Instructor: Caroline Falcone Goldstone
Community: Grade 4, Classroom Setting?
Plan Creation Date: May 1, 2013
Yoga Calm Principle/Lesson Goal: Stillness
Lesson Plan:
Calm
- Hoberman Sphere – Decide as a group how many breaths to take. Place hands on belly, as the ball expands, feel your belly expand like the ball, as the ball shrinks, feel your belly shrink as you release the air from your body. Ask for leaders and compliments.
- Pulse Count – Let’s discover what our hearts are doing right now. Imagine bursts of energy flowing through your body with each pump of your heart. After 15 seconds, go around the room and ask for the number of beats counted. Notice the similarities and differences between their heartbeat last week and this week as well as those of their neighbors.
Activate
- Leg Stretch – Think of how much our feet do for us everyday, carrying the weight of our bodies, bringing us places. Lets give care to our feet and ankles, drawing circles on the ceiling with our big toe one way (count 5-0 backwards) then the other way. Switch legs, making sure to support your leg at the back of the thigh with your hands.
- Boat – Bring knees to chest and give yourself a hug. Rock side to side like you are a boat floating on the water. Awaken your boat, bringing yourself up to the boat pose. Create a soft bowl for crimson pillows on your stomach, pretending to touch the ceiling with the tip of your head. Count backwards from five and release into sitting position.
- Hands and knees to Cat/Cow – Softly make the sound of a cat and a cow, remembering to breathe out when in cat, breathe in at cow
- Downward Dog – Turn into sharks and bring your fin on your lower back up through the water into downward dog position.
- Warrior I – Kick leg back and bring forward to runner’s position. Look around at all our friends ready to challenge ourselves as we move into Warrior I – Release the warm, energetic ball in your belly out through the tips of your fingers, shining color rays of human energy onto the ceiling.
- Move self into Warrior II – shining the rays of energy onto the side walls.
- Peaceful Warrior – bringing softness into our arms as we think of someone to send thoughts of peace to. Relax and count to three.
- Back to Warrior II, Warrior I – then slowly grow into majestic Mt. Hood, bringing head as close to the sun above as possible.
- Volcano – Feel the lava bubble up from your toes, through your body, into volcano breaths (3 times).
- Fly down to forward bend, releasing the strength of the mountain at your lower back, shoulders, neck and head. Make a pug face, scrunching the muscles in your face, then stretch face as wide as a monkeys, wide eyed, mouth stretched. Remember, no one can see your face right now.
- Bring your shark fin up above the water in Downward dog and move slowly to plank position, still keeping that fin out of the water.
- Side Plank – Have feet kiss each other, roll to outer edge of right foot as you roll onto right hand, keeping your arm stretched. Bring your left arm up to the sun activate and expand your whole body up to be bathed in warm sunlight.
- Back to Plank
- River rock (child) – relaxing as the water flows slowly over your back, smoothing all of your ridges and grooves.. Repeat from hands and knees, asking for a volunteer to be the model.
Calm
- River rock – Stay in this position, imagining your color, size and texture (orange, gray, brown, green, mossy, smooth, jagged) as the water of the river flows all around you. Imagine the life in the river you might witness: Big and small fish, bright green and dark green plants, watch as a school of small fish swim past you, effortlessly moving through the water. Breathe in your nose, as you breathe out, imagine the river carrying away all of your tension.