Instructor: Paula Jones-Johnson
Community: Grade 3 Small Group
Plan Creation Date: June 30, 2012
Yoga Calm Principle/Lesson Goal: Strength
Lesson Plan:
Calm
Cat/cow: Demonstrate the proper cat/cow pose and breathing. Tell the children to imagine they are a cat just waking up and stretching their back. Now imagine an old cow standing in the pasture with its hips and shoulders sticking up and the back sunken down.
Downward Dog: Have a child demonstrate downward dog. Point out what they are doing right and gently ease them along if needed into the proper position. Think about relaxing and dropping the shoulders, tightening their bellies, and breathing nice deep breaths through their nose.
Active
- Star: Have a student show star pose. Have the others follow. Tell them they are radiating an energy out of their fingertips. Ask if anyone would like to share what their energy looks like. If nobody shares, describe what you see: blue beams of light stretching out as far as you can see. Students think about what parts of their feet are touching the ground.
- Triangle: Using blocks if needed, move into triangle pose. After putting feet into the proper position, have the kids visualize a windmill. Tell them about the challenge of keeping your arms, back and legs straight. Breathe.
- Warrior 1: Have the children think of some words that describe a warrior, e.g., powerful, brave, strong, patient, proud. Now stand proud like a warrior. Focus on your strength, breathing, and a soft gaze up toward your hands. Feel how strong you are through your arms and legs.
- Warrior 1: Think about taking your strength and adding the perfect balance with your arms. Enjoy looking out at your fingertips and feeling totally focused on your pose. Breathe in the oxygen that gives you energy. Breathe out your calmness.
Calm
- Volcano Breath: Think about what you do that makes you feel confident. As you exhale, think about surrounding yourself with that feeling.
- * Child pose: Relax into the pose. Picture yourself feeling the confidence you were feeling during practice. If you had a hard time feeling it, that is okay. It will come – it becomes easier with each practice. End with giving thanks for the strength and courage to do the things that we were able to do.