Instructor: Michele Mayer

Community: Grades K-6, School Setting, 45 minutes

Plan Creation Date: April 29, 2016

Yoga Calm Principle/Lesson Goal: Listening

Lesson Plan:

Calm

  • Pulse Count – Teach students to find their pulse and have them raise their hand when they have found it. Have them count their pulse for 15-30 sec and have everyone share what they got. Next have student helper lead the group in physical activities such as jumping jacks and jogging in place for one min and take again. Then have students listen to calming music while laying down for several minutes and take again. Ask about times this might be good to do emphasizing listening to their bodies and looking for signs that indicate it’s time to calm. Tell the group to be prepared for level two next time.
  • Layers of Sound – Instruct students to lay in corps pose or with one hand on their heart and one on their belly and have them do several belly breaths. Let them know it is important that everyone be as quiet as possible. Tell the group to close their eyes or gently look down and stretch their ears as far as they can outside the building and see if they can hear anything. After a few minutes instruct the group to listen for noises outside the room but inside the building. After several minutes have them listen for sounds inside the room and a few minutes later inside their own bodies. Discuss what everyone heard.

Activate

  • Review – Review recent lesson on communication (consists of words, tone, and body language). Explain that today we will hone in on paying attention to body language, specifically noticing what others people’s body language tells us about how they are feeling. Show examples of good and not good listening with our whole bodies.
  • Listening With Our Eyes – Have the group stand in a circle and explain that in this game we will not talk and will only communicate with our eyes. The instructor will tell the group that if she is looking at a group member that means she wants to throw them the ball. The group member will catch the ball and the instructor will catch it and continue in this manner until everyone has had a chance and gets it. Next the group will be instructed to continue in this manner on their own tossing the ball amongst themselves and set goals
  • Personal Space – First demonstrate to the group body language to look for when someone is in another’s personal space. Do this with a par educator, or older child who is not triggered by invasion of space. Have group members share observations such as head turned, eyes averted and leaning away. Next line students into two separate rows facing each other and have one line slowly walk towards the other stopping when their partner raises their hand. Switch sides.
  • Feelings Exploration /Charades Variation – For older kids cut out various feelings words, for younger kids cut out feelings faces. Student’s take turns drawing a feeling and acting it out for others to guess what the feeling is. Have the group discuss observations after each.

Calm

  • Guided Relaxation – Guide students in a relaxation that emphasizes listening. Have each student contribute an animal or other sound they would like included in the story before beginning.

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