Instructor: Katie Diez
Community: Grades 1-5, School Setting, 30-40 minutes
Plan Creation Date: December 30, 2014
Yoga Calm Principle/Lesson Goal: Stillness
Lesson Plan:
Diffuse in essential oil diffuser: Lavender essential oil
Calm
- Belly Breathing – With one student leading with the Hoberman sphere and another counting off a selected number of breaths. “While you breathe in and out, think about how it feels for the rest of your body to be still while your belly moves in and out.”
- Activate/Relax walk – “Today we are going to focus on times that it is necessary to feel still. Close your eyes and imagine yourself outside on a warm spring day when a butterfly lands on your arm. You want to see how long it will stay there, so you stand as still as you possibly can. Now open your eyes. Can you think of other times you may have to stand completely still?” Make notes on the board as to what kids come up with. (other examples: playing hide and go seek, walking through the woods and you see an owl, a bee comes buzzing up to you). We are going to play activate/relax walk. When I say go, start walking around the room as if you are walking through the woods. When I call out one of our stillness ideas, I want you to freeze as if you are in one of those scenarios.
- Volcano Breath
Activate
- Mountain – “Stand tall and strong. Plant your feet into the earth. Make your self as strong as a mountain. Now bring your arms straight up over head and shoot laser beams out of your fingertips to the sky. Feel your self stand strong and still.”
- Roots – Side to side “Root your feet to the ground and hold your head strong, tall and still so that a hummingbird could come and perch on it. Now you’re going to sway from side to side ever so carefully so that hummingbird gets a gentle ride. Now slow down until you find your middle ground. I’m going to test your ability to hold a still pose. I’m going to come around and try to make you move without touching you. See if you can stay strong and still without moving.” Discuss strategies children used to stay still.
- Tree – “Stand with legs and feet together, shift your weight onto the left foot. Slowly bend right knee and draw the right foot up, planning the sole on your inner leg. Now imagine a little hummingbird just landed on your head and you are a tree. You want that hummingbird to stay as long as possible.” Hold that pose for the count of 5 and switch.
- Crescent Moon – Arms up side to side “Continuing so that the hummingbird does not want to fly away, carefully bring your your arms up over head, fingers pointing to the sky. Gently lean to the right and feel that stretch through your left side. Now gently lean to the left.”
- Modified Dancer – “With that humming bird still on your head, carefully shift your weight on to your right foot and carefully bend your left leg, reaching back to grab it with your left hand. Hold for the count of five” Then do on the other side. You may want to practice activating and relaxing in this pose.
Calm
- Twist – Have a student come to Stillness. “Close your eyes and see if you can hold stillness without moving for 1 minute.”
- One-Minute Exploration – Eyes closed, head on table. “Take the next minute to listen to your breath. See if you can follow your breath as it moves in and out of your body. Imagine your favorite color and picture yourself breathing that color in and out. What does that color mean to you?”