Yoga In My School » meditation

My Favourite Colour: A Guided Visualization for Relaxation

DonnaKFreeman — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 12:28:06 +0000

Relaxation is essential. Learning to relax is key to a healthy lifestyle, stress relief, and knowing oneself. Children today are over-stimulated, over-programmed, and often have no idea what true relaxation looks or feels like. I often encourage educators, parents, health professionals and youth leaders that if nothing else from all that yoga has to offer for children, please, please teach the children in your life how to relax.

For all of you who have attended my workshop Once Upon a Pose, this short guided visualization will bring back wonderful memories of the last few minutes we spent together exploring the world of children’s yoga. My Favourite Colour is the guided visualization included at the back of the FREE e-book The Pet Store/L’animalerie, which you can download by entering your name and e-mail in the right side bar.

So close your eyes, sit back, and breathe.

Many more guided visualizations for relaxation which are easy to do with children are included in the book Once Upon a Pose: A Guide to Yoga Adventure Stories for Children, Chapter #6: Relaxation.

I hope you have a wonderful day filled with light, vitality and energy. Namaste.

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Planting Seeds of Personal Growth in Life’s Garden

DonnaKFreeman — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 12:50:14 +0000

I love spring! It’s my favourite season. Finally the long, dark, cold days of winter have been left behind, the earth begins to awaken, the first flowers burst from the ground to brighten each new dawn.

This year spring was late, very late, in arriving to Alberta. In fact, it snowed on May 30th. Insane country that I live in. Now, however, everyone is rushing around trying to get their gardens in before it is too late. You see our growing season may be short (June to September) but with 16-18 hours of daylight in June and July (yes, the sun sets around 10:00-10:30 and rises about 4:30-5:00) and rich fertile soil, things grow well.

Every year I anxiously look forward to digging around in my garden plot. My children are each given a section to cultivate and enjoy the trip to the green house to select their flowers and vegetables. Last year my son grew a salsa garden filled with tomatoes, onions, peppers and cilantro. My girls often get distracted by beautiful flowers but also like to throw in some brocolli, spinach, and carrots. Then for about one or maybe two weeks they water it faithfully and daily check to see if anything has grown. Just when they are about to lose interest the first green shoots emerge through the soil.

I love to take this time to teach them about what needs to happen under the surface before you can see the results. It’s much like life. Change and personal growth doesn’t usually begin on the outside. It has to take root, to germinate deep inside of us long before we can see any visible differences. Some seeds take a while and you can’t rush them. However, if they are a good seed and you tend them carefully, providing adequate water and sunshine and fertile growing conditions, then the seeds will flourish and grow to bear beautiful flowers and delicious fruit.

So dig in, plants seeds, and watch in amazement at the growth which results.

A great site with tips and how to’s for getting kids into gardening is Gardening with Kids.

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Yoga for Children with Autism: An Interview with Stacey Betts

DonnaKFreeman — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 18:08:02 +0000

Stacey Betts, co-authour of Yoga For Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders and mother of two children with autism, is our special guest for this episode. Join us as we discuss how yoga can benefit children with autism, ways to make the practice of yoga accessible, and much more. If you have a child with autism or work with children with autism you’ll definitely want to tune in and learn how yoga can make a difference today.

Original air date: April 26/2010

Stacey Betts shares her own personal story of raising two children with Aspergers and PDD (Pervasive Developmental Disorder). She talks about how yoga addresses the physcial and emotional issues typical of Autism Spectrum Disorders such as poor muscle tone, digestive issues, balance, anxiety and depression. As well, Stacey addresses the need for parents and caregivers to build a suport network and to take care of themselves. Finally she stresses the need to approach yoga for children and teens with autism in a flexible manner, being prepared to adapt the practice to the needs of each individual. You’ll enjoy Stacey’s candid and frank manner and her helpful hints on living with autism.

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Yoga is against my religion?

DonnaKFreeman — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 14:21:58 +0000

Recently I was chatting with a fellow Mom as we waited to pick our children up from school. She was interested to know how things were going with my book and what I was up to. I invited her to join the Wednesday morning Yoga Sampler class I teach as an introduction to the many styles of yoga so she could begin to enjoy the benefits of the practice. She graciously declined saying yoga wasn’t for her because it turned the attention away from God and onto the individual. I was surprised by this misconception and tried to explain the more spiritual, meditative side of yoga but we were interrupted by kids as they came streaming out of school.

Since then I’ve been mulling over the relationship between yoga and religion. Personally I’m active in my religious community and find that my yoga practice supports and enlarges my beliefs in divinity, morality, and spirituality. I agree with Christy Turlington when she said:

Any spirituality can be enhanced with the practice or study of yoga.

However, I know that there are many teachers who do not book yoga sessions in their classrooms because of perceived conflicts with religious beliefs. In fact, for years my son’s class did not include yoga in the curriculum for precisely this reason. For all of you whose jaws have dropped to the floor in amazement you need to understand that many people erroneously believe that yoga is a religion.

For the record – Yoga is NOT a religion.

Yes, yoga has a relationship with Hinduism as they both use the same lexicon and originate from the same geographic region. Yoga, however, is not Hinduism. That is like saying prayer is Christian. Yoga is universal. Each person who practices yoga has their own personal yoga journey. The path they take is up to them.

Whenever I teach in schools I am careful to concentrate more on the physical sides of yoga. Yes, there are aspects of yoga which do delve into the spiritual realm, making yoga a truly holistic life practice. However, the school environment is not the place for this instruction, and you can ensure parents that the focus will be on hatha or physical yoga. That doesn’t mean that I don’t use meditation or incorporate the yamas andniyamas, quite the contrary in fact (check out the Character Education page for examples).

My goal is to introduce yoga to as many children and teens as possible, showing them through first hand experience the benefits and joys which come from the practice. As individuals become interested in their personal yoga journey there are numerous resources available for them to pursue outside of the school setting.

My purpose is to open the door to yoga. To play yoga with kids. To challenge teens. To provide life long tools of health and vitality which will empower our youth to discover their unique voice, to know themselves, to make the world a wonderful place one individual at a time.

What is your goal when teaching yoga in the classroom? How do you deal with parents who have an objection to teaching yoga to their children? What is your experience with individuals who see a conflict between yoga and religion?

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Namaste Hands Celebrate and Connect

DonnaKFreeman — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:00:38 +0000

Namaste hands, Anjali Mudra, is a symbolic gesture used widely in yoga. Mudras are hands gestures or ’seals’ which indicate energy and intention and are used to calm the mind while uplifting the body. Often referred to as prayer position, Anjali Mudra, is associated with the word Namaste. Anjali itself means ‘divine offering’ or ‘gift’ and comes from the sanscrit root anj meaning to honor, celebrate.

When pressing the palms together in front of your heart you are connecting the right and left hemispheres of the brain. This also represents bringing into unity our dualistic nature — male and female, logic and intuition, strength and tenderness. You can play with this by placing your hands slightly to the right and left of centre. Notice how uncomfortable it feels to be off balance. Return to center and observe the peace and satisfaction that reside there.

In yoga the centre of the chest is viewed as a lotus flower and is the core of the energetic and spiritual heart. By bringing your hands to this location, thumbs touching the sternum, you are encouraging your heart to gently open. From there, bow your head gently in humility, giving thanks for all you have and preparing yourself for blessings to come. This mudra helps you to listen mentally and physically, brings a sense of calm, peace and connectedness, and reminds us that life is a gift.

I thoroughly enjoy Sadie Nardini’s explanation of this mudra. Hope you do as well.

Finger tips firm – intention, hug in, give to yourself first physically and energetically
Second knuckle has some space – allow the breath to move through you as you give to others
Outer palm presses together – core connection from pelvic floor up through spine, centre of bodies needs to be firm to support body
Very centre of hands - spaciousness at the very centre of yourself, peace within

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In Search of a Soft Heart

DonnaKFreeman — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:27:54 +0000

“With Valentine’s Day around the corner I’ve been attempting to soften my heart, to open it to the richness and wonder of the world, to increase my ability to connect in a meaningful way to those with whom I come in contact. And so I’ve been contemplating my heart…

As one diagnosed with a heart murmur as a child, I learned early on the mechanics of the heart. Scientifically, it is a muscular organ with four chambers which pumps blood throughout the body by means of rhythmic contractions. However, it is also symbolically the center of our emotional and spiritual life.”

Read the rest of the article on Elephant Journal.

The article also inspired a poem, Yoga of the Heart by Bob Weisenberg of Yoga Demystified, who encourages us to contemplate the infinite wonder of the heart. I am deeply honored, Bob.

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Meditation Owl Teaches Kids to Look Within

DonnaKFreeman — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 13:35:30 +0000

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

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Mantra Chanting Stuffies Inspire World Happiness

DonnaKFreeman — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 00:09:32 +0000

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.

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Congratulations to our Mini Mandala Designer Classic Winner

DonnaKFreeman — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 12:37:23 +0000

Welcome to 2010 and Congratulations to Lynette Mattke, the winner of the Mini Mandala Designer Classic giveaway. Lynette entered a comment on the article Mandala Magic – Teaching Kids About Meditation, sharing her experiences with mandalas in Sri Lanka and at the Smithsonian Museum where some monks were creating one. Click here to read her entire comment and read Mandalas Universal Across Cultures to learn about Tibetan sand mandalas such as were produced at the Smithsonian. Upon learning of her good fortune to start the new decade, Lynette said:

What a wonderful New Year’s surprise! I am excited to try out the kit with my kids. They all love art and especially colors and patterns, so I think they will be delighted with the Mini Mandala Designer.

Congratulations Lynette. Your Mini Mandala Designer Classic will be in the mail today.

Watch for more give-aways throughout the coming year. Become a Fan on Facebook so as not to miss a single one.

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Top Yoga Calendars for 2010

DonnaKFreeman — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 16:53:52 +0000

Oh my, 2009 is almost over and I’ve yet to get organized for the new year. If you are like me, you’re wondering how to:

stay motivated to healthy living
get inspired to tackle new challenges
keep yoga in your heart
find the time to do it all
enjoy life

throughout the coming year. I’ve found a number of inspiring and fun yoga calendars available for 2010 to help. Here is a run-down of my favourites.

Yoga Journal 2010 Wall Calendar

As always the YJ produces a beautiful and inspiring calendar. The location shots are as amazing as the yogis performing the poses.

Innerwear Clothing 2010 Calendar

Clean and light hearted. You’ll enjoy these photos of 16 LA yogis having fun and performing amazing poses. I can’t decide if my favourite photo is April or October. All proceeds go toward Casa de Milagros orphanage in Peru.

Yoga Dogs 2010

For the dog lover with a sense of humour. My kids especailly love this calendar and have been trying to get our Sharpei cross Buddy to perfrom the poses. You go Yoga Dog!

Yoga Cats 2010

Can’t forget the cat enthusiasts. If only I could be so flexible. Visit yoga cats to see all the pictures. This addition is for Jean, my mother in law.

Daily Yoga Meditations 2010

Daily mediations to keep you on your personal yoga journey. Lovely and insightful. I’ll use these to set the tone for my adult classes and provide focus during savasana.

Wishing you all the best in 2010.

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