Instructor: Danette Jones
Community: Elementary Ages, At-Risk Intervention Program, School Setting, 60 minutes
Plan Creation Date: October 20, 2015
Yoga Calm Principle/Lesson Goal: Listening
Class Intention:
- Increasing capacity to listen to self and others
- I will set the tone by having the lights low; poly spots or yoga mats laid out in a semi-circle; a sea shell serving as our “focus friend” in the center.
- “Welcome to Yoga Calm Class. We are going to practice listening to ourselves and each other today.”
- I would also prepare them with what the agenda is and what the expectations are.
Lesson Plan:
Calm
- Chime – Be seated on your mat/poly spot by the time the chime is silent.
(Students first settle down by “pounding/tapping” on themselves with their fists/open hands gently. Instruct them to listen to how different parts of their body sound.) - Pinwheel Breath – As you “blow out the candle,” see how long you can make the pinwheel turn. (We could even time them to make their progress concrete.) Hand your pinwheel to a staff for safe keeping during group.
- Chime – Now close your eyes and listen for the chime. Give me thumbs up when you cannot hear the chime anymore.
- Pulse Count – We will now listen to our bodies by doing a silent 30-second Pulse Count. We must be very quiet to “listen” to our pulse. Remember your number or quietly tell it to a staff.
Activate
- Twist – Floor (or Seated) – Using description in manual, focus on belly breathing
Seated Volcano Breath: Hands to heart. Take a big, slow “smell the flower”. Hold and bring your arms overhead. Exhale and slowly explode the volcano, getting rid of anything that keeps you from really listening. Second time: Imagine bringing something into your life that will help you listen better and shower that down on you as you exhale. Third time: Imagine a time you received a compliment and how that made you feel to hear it; shower those wonderful feelings down when you exhale. Bend forward and come to all fours for… - Cat/Cow – Listen to your breath as you inhale into cow and exhale into cat. See how even you can make the in and out breaths.
Downward Dog: Press up into Down Dog. Listen to your belly breaths as you hold this pose for 3 breaths. Walk your feet forward into…
Forward Bend: Place your hands on your hips and slowly come up into…
Mountain: Become a beautiful mountain. Keep your feet together or hip-width apart. Feel how your feet are the base of your mountain – deep in the earth, in rock. Then lift the top of your head – your mountain peak – toward the sky. Close your eyes and listen for any winds or birds flying by as your peak stretches through the clouds. Return to… - Forward Bend
- Child’s Pose – In preparation for…
- Back Breathing and/or Compliment Game – followed by Back Drawing Story (as a reward/transition or as an ending activity) – Social/Emotional Game/s
Calm
- Chime – Lay back down on your mat by the time the chime is finished. We will now take another 30-second pulse count. Notice if the number is different from the pulse count at the beginning of Yoga Calm Group. Tell the staff the number.
- Body Scan Relaxation – We are going to listen to our bodies right now. Imagine there is a magnifying glass moving over your body, helping you to notice what is going on in your body. Start at your head. What does it have to say to you? Is it worried? Is it calm and focused? Move the magnifying glass over your heart. What does it have to say? Is it full of peace and warm feelings? Is it hurting right now? Continue the scan over the rest of your body. Listen if your body needs to tell you anything about how it feels. Think about where your body feels certain things. Where does it feel joy? Sadness? Anger? Pride of accomplishment? Compliments from others? Notice where your body feels these things. ** Roll on your right side, bringing up your knees toward your chest into the position we took as babies. Rest here for a moment. When you’re ready, push yourself up with the strength of your arms and sit crisscross applesauce.
* We would then expand the lesson by having the students begin filling in previously made outlines of their bodies with where they feel certain emotions, identified through their body scan.
** A variation would be to begin the group with the Body Scan and end with Do Nothing Pose with the Calm Voice visualization.