Lavender Foot Scrub

1/4 c Sea Salt/Epsom Salt

2 Tbsp oil (any vegetable oil will do)

1/8 c baking soda

3-4 drops of lavender essential oil

Peppermint Foot Balm

1/4 c shea butter

2 Tbsp coconut oil

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 oz piece of beeswax grated

10 drops peppermint essential oil

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Ever felt alone in the world? We all have. These feeling are usually temporary but can become overwhelming at times, especially for tweens and teens who are trying to find their way and discover who they are. In reality we are all connected, one to another. The universal human condition, the inhalation and exhalation, impact us all. This game uses this connection to focus and enjoy trying to connect with someone far away. It will help reduce feelings of isolation and imprint uplifting thoughts for others and self upon the soul. So whenever you are feeling alone, send joy and notice how quickly you feel better.

Sending Joy

You can do this activity anywhere, anytime: during meditation or while sitting waiting for the traffic light to change.

Sit quietly for a few minutes. Focus on your breath, the rhythmic rise and fall of the inhalation and exhalation. Bring to mind a far away country…one you know little about so that your mind is not clouded by preconceived notions of economy, politics, etc. Simply know that in that country there is a person who would benefit from more joy in his or her life.

Imagine that person: their age, how tall they are, what they do for a living, the colour of their hair, etc. Add as much detail as you can.

Now imagine that he or she is suddenly feeling happy for no particular reason, simply because he or she was sent a dose of joy from you. Wish them a brighter smile, a lift in their walk, a sense of well-being. Image them stopping during their hectic day to enjoy something wonderful: a butterfly, a snowflake, the smell of freshly baked bread. Imagine that person appreciating their life just as it is right now. Imagine their surprise at the sudden good feeling inside and how that makes them be kinder to others, who in turn pay it forward. Your good intentions have set off an avalanche of joy.

Marvel at how good it feels to send joy to a complete stranger.

Variations: Do this for someone you know but don’t ever tell him or her. Or feel the joy others are sending you.

You have to listen inside yourself…just the way you strain to hear the dog barking in the hills, or the train rushing by in the night, or the rustle of birds in the leaves of the trees, or the church bells from a chruch you can’t see, or a boat whistle in the fog. If you listen hard you’ll feel someone far away sending love to you. ~exerpt from If You Listen by Charlotte Zolotow

 Visit the Yoga Games page for more ideas on fun, engaging and interactive ways of sharing yoga with kids and teens.

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One of the key benefits to mindfulness is that it reduces emotional reactivity and creates a calmer mental and emotional environment. This particular technique helps individuals to recognize and regulate their emotions more effectively. Learning emotional regulation skills is essential to avoiding social anxiety disorders which researchers are finding have an onset age as early as 10, 11 and 12 years old. Conditions such as depression, substance abuse and other anxiety disorders can be avoided by learning to recognize and regulate negative emotions and prevent downward spirals.

Changing Channels

Have you ever felt sad, anxious, worried, afraid? We all have. Children also experience these negative feelings and often they don’t know how to deal with them.

Today I’m going to teach you a simple mindfulness technique that can change these negative feelings into positive ones, so that children are empowered to feel what they want to feel. And that they know that they can change negative feelings into positive ones simply by using their mind.

This technique is extremely effective with children because it talks about changing their own personal TV Channel with simply the click of their remote.

What are some of your favourite TV shows?

I like Wizards of Waverly Place because it’s different, it’s funny and it has to d0 with magic.

I also enjoy iCarly because its funny and it’s all about friendship which me and her are, and I like the idea of a web-show.

So there are certain feelings that your favourite show bring, right? Joy, enthusiasm, its fun, you feel happy watching them, right?

Now I want you tho think about some shows you don’t like.

OK, I don’t enjoy The News. Why? It’s for not me. It’s for older people who want to know about stuff. It’s kind of boring.

I don’t like Handy Manny because it’s too young for me, it’s kind of boring. I find it a little depressing

Alright. so just by thinking of those shows you feel different. When you think of your favourite show it makes you feel good. And when you think of a show you don’t like it kind of makes you feel bad.

You can do the same thing with your own emotions. You can change your personal channels. You can feel happy or sad, grumpy or enthusiastic, worried or calm, sleepy or full of life and vigour. Exactly. And you can do that simply by changing what you are thinking about. So I’m going to show you a technique called Changing Channels.

What I want you to do is to imagine a feeling of being sad. Alright. Now by connecting your thumb to your forefinger kind of click as if you are clicking your own personal remote control and image something happy that you’ve done, or that you’ve enjoyed, or that you want to do. Whoo-hoo…Hi five! Do you see how your entire body changes just by thinking about something? Yeah.

You can choose what you want to feel. If you are experiencing something that you don’t enjoy you can change it. I want you to practice that clicking. That’s your personal remote control. You can change your channels and always make yourself feel the way that you want to feel.

This is Donna from Yogainmyschool.com. Visit the website Yogainmyschool.com for more information on yoga for kids and teens. Have a wonderful day.

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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!

For more information on yoga for kids and teens be sure to subscribe (RSS or e-mail) and get updates directly to your reader or inbox. You can also find YIMS on Facebook and YouTube.

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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.

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gluing the owls together

cutting out hand prints for wings

our meditation owls

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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.

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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.

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However, that also means leaving four kids with a sitter with calendar, prepared meals, clean clothes in the drawers, rides to extra-curricular activities arranged, and all the makings for healthy school lunches available. Mix in having the house completely under control for someone else to live in, rearranging my schedule so that I can drop everything during the hectic month of December,  and being at least semi-prepared for the last week of school before Christmas break. Add to that, my husband’s and niece’s birthdays. And for good measure a rounded portion of trying to get my book finalized and to the printer before I leave. Voilà: a recipe for STRESS.

So I was wonderfully pleased when YogaMint sent out this lovely Keep Cool affirmation video and spent six luxurious minutes breathing my way to calm, cool bliss. It also helped remind me how beautiful winter can be as we head into the deep freeze with snow flurries.

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