Instructor: Faith Schulze
Community: Grades 4-6, School Setting, Coping Skills – Special Education, 30 minutes
Plan Creation Date: January 12, 2015
Yoga Calm Principle/Lesson Goal: Strength
Lesson Plan:
Calm
- Belly Breathing – Have kids sit in stools and place one hand on belly and one hand on heart. Have one student volunteer what it will look like. “Use your strength to inhale some fresh oxygen into your belly and exhale everything else out. Letting go of anything that is worrying you or on your mind right now and just focusing on your breath.”
- Pulse Count – Model for student what this looks like and how to find their pulse. Have students take pulse for 15 seconds and then talk about how their pulse is different than last time and what that number means. Have kids share things they can do to make their heart stronger.
- Mindful Moment Strength Card – “Remember a time when you wanted to learn something. It was hard to learn and perhaps you got frustrated and upset. Think about how you got better at this activity the more you practiced. What helped you have the strength to keep trying?”
Activate
- Arm Swings – (repeat 8 times). Have kids move to a standing position with extra space next to them. Have them inhale and turn palms outward and raise arms out to the side and then overhead. Exhale and lower your arms back to your sides. “Let your strong arms help pull your breath in and blow your breath out.”
- Yoga Movement – Yoga Calm Mat 20. During poses include statements and comments that remind students about the alignment principals including breathing, activating and expanding. This can be connected to the theme by asking them to squeeze and activate their muscles to show their strength. Also using language with kids to use their strength to hold their pose. They also can use their strong chest muscles to breath deep into their belly. End the movement time with kids laying on the mat doing twist pose and then flat on back ready for relaxation.
Calm
- Changing Channel Activity – With students laying on their backs on mats encourage them to close their eyes and just let their muscles rest and melt right into the mat. Encourage kids to close their eyes and go on a little journey. “Imagine that you are climbing a really tall mountain. What do you see, hear, smell? Change your channel. Imagine that you are swimming across a really long pool. What do you see, hear, smell? Imagine that you are about to cross the finish line of a really long race. What do you see, hear, smell?
- Progressive Muscle Relaxation – Script on page 133 of Yoga Calm for Children Book.
- Volcano Breath – Standing strong and tall like a mountain. Think about someone in your life who has helped you feel strong. When you exhale send them a thought of gratitude and thanks!