Instructor: Jacquie Atherton
Community: Adult Ages, 30-35 minutes
Plan Creation Date: January 27, 2016
Yoga Calm Principle/Lesson Goal: Grounding
Lesson Plan:
Calm
- Belly Breathing – Focus on the still point at the end and the beginning of each breath. Sit in stillness for one minute. (Read a poem on grounding)
- Pulse Count – Find your pulse, then listen to the rhythm of your heart. Picture the heart now in the center of your body and it connecting to the earth. Feel the earths frequency connect with yours. Now feel this frequency flow throughout the body. Do a 1 minute pulse count and walk them through the awareness of the heart beating.
Activate
- Roots – Feel yourself ground into the earth as the roots grow deep and find yourself standing firm on the ground beneath you. Close your eyes and take 3 deep breaths. With your belly activated, circle right and left. Notice how your feet ground in and help you balance. Imagine circling around someone who is at the center of your life. Feel the energy come from the earth and how it supports you.
- Mountain – Stand with feet hip-width apart, pointing straight ahead and press them down into the earth. Feel the earth support you!
- Upward Mountain – Raising your hands to the sky and allowing your fingers to spread and reach for the sky. On the next Upward Mountain be grateful as you go into Upward Mountain creating a heart while coming back into Mountain. Repeat this 2 times from Mountain to Upward Mountain.
- Star – Go from Upward Mountain to star – Spreading the feet hip width apart and ground in. Ask the students while in star position to feel the star inside of them. Honor this star as is shines bright.
- Warrior II – Past, Present and Future – The back hand represents the past and the front hand represents the future. We want to be aware of the past and the effects it has on us, and also aware of our future goals. Our eyes are looking in the direction of the future, but we keep our awareness and respect for the past. We keep our weight balanced in the middle to be present in the moment.
- Warrior I – From Warrior II come into warrior I and then into Mountain.
- Mountain – Stand with feet hip-width apart, pointing straight ahead and press them down into the earth. Feel the earth support you! Repeat 2 times in by flowing through the poses.
- Tree – Shift your weight onto the left foot and slowly bend your right knee and draw the right foot up, placing the sole as high as possible on the inner without strain. Stretch the arms above, out or stay in hand to the heart. Repeat on the other leg.
- Tree Challenge – Two students face each other, have each student go into tree pose on their right leg and have their right hands touching, and their left hands on their hips. Press hands towards each other for support and then begin challenging each other by pushing back and fourth. Switch arms and then switch legs.
Calm
- Cat/Cow – Have them come to all fours with hands under their shoulders and knees under hips. Breathe out and lower head, and tuck tail, so that you feel like a cat stretching. Breathe in and look up, lift head and collarbones. Your belly will drop like a cow’s. Breathe smoothly going through the motions going slowly from Cat to Cow. Make the motions of equal duration from Cat to Cow while inhaling and exhaling.
- Extended Child Pose – Go from cow to extended child’s pose by shifting the hips back and extending the arms out, while sitting on your heels. Stay in this position for about a minute.
- Mindfulness Card – Imagine your deepest voice, a voice like a bear. Imagine telling a story in your bear voice. What story would you tell? Who would be listening to your story? How does is feel to speak in a deep voice?
- Sharing – Ask the group if anyone would like to share about the Mindfulness Card.
- Relaxation – Read a poem while the group is in relaxation.