Instructor: Amy Schaffer
Community: Therapy Setting, 30 minutes
Plan Creation Date: November 1, 2015
Yoga Calm Principle/Lesson Goal: Stillness
Lesson Plan:
Calm
- Wood Chopper – Imagine you are getting fire wood ready for a long winter, there is a slight breeze but the leaves on the trees around you are barely moving – You are slowly but carefully preparing the firewood and with each chop you give a “huh” as you breath out of your air with each chop
- Pinwheel Breaths – Standing – See how slowly you can spin the pinwheel without gasping for your next breath
Activate
- Mountain – Think about activating your muscles as you pull them in tight towards the center of our body – “hugging into” our center – Reflecting on the strong stillness of a mountain – do mountains move?
- Forward Bend
- Warrior 1 – Step back with right leg with heel off the floor and straighten back leg – Take arms over head, lift belly head and heart – Thinking about when a warrior needs to be still
- Downward Dog – Heel presses
- Warrior 1 (opposite side) – Thinking about when a warrior needs to be strong
- Mountain – Bring hands to heart
- Tree Pose – Let the wind blow through your branches, then return to stillness, feeling the contrast between windy and still – Repeat on opposite side
- Forward Bend
- Plank – From forward bend, plant hands on the ground in front of you with all four corners of your palm, bending at the knees if you can not reach, straightening legs to the back of the mat – Imagine the strength and stillness of a plank of wood we use to build a structure
- Cobra – From plank, bringing hips and legs down the mat, lift your chest and shine your heart forward – Imagine you are wearing antlers on your head – Pausing and think about when a Cobra needs to be still
- Child Pose – Kneel to the floor and sit back onto your heels – Let your head be heavy and breath into your back and let it puff up like a parachute
- Trust Walk – Lead trust walk activity with surprise guide. Remind everyone to stay silent so they don’t give away the surprise.
Calm
- Pinwheel Breaths – Sitting – See how slowly you can spin the pinwheel without gasping for your next breath
- Relaxation – Lying down – Ready…Set…R.E.L.A.X. story page 116 “listening”