Instructor: Jacquie Atherton
Community: Grades 9-12, 40-45 minutes
Plan Creation Date: January 15, 2016
Yoga Calm Principle/Lesson Goal: Strength
Lesson Plan:
Calm
- Belly Breathing – Ask a student to lead the breathing. Ask the students what kind of strength it takes to lead a group.
- Back Breathing – Ask students t get a partner and one student go into child pose. Kneel alongside the student in child pose and place your hand on their back. Breath slowly into the low back where the hand is placed and feel the rise and fall like waves in an ocean, or a sail filling with air. Continue for several breaths and then move the hand up to the mid-back and repeat. Switch roles and repeat. Go back to your mats.
- Roots – Stand with feet hip-width apart and hands pointing straight down. Rock forward and back with body Activated and feet firmly on the floor. Rock side to side and slowly return to center.
Activate
- Pulse Count – Take two fingers to the side of the mouth and tip head back slightly, then draw a line down with the fingers into the groove along the neck. Press gently to find your pulse. Count pulse for 15 seconds.
- Run for one minute and repeat pulse count and ask the students what the difference is.
- Arm Swings – From standing position, inhale and turn palms outward and raise your arms out to the side and then overhead. Exhale and lower your arms back to your side. Repeat two more times.
- Wood-chopper – Stand with feet a little wider than hip-width apart and knees slightly bent and take arms overhead with hands together, as if holding an ax. Imagine a piece of wood on the ground in front of you and on the count of three, swing hands down to chop the imaginary piece of wood. Depending on the class make a soft or loud “Huh” sound, as you hit the imaginary wood. Repeat this and bring awareness to the belly two more times.
- Tree Challenge – Two students face each other, have each student go into tree pose on their right leg and have their right hands touching, and their left hands on their hips. Press hands towards each other for support and then begin challenging each other by pushing back and fourth. Switch arms and then switch legs and repeat.
- Strong Voice – go back to their mats and lay down. Go back to belly breathing to help ground them. Slowly read the sentences from Strong Voice Worksheet, and after have the students fill out the worksheet.
Have the students share their responses. Ask how strength can be used when one is angry and how strength can be used in negative situations.
Calm
- Cat/Cow – Have them come to all fours with hands under their shoulders and knees under hips. Breathe out and lower head, and tuck tail, so that you feel like a cat stretching. Breathe in and look up, lift head and collarbones. Your belly will drop like a cow’s. Breathe smoothly going through the motions going slowly from Cat to Cow. Make the motions of equal duration from Cat to Cow while inhaling and exhaling.
- Child Pose – Go from cow to child’s pose by shifting the hips back and extending the arms out, while sitting on your heels. Stay in this position for about a minute.
- Relaxation/Shavasana – Lying on your back you can place a blanket over you if you feel more comfortable and settle yourself in to a relaxed position with your feet spread slightly apart and put your arms to the side with palms slightly facing up. Soft music to relax and hold this for 1 min.