Instructor: Suzette Hayes
Community: Grades 3-5, School Setting, 60 minutes
Plan Creation Date: May 1, 2016
Yoga Calm Principle/Lesson Goal: Grounding
Lesson Plan:
Calm
- Hoberman Belly Breathing – Invite students to sit criss-cross on their mats. Ask them to feel their mats under them, feeling the gravity holding them to the earth. Watching the sphere, breathe in and out. Students determine number of breaths.
- Volcano Breath – standing – When students are moving their arms up and overhead, imagine their breath rising up deep from the earth, like a volcano.
Activate
- Roots – Spread the toes out wide and press through the four corners of each foot. Pretend you are a tree and you are growing roots down to the center of the earth. Rock forward and back and side to side like you are a strong, solid tree being blown by the wind.
- Mountain – Ask students to press their feet into the ground in order to lift the tip of their head toward the sky. Gently push on each student and tell them how strong and grounded to the earth they are when they are in a strong, active stance (feet hip width apart, body is firmed toward centerline).
- Upward Mountain
- Side Angle – (left/rt) Turn rt foot in slightly and left foot all the way out to the left. Bend left knee until it is directly over the ankle with shin straight up and down and then lightly rest left elbow on left knee. Straighten out back leg and press firmly down into the earth. Feel your body lengthen as you push down with your back leg and up through your right arm.
- Forward Bend – Press feet down and ground into the earth.
- Warrior 1 – Straighten rt leg and move hips forward until the front knee is right over the front ankle. Take arms overhead, palms facing each other and fingers extending. Feel your…
- Star – Feet out wide and point toes straight ahead. Take arms out to the sides and parallel to the floor. Activate (firm) muscles and extend out through arms, legs, head, and tail.
- Warrior 1 (opposite direction)
- Plank – Come to all fours with knees several inches behind hips. Point fingers straight ahead and spread them like rays of the sun. Press down through the four corners of each hand. Straighten legs and turn toes under and come into a push-put position with shoulders directly over wrists. Lift legs, hips, belly and head until body is straight like a board. Press and ground through hands and toes. Press out through heels and top of head.
- Cobra – Keep shoulders back and down, elbows close to body, tops of feet grounded to the floor.
- Downward Dog – Pump your heels and feel your feet grounded into the earth. Forward bend Chair: Keep knees in alignment with the feet. Point feet straight ahead and press down the four corners of each foot. Ground through your feet as you reach your hands overhead.
- Upward Mountain
- Mountain
- Shoulder Clock – Breathe into upper chest and spread fingers. Exhale and take arms back about a foot at one o’clock position. Keep chest and top of head lifting. Repeat until arms are down by sides at six o’clock. Switch sides.
Calm
- Relaxation -Mindful moment card on grounding.