Recently I taught a Yoga in the Park class as a celebration to the end of summer. It was advertised as a Parent/Child Partner Yoga class. As I arrived at the park I realised that lots of adults had come without a child and without a partner. OK – everybody find a partner.
kids yoga provides new insights
I introduced myself, explained what I do – teach yoga to kids & teens – and that we would be following a yoga adventure story over the next hour. The theme was “Come With Me to the Sea.” No, it was not your typical adult yoga class. Instead we drove cars, rowed boats, crawled in the sand under Downward Dogs, went surfing, and were chased by sharks. There were a number of kids in attendance and I love bringing kid’s yoga elements to adult classes as their playful nature produces even more feel good endorphins and leads to lots of laughter.
One participant said afterwards that she finally “got it.” Before yoga had always seemed like unrelated bits and pieces with no connections other than working various body parts. Now she began to see yoga in her environment, as part of life. That’s it exactly.
So if you ever have the chance to watch or participate in a kids yoga class, go for it. You’ll still get a great workout and you may gain insights not available from your typical Hot Yoga, Ashtanga, or Prana Flow class.
For more details on how kids yoga classes vary from adult classes zip over to Karmaspot’s blog for a great post on some of the differences between teaching adult classes and kids classes.
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making the connection of environment and yoga is very cool! and a wonderful concept to view it through child’s eyes.
So fun to see adults come out themselves a bit when introduced to kids yoga! The differences between the classes are astounding, and I’ve been asked, “Do the kids really benefit from ‘playing yoga?” The answer of course is YES! Children learn best through play.
Boat Pose, for example, can be pretty tough for kids. But add a song and make it a game and suddenly, the children are laughing and holding the pose much longer than if we just say ‘Now we’re going to do Boat Pose.’ As you say, turning class into adventure and incorporating themes is a great way to encourage that. As an example, see our thoughts on teaching Boat Pose here: http://childlightyoga.blogspot.com/2009/08/boat-pose.html
I agree – I taught a kids class at a Yoga Conference once and it was full of adults barking and mooing along. They loved it. It surprises some adults when they first see kids yoga, they think it will be like adult yoga.
I can’t resist sharing a story on this topic based on one adult asking me, “Isn’t yoga supposed to be quiet?”
http://youngyogamasters.blogspot.com/2009/04/isnt-yoga-supposed-to-be-quiet.html
Based on the response you got – maybe adult classes should be noisier.
I will be teaching my first family yoga class in October and have been trying to figure out what to include. I once taught a class for friends and had them laughing whenever I mentioned starfish hands or when we got into dead bug pose. There will be a lot more yoga play after reading your post and the other comments. Thanks for the reassurance that adults can get down and bark with the best of them!
I once attended ChildLight Yoga’s free Yoga in the Park, and the same thing happened. Because it was part of an ongoing, weekly series of free yoga classes, many adults showed up with their mats and their “serious yogi” faces on. It was cool to see their faces slowly break from meditation mode to playful child mode, as they followed along with dozens of children and their parents singing songs, making animal sounds as we practiced familiar poses and played games with partners.
I think many yogis got a different lesson that week – that practicing can be playful, and we can allow ourselves to let go of our expectations and inner critic. I recently wrote an article about a yoga teacher who taught in this style – telling the class to “just play with it.” Find it at http://thepranamama.com/?p=464.
Thanks to all who bring yoga to children and childhood to yoga!