Instructor: Jennifer Johnson
Community: Elementary Ages, Day Treatment Setting, 45 minutes
Plan Creation Date: November 1, 2016
Yoga Calm Principle/Lesson Goal: Listening
Lesson Plan:
Calm
- Belly Breathing – Hoberman Sphere Breath—I lead the group in practicing belly breathing in and out through the nose and counting the breath in synch and rhythm together with the Hoberman Sphere. Then, student leads 3-8 breaths. After the breaths, the group is asked if they have any compliments for the student leaders.
Listening to a shell, we pass it around and practice being very quiet so that others can hear the ocean in the shell. Notice how we support one another’s ability to listen through our own actions. - Guided Journey – listening to sounds inside themselves, near them, in the room, outside the room, in the world.
- Read – the children’s book, Frida, talk about how Frida Khalo listened to her feelings, intuition or inner voice and imagination, and to the world around her with her heart, and expressed her feelings through painting from her heart.
Activate
- Roots—Students are asked to feel into the four corners of their feet
- Mountain—Students imagine being grounded like a mountain, what do they hear? Breathe, Activate, Expand—ground your feet in the earth while your reach up to the sun, pull yourself in as you send down energy to the earth.
- Arm Swings—from stillness to active, what do you hear differently now?
- Name Toss—what do we hear from others?
Calm
- Calm Voice Activity—how can we speak so others can hear us?
- Compliment Game—listening carefully to what others say to us; hearing the positive care that they have for us. Where in our bodies to we listen and hear their words? Feel their care for us? Can we listen with our heart?
- Art Activity – Painting from our hearts how we feel in this moment for 5 minutes. Encourage feeling what it feels like to move the brush, the beauty of the colors rather than the outcome. Listening is more than sound, listen to your heart, your inner knowing, your body. What does it have to tell you?