Instructor: Abby Bracke

Community: ???

Plan Creation Date: July 15, 2011

Yoga Calm Principle/Lesson Goal: Listening—Balance in Your Life: To help stressed-out adolescents listen to their inner wisdom in order to stay balanced in their lives.

Setting the tone/creating a therapeutic environment: I will turn off the overhead lights and have the room lit by the natural light of the window. I will put soothing music on the classroom speaker system. I will place a sign on the door that states “Yoga Calm in progress. Please do not disturb.”

Lesson Plan:

Opening remarks: “Life is stressful…rush, rush, rush seems to be the new norm. Today we will focus on having balance in our lives. You practice listening to other people all the time, but today you will practice listening to your breath, your heart, your body, and your inner wisdom.”

Breath Work: Chime X3—“Listen for the silence after the tone disappears.” 

Belly breathing with Hoberman Sphere (student-led) for 10 breaths.

Pulse Count – “Feel the beat of your heart. Picture a big drum with a large stick and each time you hear your heart beat, imagine playing that big deep note on the drum. We are going to count our beats for 15 seconds. Start counting now (count pulse for 15 seconds). What number did you count to?” 

Yoga-Based Activities: Cat/Cow—“Give yourself permission to connect with your feelings today during our practice. Match your breath to your movement.”

Alternate Arm/Leg Kicks (Hold for three breaths on each side) — “Notice how focused your mind is right now. You aren’t thinking about anything else except your present task to coordinate your arm and leg.”

Downward Dog — “Notice how the world looks different from this perspective. You can see things from a different vantage point. Perhaps what is really most important to you is more clear in this pose.”

Child’s Pose — “Listen to your inner wisdom by reflecting on what is most important in your life. Who is most important in your life? How do you make sure that they know they are most important in your life?”

Mountain — “Be a solid, unmoving mountain made out of rock. Unwavering in your purpose.”

Thirty seconds of stillness — “Listen to all the sounds of the room. Can you hear footsteps in the hallway? The tick of the clock? Your heartbeat?”

Upward Mountain — “Press all four corners of your feet down into the ground. Stretch your hands, head, and heart up toward the sky. Try to hear your heart beat in this pose.”

Woodchopper — “Imagine that all your stress is laying on a log of wood in front of you. Chop away your stress to allow yourself to be balance and enjoy the present moment.”

Chair — “Stabilize your legs, then bend your knees a bit so that you imagine that you are starting to sit in a chair but hold yourself up. Listen to the message your legs are sending you. Your strong legs are working hard to hold you up.”

Warrior I — “Feel your feet grounded into the Earth. Reach up and stretch your arms up toward the things/people most important in your life.”

Warrior III — “Balance on one foot at a time. You are a bird soaring high above the ground. You feel so free!”

Warrior I/Warrior III — Cycle on the other side.

Relaxation: Sitted twist — “Wring out the last bit of stress that remains in your body.”

Relaxation Pose & One-Minute Exploration

“Allow yourself to completely relax. Listen for your heartbeat. Has it slowed down? Listen to your breath. Try to take a slower breath, focusing on filling your belly. Reflect back to the people in your life that are most important to you. Listen to see if they have something to whisper to you.”

Fetal Pose — “Slowly roll to your right side. Take two deeper breaths. Slowly push your way up to a sitting position.”

Social Emotional Activities: Provide opportunity for students to share what was whispered to them.

“With your eyes closed, sit tall but look downwards towards your heart. Let’s have two students share what was whispered to them. Now everyone can share with a neighbor what was whispered to them if they want to.”

“I want to thank you for listening to your breath, your heart, your body, and your inner wisdom today. This will bring balance to your life and help you have Peaceful Thoughts, Peaceful Words, and Peaceful Actions.”

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