Instructor: Jeff Albin
Plan Creation Date: February 2, 2009
Community: Classroom, Grades 5-6
Yoga Calm Principle/Lesson Goal: Community
Introduction:
Calm: Class seated on knees or cross legged. Pulse Count. Check numbers. Hoberman sphere breathing x10. Repeat pulse count. Ask for changes.
Warmup: Rock x5 slowing down a little each time until you are lying flat on your back. Imagine yourself floating down a river in the summertime with your friends and family. Look around and see people laughing and enjoying each other’s company. It’s so warm you jump in and out of the river splashing like a seal.
Rock x5 to standing like a mountain.
Query: Front load with talk about horses and wolves and how they always take in those that have no place to go. Ask students to think about a place where they feel loved and supported.
Partner shoulder stretch.
Group shoulder stretch: Point out how when we stand in a circle we can stretch both shoulders at the same time.
Tree in the forest. Talk about how the trees in a forest are a community. They are connected in the soil. When loggers take too many the rest of them fall. Some trees are like oaks and stand strong in the wind. Other trees are like willow and their strength comes from their flexibility. A healthy forest has many kinds of trees. Some are tall, some are short. Some, like maple have big leaves to catch the sun. Others, like pine, have sharp needles to avoid the sun.
Query: Ask students either to 1) imagine what kind of tree they are in the group forest; or 2) share what kind of tree they are in the round or popcorn style.
Appreciation Circle: If necessary, model what a compliment is and is not.
Back to individual mats: Point out that in a community we come together to do things, play, eat, do sports and then we take time for ourselves. In this way we come back to the community ready to fully participate.
Calm: With legs behind knee release body to ground.
Visualization: You are with a community of horses in the summertime cooling yourself in a river. You are surrounded by your family and friends. The only sounds are soft nickers and the water bubbling gently over the stones. Your belly is full from the warm green grass and you nestle in the sandy shore of the river and fall into a summer daydream.