Instructor: Lyndsay Morris
Community: After School Program, 40-50 minutes
Plan Creation Date: November 8, 2011
Yoga Calm Principle/Lesson Goal: Community
Lesson Plan:
Calm
Belly Breathing (four min.): One student leads with Hoberman Sphere, while another student counts the number of breaths. After the activity, students give compliments to the Breathing Ball leader and counter.
Activate
Partner Pull (five min.): “Pair up and hold each other’s right wrist with right hand. Step back about one to two feet, bend knees, and sit back until thighs are almost parallel to the floor and the back is flat. Gently pull the right hip back, stretching the right side body from shoulder to hip. Breathe in and fan the ribs out to the right in a side-bending action. Come up together.” Students will repeat on the other side.
- Discussion: Could you have done this activity by yourself? When in life do you need other people to support you? Who supports you in your life?
Shoulder Clock (five min.): Students stand side by side, about two feet apart. “Lift inside arms straight up and place palms together in twelve o’clock position. Breathe into upper chest and spread fingers. Exhale and take arms back about a foot to one o’clock position. Keep chest and top of head lifting. Repeat breath cycle and clocking of the arms until they are down by your sides at six o’clock. Switch sides. Pay attention to your partner’s breath and pace.”
- Discussion: How did you know when to tick back without talking? When in life is it necessary to tune into others around you?
Mat Tag (five min.): “You are now going to have the opportunity to tune into others through a game called Mat Tag. Students must stay on the mats at all times. When you get tagged, please stop and yell, “Stop.” The person who becomes It announces to the group how they are going to move (Egyptian walk, hopping, skipping) and how fast they are going to move (slow, medium, fast). Repeat.
Block Creek (20 min.): Students will imagine the blocks are rocks in a creek, and the mats are the water. Students will walk slowly down the blocks from one end to the other without falling. Students will repeat the activity, this time looking straight ahead, with their hands below their eyes so they can’t see the rocks. Another student will stand at the end of the mat to help the student focus.
- Discussion: How did your friends help you cross the creek? How do people help you in your life? How do you help out others or the community?
Community Circle (10 min.): “Speaking of community, we are going to do our own Community Circle and think about the people closest to us. Close your eyes and think of the people in your community. Who helps you in your daily life: teachers, bus drivers, mail carriers, store clerks, etc.”
- Students will fill in the Community Circle Worksheet by placing themselves in the middle, the closest people in the next circle. Then students will put people who are in their community but they don’t see on a daily basis in the outer circle.
- Discussion: Is anyone willing to share their Community Circle?
Calm
Back Drawing (10 min.): Students will stand in a circle, turn to the right, and sit in a cross-legged position. Students will listen to a relaxation story and draw what they hear on their friend’s back.