Instructor: Gayl Staver
Community: Group therapy, 4 teenage girls with depression, High School group room, 60 minutes
Plan Creation Date: July 17, 2013
Yoga Calm Principle/Lesson Goal: Community
Props/Music Resources Required/Used: Anjali CD, Hoberman sphere, chimes and lavender spray.
Lesson Plan:
Calm
- Introduction – to Yoga Calm, group rules and introducing theme for class.
- Belly breathing and back breathing – I demonstrated belly breathing and back breathing and discussed how breathing affects the brain, mood and body.
- Hoberman Sphere – I introduced the sphere and we passed the sphere around the circle to have each person follow their breath.
- Chimes – After they practiced belling breathing I rang the Chimes and had them listen as they practiced their deep breathing in a circle.
- Sharing – I had the group members say how this group and others people in their lives have been a support to them in their life’s journey.
Activate
- Roots – We started with grounding our feet into the ground and feeling the energy up through our bodies and out the top or our heads. We add the variation when we lean to the right, left, back and forth. I directed the group to vary their swaying just like grasses in the wind and to notice the others’ motions and how that affects their movement.
- Alignment – We went over the alignment principles to help them feel strong and confident without injury in the next poses.
- Mat Top 10 – I lead them in the poses in a circle so they could all support each other.
- Tree and Tree Challenge – I had the group pair up and try tree on their own, with support and with a challenge.
- Tree Circle – I had the group back into a circle and support each other in the tree pose.
- Warrior I and II – I had the group, while still in a circle, go into Warrior I pose to feel their power and strength individually and in the group.
Calm
- Child’s pose – I demonstrated the child pose with putting the head down on two stacked fists. “This pose is good to calm you down if you have too much emotion for a situation or need to ground yourself. It is a good pose to do before starting a new task. You can calm yourself and be still as you mentally and physically prepare for a new task.”
- Progressive relaxation – I had the members back on their backs and they used their belly breathing as I led them in a progressive relaxation. I encouraged them to feel the relaxation of the whole group to help them relax their body and mind.
- Compliments – I had each member give each other a compliment for thier work in the session today.