Instructor: Lynn Marrs
Community: Ages/Grades?, Setting?
Plan Creation Date: April 1, 2014
Yoga Calm Principle/Lesson Goal: Grounding
Academic/Therapeutic/Other Goals: Provide an integrated experience of what it means to be grounded and centered; in the body.
Lesson Plan:
Calm
- Belly Breathing – with the Hoberman Sphere to calm the body and nervous system. Sit up nice and tall. Put your feet on the floor and your bottom in your chair. Notice how you are breathing. Now deepen your breathing so your belly gets big on the inhale and small on the exhale. Let’s breathe together following the movement of the sphere for five times.
- Opening Remarks – Who has ever felt overwhelmed? How about too busy? Who has felt scatter-brained when they have had too much to do or too much to remember? How does that feel in your body? Is it pleasant or uncomfortable? Today we are going to learn how we can help ourselves be grounded. This isn’t grounded like not being allowed to go out of the house. This kind of grounded means that your brain is not racing around and your body is calm.
Activate
- Mountain – Plant feet, grow roots, Feel yourself growing tall, strong and solid
- Forward Fold – Bend toward the earth, let your head hang loose, grab opposite elbows, shake your head yes and no. Notice how your rooted feet keep you steady and strong as you are able to relax your neck.
- Mountain – Lift your face back up toward the sky and return to mountain pose; feel those feet rooted to the earth, strong and solid
- Chair – Sit back as if you are sitting in a chair and hold your arms towards the sky. Notice how sturdy your chair is. Feel your arms strong and powerful.
- Mountain – Rise tall into the majestic mountain again.
- Tree Pose – right leg – Move into tree. Keep your right foot planted deeply in the earth and bring your left foot up into tree keeping your foot off your knee. Your foot can be above or below your knee, but not on your knee. Or you can use “kickstand” by keeping it on the ground next to your foot. Tree-left leg – And come back. Now let’s move into tree with the other foot. Keep your left foot rooted to the earth and bring your right foot into tree.
- Mountain – Now come back to mountain and bring your arms overhead.
- Forward Fold – from there bend your body forward
- Downward Dog – Plant your hands and step back into down dog. Feel your hands and feet against the earth.
- Child’s Pose – Sit back into child’s pose. Feel your body connect with the earth. Notice your breath.
- Mindful Snack – Social/Emotional Activity – Who has heard the word “mindful?” What does it mean? It means that we are paying close attention to what we are doing at the moment we are doing it. How many of you were paying close attention to what you were doing when we were doing our poses? That means you were doing mindful yoga. Now let’s see if we can help our mind and body stay calm while we eat a small snack mindfully. I will be handing out two things; don’t eat them yet.
Calm
- Guided Relaxation – Close your eyes if that feels OK to you and imagine being back at a time when you were outside in the sunshine having fun playing with a friend. (Pause 20-30 seconds). Feel the warm sunshine on your skin. There is a light breeze. Feel the breeze against your face. Slowly ask the following: What sounds do you hear? Are there any smells? Where are you? Who is with you? What are you doing? Are you barefoot? Are you touching your friend? What objects or toys are there? Pause 10 seconds. Hold on to this feeling as you begin to think about how you want to feel today. What feelings do you want to hold in your head, heart and body today? You get to choose. Pause 5-10 seconds, Start to come back to the room now by noticing your fingers and toes. Move them. Take a deep breath and roll to one side. Pause a couple of seconds. Start to push yourself back up into a sitting position facing me.
- Breathing – Let’s do 3 deep breaths together.