Sesame Street revolutionized children’s television back in 1969 combining education with entertainment. Today it is the longest running children’s program on television and is well known for its lovable Muppets (Big Bird, Oscar, Kermit, Grover, Elmo, etc) and timeless songs (I Love Trash, Bein’ Green, Rubber Duckie, C is for Cookie, among others).
I love Sesame Street and so was thrilled when YogaDork posted this video and have been singing “Doing the (coo, coo) pigeon” all day. So press play and enjoy doing Pigeon pose with Bert. He now joins the ranks with Kermit as a true yogi. Can’t wait for Oscar the Grouch to find his bliss while doing Warrior pose.
I would love to have a pose-able Grover to take to classes. Already have a Babar which I have to wrestle away from my children, but I think Grover would be super flexible and lots of fun. Which childhood character would you like to see doing yoga and what would be their favourite pose?
Princesses are loved by little girls. Out of my three darling daughters, two of them have been princess aficionados. I have lost count of how many princess parties, princess costumes and princess cupcakes I have been responsible for organizing and creating. So if you are in a similar situation and have a special little princess in your life who is looking for something princess themed and fun to do, you are in luck because this article is all about how to create a princess themed yoga class. It is fun, easy, and will involve your princess and her court of closest friends and advisers.
First of all, you need to define what kind of princess is desired. I personally like my princesses to be friendly, adventuresome, creative, problem solvers, graceful, full of integrity, compassionate, and lovers of fine chocolate. I most often use Dancer Pose to represent the princess.
When teaching children yoga you always need a number of fun and engaging yoga games at your disposal. Here is a suggestion from yoga expert Aruna Humphrys of Young Yoga Masters. This game focuses on increasing intuition, awareness, and sensitivity to others and the environment. It also teaches about our senses and how heavily we rely upon the sense of sight. By playing Heart’s Hide ‘n Seek, children develop their sense of hearing and touch in order to navigate unharmed and locate their classmates.
Heart’s Hide ’n Seek
Ask everyone to close their eyes and have them raise their arms out in front of them, reaching with their finger tips. They will slowly walk around, eyes closed, and try to feel for the other kid’s finger tips. The game is to be quiet, if they meet someone keep their eyes closed and don’t talk, they only touch gently. Can they feel the person’s energy through their fingertips? Then they can whisper “Hello” or “Namaste” and then move on to find someone else.
The teacher needs to watch the kids because everyone has their eyes closed. But it is fun to see if the kids can feel their way around the room without using their eyes. They can use their heart and intuition. Feel instead of see.
Many kids will have trouble keeping their eyes closed and being quiet, but it is still a fun challenge to try it and they can build up to going longer times. And it also has to be an empty room so the kids don’t get hurt.
Visit the Yoga Games page for a complete listing of yoga games that will take your lessons from fun to fabulous.
If you enjoyed this post subscribe via RSS or e-mail. Also be sure to download your FREE copy of THE PET STORE (see right sidebar) for an easy and interactive kids yoga lesson in English and French.
This game is always a hit and can be used as a warm up, to review poses, simply to fill a few minutes, or to change the pace of the lesson especially if kids are getting a little wiggly. This is a fun way to teach listening skills. Studies also show that this game improves self-control and restraint of impulsive behavior. Furthermore, playing Swami Says attunes children to the power of example as we automatically want to follow the leader but sometimes need to choose our own actions (in the game) and path (in life). Teach leadership skills by allowing children to take turns being the ‘Swami’ and calling out poses to perform. I usually review 4-7 poses that we will be using before beginning the game to make sure everyone knows what’s what.
Swami Says
This game is played like the playground favourite ‘Simon Says’, however this time the Swami is in charge. The ‘Swami’ calls out instructions such as, “Swami says Cat pose.” Everyone performs Cat pose. If the ‘Swami’ calls out instructions without “Swami says” then everyone should disregard the instruction.
I never play so that kids are ‘out,’ instead simply remind them to listen carefully and reward their great auditory and yoga skills. Usually we all have a good laugh and continue on. Speeding up the poses ‘Swami’ calls out will make this much more difficult as will simply using the suggestion “Swami says Do this” while performing the pose desired. The later also works really well with younger kids or those new to yoga who don’t know the names of the poses yet but do know how to do them. Another tricky suggestion, once your class is good at this, is to say one pose but perform a different pose. Ohhhh, I knew you’d like that.
Have fun and play a yoga game today!
If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe via RSS or e-mail and get a monthly yoga game and so much more delivered directly to you.
Kids Yoga Class this week we learned how to meditate. The kids didn’t really understand what it meant to meditate and most likened it to relaxation. So with the help of Meditation Owls (thanks Alluem Kids) we discovered how easy it is to meditate and look inside to learn more about ourselves. They really liked the Sa Ta Ma Na to the Twinkle, Twinkle melody and my five year old keeps singing it this evening. One of the parents was very impressed when her child explained what it meant and showed her how to do this simple meditation technique before leaving. She said, “I can’t believe it. They remember everything. I’ve been coming to yoga for 4 years and still can’t get it straight.” Maybe the adults need a Meditation Owl as well. After creating the Owls and practicing our meditation, we did a variety of poses after the theme – Things that Fly: Pigeon, Eagle, Crow, Helicopter, Airplane, Superhero. We also snuck in a quick game of Swami Says before finishing in savasana. It was a great class. Here are a few photos for your enjoyment.
Mantras are sounds, syllables, words or phrases which can create change. A saying from the Vedas states “Speech is the essence of humanity.” As such, our speech has the power to influence ourselves and our world through vibration and intent. The most well known mantra is Aum or Om. Kids and teens love to chant mantras. They offer a way to connect with their inner selves, to heal, to become grounded, to access hope and to increase positive emotions by stimulating the left hemisphere of the brain through their vibrations.
Please enjoy Two-ey and Minty as they sing the mantraLoka Samasta Sukhino Bhavantu from the indomitable Beth Lapides.
Loka Samasta Sukhino Bhavantu
Loka Samasta Sukhino Bhavantu
Loka Samasta Sukhino Bhavantu
OM
Shan’ti Shan’ti Shan’ti
This chant means
Loka = world
Samasta = the whole/together
Sukino = the transcendal happiness
Bhavantu = let there be
Shan’ti = peace
or “May peace and happiness be unto the world.”
Enjoy the trans-formative powers of this mantra anytime. This video will bring a smile to your face while the words will change your heart and perspective on the world. Om, Shan’ti.
