Using music in your kids yoga classes is extremely effective, engaging and memorable.
Here one of our online Teaching Kids Yoga Level 2 participants, Micha, shares a beautiful Can You Make a Flower Song to go along with Lotus Mudra. I love how she has used a familiar melody and has changed the word to perfectly suit a loving kindness flower.
Hello, my name is Donna Freeman, founder of Yogainmyschool.com. Today we’re here to talk about the wonderful sound OM.
Invariably when I go into a school or to teach children, somebody in the class who has never done yoga before will come in, sit down on their mat and go like this, “OOOMMMMM!” They are all excited to begin chanting. So, I’ll show you how to do that properly and the aspects of OM you can teach to children.
Today Alea has joined me. She is going to learn a few mudras, hand positions that you can do while chanting OM. As well as the different aspects of the sound itself.
Now when you chant OM, it’s really helpful because the vocalization changes the energy in your body, it provides healing energy. It enhances your overall health. It calms your emotions and quiets the mind while providing relaxation. And increases the sense of togetherness.
When you chant om, a lot of people, because of how it is written in English, think it is just two sounds O-M. I actually prefer the written form A-U-M, for OM, because that represents much better the sounds which you are producing.
There are three and a half parts to om. The first is down here in your belly. It is a big aaaahhh sound. And then the uuuuu sound is up into your chest. From there the mmmmm comes to your head. It’s like a buzzing bee. Then there is blessed silence. When you OM you have those parts to it.
The other part is a mudra if you are comfortable with that. The two most popular are anjali mudra, or namaste hands. Anjali meaning heart. So you can bring your thumbs to your sternum. The other would be gyan mudra where you make a circle with your index finger and thumb and the rest of your fingers are extended, and then you place that on your knees. You can choose whichever one of those you like. Or if you are not comfortable with either one you don’t need to do it either.
Join with us in oming three times. Close your eyes. Inhale.
AAAUUUMMMMM
AAAUUUMMMMM
AAAUUUMMMMM
Take a deep breath. Bow your head. And allow your eyes to fall open.
Very nicely done.
So I hope that helps for when you are teaching OM to children and teens and bringing the lovely sound of yoga into your life. Have a wonderful day. Namaste.
Discover how to take a basic yoga tree pose (vrksasana) and make it into something playful, creative and interesting. From tree pose with namaste hands to tricky tree and beyond you’re sure to find inspiration for your next kids yoga class in Ten Trees. All these versions of tree pose build balance, focus and concentration while increasing creativity, poise and grace. And best of all they’re FUN!
Discover how to energize your day with chair pose (utkatasana). This is a wonderful pose to build strength in the lower body and will vitalize your body and mind. This video includes breathing techniques and a twist that will quickly chase away fatigue and lethargy leaving you feeling invigorated and ready to meet new challenges.
Chair Pose – Utkatasana
Have you ever felt really sluggish and tired at school. Here’s a great way to energize your day. It’s called chair pose, utkatasana.
To do this pose you need to stand up nice and tall with your feet slightly apart. Then, bend your knees and stick your bum out as if you were sitting on a chair. From there, reach your arms up with your palms facing together. This is a fantastic pose to work the hips and the thighs and improve your lower body strength.
To really get a boost in your day we’re going to combine utkatasana with a breathing technique. As you inhale, reach up. Exhale, breathe out and bring your arms down with a ‘ha.’ Inhale reach out, exhale ‘ha’. Again. Up and out. Inhale up, exhale out. One more time. Inhale up and exhale out. And then return to standing.
Shake your legs out a bit before we go into the next part of this pose.
Chair Pose with a Twist
For the second part we are going to do utkatasana with a twist. So standing in mountain pose with your feet slightly apart. Come into chair pose, sitting your bum down, keeping your knees parallel to one another. Bring your hands to namaste in front of your heart. Inhale lengthen your spine. Exhale bring your elbow to your knee. Press your hands together. Press your knee against your upper arm. And keep breathing throughout the pose.
This kind of gets hard to do and you might feel your legs start to shake a little bit. That’s OK. Don’t worry about it.
Inhale come back to centre. Exhale and twist to the other side. Perfect. Very nicely done. Keep breathing. Remember you are working at increasing your energy and your strength. One more breath. Finally come back to centre and stand up.
And that’s utkatasana. It’ll help increase your energy whenever you are feeling tired.
Downward Facing Dog pose is a fantastic yoga pose to increase health and vitality while building strength and flexibility. However, it is not always feasible in a classroom to move desks out of the way and get on the floor to do yoga. The solution is Chair Dog, Downward Facing Dog pose with a chair. This is an excellent way to benefit from this pose in a classroom or office setting while making it accessible for everyone including those with special needs, weight issues, carpal tunnel/wrist concerns or overly tight hamstrings/back body. If a chair isn’t handy feel free to use a desk, counter top or even the wall.
Chair Dog (Downdog with a Chair)
Laura is going to show us how to do Downward Facing Dog pose with a chair, otherwise known as Chair Dog. Using a chair place it in front of you. Now, grabbing onto the back of the chair with your hands, you want to place your feet a little bit further back so that eventually your head comes down in between your arms and you make an ‘L’ with your body. If it’s difficult to make an ‘L’ because of tightness in the hamstrings or lower back, bend your knees and then push your hips back as far as you can push them. Your back will gradually lengthen and flatten. From there, if it is comfortable, straighten your legs maintaining the length through your back.
Hold this pose for a few breaths feeling the energy from your fingertips through to your hips and from your hips down into the ground and your feet. When you are ready come back to standing. And that’s Chair Dog.
If you enjoyed this video be share it with a friend and visit our YouTube Channel for more great yoga poses for kids and teenagers.
Trauma Informed Parenting with Hala Khouri November 10, 2022
The incredible Hala Khouri is our guest in this episode of the Yoga In My School podcast.Hala brings her extensive expertise in somatic experiencing, psychology, social justice, movement, and mindfulness as we discuss trauma informed parenting. Discover parenting with curiosity and awareness of our own conditioning so we can be more sensitive to the complex […]