flow and then add a drum beat. Do it together two times and then ask the students to try it on their own. Ask for volunteers to play the drum each time. Hold for eight drum beats.
- Mountain
- Upward Mountain
- Forward Fold
- Upward Mountain
- Tree Right
- Tree Left
- Forward Fold
- Downward Dog
- Child’s Pose
Calm
- Volcano Breath – Remember a time you felt very calm; spread that feeling around you.