Summertime is for playing outside. These kids recently took their yoga out of doors and played with various props (rocks, statues, and benches) found along a river. The inspiration came from the gorgeous First Nations themed statues by Stewart Steinhauer found beside a local river: eagle pose, then bear walk. From there exploring some nearby boulders was a logical next locale for some yoga poses: tree pose, dancer, camel, rock the baby, downward dog, and lizard on a rock. Finally double boat on a park bench before heading off to the library to find some more great books for summer reading.

eagle pose

bear walk

tree pose

dancer pose

camel pose

rock the baby pose

downward dog

lizard on a rock

double boat pose

Be inspired to do yoga wherever, whenever the mood strikes. The park, the playground, the botanic garden, on the beach, or at the cabin…get your yogi on and strike a pose, or two, or ten. Happy summer!

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My kids love to cook.

It started when they were very young and I’d ask them to stir jello, make play-dough, or dump measured ingredients into the bowl to make muffins or cookies. These days we have assigned evenings where they are the designated ‘sous-chef’ and get to help with dinner doing everything from setting the table and pouring the water, to chopping the vegetables and puréeing the cheese and broccoli soup. A favourite activity when friends come over is to create something delectable to eat which is often inspired by the Food Network (one of my kids favourite TV channels) or by a kids cooking recipe book currently on loan from the library. This spring my son has graduated to the BBQ where he recently grilled up honey mustard chicken breast to perfection.

Yes, having my children in the kitchen requires effort and organization. Like most tasks, it would be easier if I simply did it myself. However, I’d definitely be denying them, and myself, many wonderful memories and numerous life skills. My job is to ensure that my children have all the tools necessary to live as engaged and accomplished adults. I see teaching them how to cook everything from Caesar Salad to Crock Pot Stew as part of that responsibility.

And from a yoga point of view, I’m striving to teach them good nutrition and to establish a positive relationship with food. When helping in the kitchen, kids interact with their food on a totally different level. By taking the raw ingredients, discussing basic nutrition requirements, and learning how to combine different flavours to create wonderful dishes, children take charge of what they are putting on the table and into their bodies.

What Kids Learn When Cooking

Involving kids in the kitchen develops a host of skills. These include:

• Following directions – reading and following a recipe
• Basic arithmetic – measuring ingredients or doubling (tripling for cookies) a recipe
• Vocabulary enrichment – ingredients, tools, and directions all provide new and interesting vocabulary
• Sensory stimulation – tastes, textures, and smells in great variety come from the kitchen
• Cause and effect – leave out one ingredient and see what happens
• Cooperation – working together and waiting their turn
• Sanitation – cleanliness and safe food handling skills come with the territory
• Confidence – empower kids with cooking skills that will last a lifetime
• Creativity – express kids unique tastes with their own recipes/kitchen creations

Ground Rules for Cooking with Kids

Here are a couple of suggestions for getting your kids into the kitchen.

• Safety first – never leave children unattended in the kitchen. Your supervision is essential and your children’s well being always comes first.
• Never assume that children know how to handle a knife or when something is ’safe’ or ‘unsafe’. Establish safety ground rules which are age and ability appropriate.
• Provide your child with their own kitchen utensil kit such as the Kid’s Cookware Kit - I haven’t done this but think it is a brilliant idea to foster independence and ownership.
• Start with a clean kitchen and keep a sink of warm soapy water ready to clean-up as you go along. Cleaning up is part of cooking so don’t let your kids escape once the dish is made without washing up and wiping off. 
• Make it fun! If you or the children are getting frustrated try again another time or with a different recipe. This is a time to connect, share, and explore the wonder of creating good things to eat while spending time together.

Cooking With Kids Websites

Spatulatta is a great website that teaches kids to cook. Hosts Liv and Belle provide over 350 videos of how kids can make a variety of healthy and nutritious foods including vegan & vegetarian options, comfort foods, holiday specials and more.

For the little ones (ages 2-5) learning to prepare food uses all their senses and exploits their desire to please. It gets them fully involved with their food and with helping around the home. A win-win for sure. Cooking with Children: Kids in the Kitchen offers suggestions for age appropriate tasks and recipes even the youngest children can help prepare.

Cooking With Kids is a school based program that uses hands-on methods to teach elementary students about the joy of delicious healthy foods. From tasting classes which introduce kids to food they may never have had before, to getting local chefs to donate their time and talent to schools, this innovative program brings fresh and healthy options into the classroom.

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.

gluing the owls together

cutting out hand prints for wings

our meditation owls

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.

Christmas morning dawned amid blue skies and hoar frost. It was a balmy -15 celsius out, so I snagged my husband’s Nikon and the dog and went to explore a nearby park. Here are some photos from my walking meditation to celebrate the season.

Benefits of Yoga Twists

Twists are some of my favourite yoga poses. Yoga twists require the work of the abdominal muscles, oblique muscles, spine, neck, shoulders and pelvis. They help to balance the body and improve posture. Twists exercise the spine from the coccyx all the way to C1, gently creating space between vertebrae, releasing tension in the muscles and lubricating the joints. In addition, twists massage the internal organs, increase energy, aid with digestion, and release fatty deposits in the abdomen. They invigorate the body and get the blood flowing. B.K.S Iyengar, yoga guru, describes this action as “squeeze and soak.” You compress all the internal organs during the twist, squeezing out the toxins. Then when you release, fresh blood flows in carrying with it oxygen and nutrients. Somewhat similar to an internal bath.

Most kids, however, don’t care about all these benefits. They like how twists feel. And they feel terrific!

One of the most effective uses of twists in the school setting is similar to wiping a black board clean after finishing one topic before moving onto the next. By taking five minutes to perform a simple seated twist in between subjects or activities, kids are able to erase previous tension, clear their minds, and prepare themselves physically and mentally to move on to other endeavours.

When teaching twists I use the image of a wet towel. To effectively wring out the towel you must twist from both sides. So when twisting, you must ground yourself in one direction while rotating in the opposite direction. For children who are tactile learners you can even use this as an object lesson.

Yoga Twists for Kids

Simple Seated Twist

Sitting on a chair or cross legged on the floor, ground the left hip by imagining it super-glued to your seat. to the right. Inhale and sit up tall, lengthening the side body. Exhale and begin to twist deep in your abdomen.  Inhale a second time, exhale twisting through the torso, trying to get your shoulders to line up parallel to the long side of the yoga mat. You can use your left arm to help pull your body to the right. Be sure to keep your shoulders away from your ears as you inhale a third time. Exhale and look behind you, taking the twist into the uppermost portion of the spine. If you want, you can even employ some Face Yoga and twist your mouth and eyes toward the right. Otherwise, gaze gently behind you. Inhale and return to centre. Remain here for one breath. Repeat the entire process on the other side.

washing machine pose

 Washing Machine Pose

Sitting cross-legged, cross your arms over your chest placing hands on opposite shoulders. Twist left and right while saying “swish, swish, swish.” Continue for one minute. An alternative name to this is Sprinkler Pose where the hands are placed on top of the same shoulder and while twisting say, “pssh, pssh, pssh” immitating water coming out of a sprinkler.

These two seated twists are easy to use anytime, anywhere and will really help clear the mind and refresh the body.

Standing Twist

Stand 6 inches to a foot away from a wall, with your back to the wall. Inhale and actively ground your left foot into the floor. Exhale as you twist to the right. Initiate your twist in the lower body. Inhale lengthen, exhale twist  through the chest, reaching your arms behind you to touch the wall. Inhale, keep your left leg actively working, exhale and complete the twist through to the crown of your head. Inhale and return to facing forward. Repeat on the other side.

This is a great twist to do while standing and waiting in line. It will help keep overactive kids engaged instead of allowing them opportunity to nudge, poke, kick, and otherwise bother their neighbours.

marichiyasana iii

Marichiyansana III

Sit with your legs straight in front of you. Bend the right knee, placing the foot along the left thigh a hand’s span distance from the leg. Activate your left leg, reaching the ball of the foot away from you, spreading the toes, and engaging the quad. Inhale, hug the right knee to your chest, exhale being certain that you’re sitting on your sitz bones by giving a little wiggle to feel them connect with the floor. Inhale, circle the right arm over head and reach it behind you onto the floor as you exhale. Inhale lengthen the body and reach the left arm up, exhale bend the arm and place the elbow on the outside of the right knee if possible. If not, continue to hug the knee. Inhale, sit tall maintaining the activity in the left leg. With the exhale twist to the right. Remember that you begin the twist deep in the belly. Imagine lifting each of your internal organs ( kidneys, pancreas, liver, stomach, intestines, etc) and placing them individually over to the right. Inhale, lengthen. Exhale, twist the center chest to the right using the contact between the left arms and right knee to help push yourself into the twist. This feels really good. Inhale, lengthen. Exhale, look behind you.

Now that you’ve perfected your twists, crack out the Twister game and get twisted.

Watch next week for Part II in this series on twists when we’ll take twists up a notch and discover Yoga Twists for Teens.