Instructor: Laura Remington
Community: High School Juniors/Seniors, Alternative High School Setting, 30-45 minutes
Plan Creation Date: May 1, 2014
Yoga Calm Principle/Lesson Goal: Community
Academic/Therapeutic/Other Goals: Identifying who we support and those who support us, showing appreciation for this support.
Props/Music Resources Required: Music (iPhone), speakers, mats, blocks, Hoberman Sphere.
Lesson Plan:
Calm
- Belly Breathing – with Hoberman Sphere. Student demonstrates with Hoberman Sphere. Students opt how many breaths they would like between 3-8.
- Volcano Breath – with first inhalation students bring their hands up over head while thinking of someone who you support. As they exhale, bringing hands in an arc downward, they send their support out to that person. Next time, the person visualizes those who support them as they inhale and send gratitude out to those people as they exhale. On the third and final time, the person visualizes the other students in the yoga class and as they exhale, sends out support and understanding to them as well, their burgeoning yoga community.
Activate
- Yoga Flow – Activating Sequence: Roots, to Mountain, to Upward Mountain, to Forward Fold, to Downward Dog, to Plank, to Cobra, to Downward Dog, Walk feet back to front of mat and repeat twice more.
- Partner Pull – with Teeter Totter. Discuss how supporting others is a balancing act. It is great to be supported but one needs to give back too. Also, some people spend all their time supporting others but don’t have that support reciprocated.
- Block Creek – a great exercise to discuss trust, fear, stepping out of one’s comfort zone and concept of support.
Calm
- Personalized Relaxation – students come up with images or setting they want you to include and you meld them into an original relaxation-integration narrative.
- Closing – Close of class: Share this quote from Mark Twain: “Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.” Open this up to discussion in the context of encouraging students to find good source of support for themselves and thinking about how they support and encourage others. End, as always, with expression of gratitude.