Instructor: Jeannie Cziesla
Community: Ages 7 – 10, Yoga Studio
Plan Creation Date: April 23, 2013
Yoga Calm Principle/Lesson Goal: Listening
Lesson Plan:
Props/Music Resources required: Eye pillows; Playlist; iPod with speakers
Calm
- Belly Breathing – Lying on back for 10 breaths, feel your breath moving in and out of your body; When might be a time to use belly breathing? Cross your hands over your chest and heart; would you like to set an intention, or wish, for yourself or someone else during this practice?
- Pulse Count – Show how to feel pulse in neck; count pulse for 30 seconds;
Activate
- Quiet Walk – Talk about the four corners of our hands and feet; Press hands into your mat in front of you with fingers fanning out like a star; Stand and feel all four corners of your feet, move it around to feet its different sides; Walk around room once feeling into your feet; feel your leg lift, then move, then place down on the front of the foot, then on the heel. Walk slowly and without talking; how does this feel different from regular walking?
- Mountain Pose – Feel four corners of your feet; get connected to the earth.
- Downward Dog – with Heel Pumps and Leg Lifts – Press into the four corners of your hands; look at your hands to make sure full palm is on ground; spread fingers out like a sea star; Lift and lower heels, “walking your dog”; Lift leg straight up in alignment with body; press out through four corners of the feet.
- Mat 20 (Starting at Leg Stretch and Ending on Twist) – Use language like “listen to your body; is it feeling energized, tired, strong? Are any thoughts or emotions moving through your body as you do these poses?; Is your mind here or are you thinking of something else, from earlier today or something you still have to do?
- Trust Walk – Demonstrate with a student how to guide another silently; Move around room with “secret” guide; Place objects around the room for the “guided” child to feel and guess what it is; Students can guess who their guide was.
- Eagle Pose – Student leads pose; This is an inward pose; Feel your body making contact with mat/itself; Find a focal point to help with this balance pose.
- Back Drawing – Place hands on person’s back; Draw something from nature to celebrate Earth Day; “Erase” drawing and do another one, student can guess; Draw a “gift” for the person in front of you.
Calm
- Relaxation – Do “face yoga”; squinch up face, stretch out jaw; move face all around; Kids can use eye pillow (use tissue under eye pillow); Tell story about deer walking through forest with fawn; hearing the crunch of the leaves under their feet; they look and listen for other animals around; move into dense brush as a bear ambles by; come out into open field to eat grass in the sun when it’s quiet.
- Breathing – with Hoberman Ball – One child leads with Hoberman ball; another child counts out 5 breaths; Compliments for leaders.