Instructor: Paula Jones-Johnson
Community: Grade 3 Small Group
Plan Creation Date: June 30, 2012
Yoga Calm Principle/Lesson Goal: Grounding
Lesson Plan:
Calm
- Sit in a circle cross legged comfortably. Ask them to sit quietly and pay attention to their own breathing. Have them share their observations. Introduce the Hoberman Sphere and demonstrate opening and closing it with each breath. Pass the the Hoberman sphere around the circle, having each child show two breaths.
- Belly Breathing: Have every child to place their hands on their belly while I demonstrate using the sphere. Ask them to breathe in and out along with me.
Active
- Mountain Pose: Grounding with our bodies. Have the students outline their feet and think about having all of their feet having contact with the earth. Show the correct position of the pose. Imagine yourself standing tall and proud like a beautiful mountain.
- Roots Activity: Demonstrate spreading your toes and using the whole foot
- Tree Activity: Have the students think about where on their feet they are contacting the ground
- Grounding with our minds: Make an analogy with the importance of roots to a tree and our roots as humans, our family, and ancestors. What kind of tree would you or your family be? For example, Willow: easy going, go with the wind; Oak: strong, sturdy and proud; Aspen: everything moves quickly like the flutter of its leaves, etc.
- Tree Circle Activity: Discuss how like the trees living together peacefully so can we by supporting each other as we are now.
Calm
- Relaxation: Have the children lie on their backs and get comfortable paying attention to their breath. Imagine you are floating on a cloud and all you can see is the blue sky above you. Remind them that this is their “calm cloud.’ They can come lie on the cloud and find their calm anytime they wish.