Instructor: Jocelyn Van Hee
Community: Ages 3-6, Setting?, 60 minutes
Plan Creation Date: January 7, 2015
Yoga Calm Principle/Lesson Goal: Community/Taking Care of the Environment
Lesson Plan:
Calm
- Intro – Introduce the theme of the class for the day and how we will be talking about how we can take care of the environment and we will be doing special poses to think about what we like about the earth and how we can take care of it. You can give the students an opportunity to share some of their ideas for how they take care of the earth.
- Belly Breathing – Use the Hoberman sphere to talk about the earth and how the sphere is round just like our earth. The oxygen we breathe comes from the plants on earth. Go through a series of breaths and have the activity student led if possible.
Activate
- Volcano Breath – Warm up the body by taking in oxygen and then letting it out as your body drifts to the floor. Talk about how the volcano is one of earth’s most beautiful natural wonders that can be both destructive and renewing. Talk about how we have so much control over our own volcano. Recognize the power and control in the student’s volcanoes as they reach up to the sky and then let out their breath as they spread their arms wide when they exhale.
- Child’s Pose – to kneeling: Discuss how we can start as a tiny seed and then grow slowly but steadily into a flower. From kneeling you can have them stand up into mountain pose.
- Mountain Pose – Have them be strong and tall like a big mountain.
- Tree Pose/Community Tree – Have them imagine all the strong trees in the forest and then connect hands to create the full forest. Have them sway in the wind together if possible. Talk about how as a community we can help take care of the environment.
- Star Pose – After community tree have them all take a step back so they can become stars and radiate strong light down unto earth. Extending their arms and legs outward.
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Forward Bend – Pretend you are rushing waterfall flowing down to the ground.
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Boat Pose – Pretend you are rowing down a beautiful river.
Calm
- Relaxation Pose – Take a moment looking up at the sky and visualize all those beautiful stars in the sky and all the things you love about the earth.
- Read the story “All the World” by Liz Garton Scanlon.
- Walk – Bring the children on a walk on a safe street or nature trail and have the children work together to pick up pieces of litter along the street or trail.