Instructor: Susan Wolfram
Community: Grade 3, School Setting, 30 minutes
Plan Creation Date: December 7-9, 2015
Yoga Calm Principle/Lesson Goal: Listening
Listening is the ability to tune in to what the heart, mind, and body have to say. Remind the children of the lessons on the brain and the state of mind they need to be in (Calm) to really listen to the wisdom inside each of them; to really tune in to be able to act mindfully and not react to things around and within themselves.
Lesson Plan:
Calm
- Listen to the Chime – Ring the chime and ask students to put their hands up when they can no longer hear any sound from it, only silence.
- Arm Swings – Work on doing arm swings together; listen to the sound of the group quietly breathing and moving their arms together, like the geese flying together when they migrate. They need to “listen” or tune in to each other. Sometimes we need to “tune in to what our hearts, minds, and bodies are trying to tell us.
Activate
- Chair 15 – Have the students all bring a folding chair and stand behind it quietly listening for the series of directions. There will be 15, so they need to really “tune in” to follow along. Ask them questions about listening, “What would a mountain hear in the daytime, at night? What would a dog hear in the daytime, at night? What do you hear when you are sitting on a chair in the classroom, cafeteria, at a concert? What would a warrior be listening for? For Forward Bend, listen to the voice inside them.
- Tree Circle – Animals in the Forest at Night: Choose 3 students to be animals in the forest at night and the others to do tree pose, as the animals move around them. Tree posers must be very still and not interfere with the animals who must listen very quietly at night to sounds of the other animals for food or danger.
Calm
- Ball Toss with a Compliment – Say the name of the person, give them a compliment and then toss them the ball. Go around the circle forward and in reverse.
- Relaxation – Tell them to listen to their heart, mind, and body “talking” to them throughout the rest of the day. What kind of things might they “hear” that would help them be their best self and in control.
- Conflicting Feelings – Follow-up in the classroom with Conflicting Feelings activity the next day.