Instructor: Jeanette Johnsson
Community: ???
Plan Creation Date: December 13, 2009
Yoga Calm Principle/Lesson Goal: Stillness
Lesson Plan:
In the room: Drum, cotton and lavender oil, Anjali, Mindful Snack dishes.
* Still & Freeze: With drumming on a drum. Then stop:
“Look over there, there are two deer drinking water from a little creek, it’s a mom and her baby….. Let’s carefully tiptoe back to our mats so that we don’t scare them.”
Talk about stillness/to be calm. What does it mean to be still? Why is it good to be still? What distract you when you want to be still? What makes you calm?
* Breathing Sphere: Slow and deep breathing brings our bodies back to stillness.
* Volcano: Shower yourself in stillness. If you close your eyes maybe stillness has a color.
* Arm swings: See how slowly and smoothly you can move — like a bird flying very slowly.
* Mountain: Close your eyes and become as still as you can. How is it in your mountain? Is it snowy? Hot and sunny? What can you see at the base of the mountain?
* Dancer: Imagine someone you really like holding your standing foot and pressing in to the ground.
* Warrior II: Feel the stillness in the pose, be a peaceful warrior.
* Chair: Pretend that you are sitting STILL on a chair.
* Tree: Think about all the things a tree has to put up with — strong winds, snow or hot sunny days, kids climbing in them etc. — and still they are tolerant and still; this is something you can do to.
Go from still — windy — still, etc.
* Forward fold: This pose helps us feel calm and still.
* Cat & cow
* Child’s pose: Imagine your color of stillness going in and out of you with your breath. (refer back to Volcano Breath)
* Back drawing: A very relaxing activity. Draw the mountain — beautiful green leafy trees on the way. The sun is shining and the wind is gentle. You walk softly on the path. You see a lovely forest animal. You continue to walk and there you see a treasure in the woods that you would like to give to the person in front of you. Draw it and when you are done — whisper it to the person in front of you.
* Twist
* Relaxation: First with the terrifying Bear — he is panting and growling next to you. Make sure not to move, be as still as you can.
* Relaxation: Now let go completely and just relax your whole body.
Today you are going on a mountain journey. What would you like to bring on your trip to the mountaintop, it can be anything………..put it in your backpack.
Picture a beautiful still mountain. A big mountain covered with green trees and flowers in all the colors of the rainbow.
In the woods you find a path with a sign saying, “mountain top”, and you decide to start walking, thinking how lovely it would be if you could make it all the way up. The path is soft and easy to walk. You see all kinds of animals, and by a little creek you see two deer. A mom and her baby, they are drinking from the creek and they look up at you with their big brown eyes, when they see you come. You are slowing down your walk, because you do not want to disturb them…… They are still looking at you but they don’t feel scared, and now they continue to drink…… The sun is trying to make its way through the cover of thick leaves, there are streaks of sunlight coming through and touching the path you are walking on……The nature changes a bit, and on this part of the walk there are more pine trees. They give away a lovely smell….. like Christmas. You keep on walking, feeling strong…. The trees start to thin out the higher up you come and…….There it is! There is the mountain top! Just a little bit more and then you are there…………Oh, you made it — you are on top of the mountain — you did it — you can do anything that you set your mind to do!
The view is amazing up here. You see the trees from above and there are some soft clouds you can almost touch. All of a sudden you see fluffy white snowflakes falling down from the sky, you watch them fall, everything else is still…..You open the backpack and there is your thing that you wanted to bring to the mountain top. You take it out of the back pack and enjoy this quiet moment……..Then you turn around and you see something yellow. You walk closer and you see a big big slide. The slide has all the colors of the rainbow. Hm, this would be a very fun way to come down from the mountain, you think. You go to the slide and sit down, on the space that has your favorite color — and whhhhhhhhhhhiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii down you slide……………..
When you’re all the way down, you look up at the top. It is far away and up high. You smile and bring back the feeling you felt when you stood there. You will probably come back here another day…..
You are back on the yoga mat — your eyes closed — your body heavy and nicely relaxed. Wiggle your fingers and toes and take some deep breaths. Roll over to your right side. When you’re ready, slowly come up to a seated position.
Share what you brought in your backpack.
* Mindful snack