Instructor: Heidi Valdez
Community: Grades 4-5, Classroom Setting, 45-60 minutes
Plan Creation Date: March 8, 2013
Yoga Calm Principle/Lesson Goal: Strength
Academic/Therapeutic/Other goals: Preparing for Iowa Assessments to promote calming before and during stressful academic testing.
Props/Music/Resources Required: Music, Cd player, Anjali CD, Hoberman sphere, chime, Brain poster showing the upstairs/downstairs brain, Ready Set Relax Book for relaxation scripts
Lesson Plan:
Calm
- Chime – to start – with focusing intention – have students lead
- Belly Breathing – use Brain poster to show the areas of the brain that are calmed by breathing deeply. Have students lead with Sphere and choose number of breaths.
Activate
- Mountain – stand in your strength as if a mountain facing a big challenge and the pressure – such as testing.
- Star pose – developing sense of balance and personal power related to facing testing challenges.
- Chair flow 15 – with an emphasis on strength and focus through the poses
- Warrior pose – highlight facing challenges like a warrior with focus and strength to face testing challenges, and replace negative thoughts about testing to positive thoughts – I am smart, I am calm, I am relaxed, I am focused.
- Tree pose – developing focus and attention creating physical and mental strength to manage the task of testing .
- Tree challenge – helping each other stay centered when challenged. Building a sense of community as in we are all in this testing challenge together.
Calm
- Child pose – for relaxing and calming the nervous system – child pose can be done at student’s desk – for when they need a quick testing break. Have students do this at their desks as well.
- Relaxation/Guided Imagery – page 122 Test Preparation Achievement Tests.