Look to this day!
For it is life, the very life of life.
In its brief course
Lie all the verities and realities of your existence:
The bliss of growth
The glory of action
The splendour of beauty,
For yesterday is but a dream
And tomorrow is only a vision,
But today well-lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness
And every tomorrow a vision of hope.
Look well, therefore, to this day!
Such is the salutation to the dawn!

—Kalidasa

Photo of Sunrise at Ulsoor Lake, Bangalore by Swami Stream

With that in mind I’ve started to readjust bedtime to more closely reflect a school night. Knowing that it takes about two weeks for any routine to become part of daily life this process begins now so that we are ready the night before that first day back to class.

Here are some yoga tips to creating a bedtime routine that will lead to a restful sleep for children and parents alike.

1. Reduce Stimulus – Children need a winding down period before hitting the hay. In order to maximize a restful sleep begin about an hour before bed to reduce sensory stimulus. In yoga this is called pratyahara (the 5th limb of Yoga according to the Yoga Sutras by Patañjali). Take away video games, turn the TV off, lower the lights, introduce soothing music or the blessed sound of silence. The body will transition from activity to inactivity beautifully when given time to adjust and flow smoothly into relaxation.�
   

   ragdoll pose

    

2. Connect – Taking time to connect with your mind and body is essential to health and wellness even for little ones. Encourage your children to do some restorative yoga poses such as child’s pose, ragdoll, hero’s pose and gentle twists to get the kinks out and reduce muscular strains and stresses from the day’s activities. Also, be sure to take time to connect with one another. Read a story together, chat about the day, share your lives, concerns, hopes and simply enjoy one an-other’s company.
3. Establish a Routine – Children thrive on predictability and structure. In yogic terms this is called tapas (self-discipline). Establish an order of events (1. cleanup, 2. bedtime snack, 3. brush teeth, 4. yoga b4 bed, 5. read together, etc.). Create a chart with easy to follow graphics. This is helpful for all children whenever they are learning a routine, but especially for pre-schoolers and those with special needs.
4. Be Content – Practice santosha (contentment) one of the yoga niyamas (observances) by learning to be happy with who you are, where you are, and with what you have. Encourage the attitude of what you have is enough and that there is satisfaction and happiness to be found in each day. Five Good Moments is a simple gratitude game you can play daily with your children to develop a thankful heart and mind.
5. Practice Pranayama – Yogic breathing techniques are extremely effective at reducing stress and anxiety which often hit children as they are laying in bed waiting to fall asleep.  Swimming Stuffies and Take 5 are wonderful breathing exercises that help connect the mind and body. Even very young children can develop breath awareness and practice these safe and simple techniques before drifting off to sleep.

Be sure to allow sufficient time (about an hour) in order not to rush your children as they transition from the day’s activities to calm relaxation. Speak in a calm tone of voice and provide 2-5 minute warnings whenever an activity will change (”In five minutes you’ll need to put away your toys and get into PJ’s.”). Most importantly love your children. Use the time before bed to demonstrate daily how important they are to you.

Remember it takes time to create a routine and fine tune it to your personal needs. Stick with it and you will create a better sleep environment, manage stress and anxiety, as well as calm and nurture yourself and your loved ones.

Another article with great yoga inspired ideas is Bedtime Bliss on the Kids Yoga Resource.

Photo by flickrized

Mindfulness Games for Kids & Teens

We often get stuck on negative moments and enlarge their significance. This game teaches children and youth to pay attention to the events of each day and intentionally focus on the positives. It encourages paying close attention, living in the moment and appreciating all that life has to offer. Learning to pay attention to how different moments/events make us feel is an important skill leading to emotional intelligence, improved self understanding and greater compassion and empathy.

Five Good Moments

Suggest to your ‘Negative Nelly’ (my apologies to all the positive Nelly’s out there) that they pay attention today/this week to moments that make them feel good and try to find five different ones. The moment might be a thought that inspires, a view that is lovely and makes them pause, an interaction with someone, etc.  What it is doesn’t matter. What matters is that for at least a  moment it made them feel good. You do the same. When you get together at the end of the day/in class next week, share your five good things with one another.

We do this as a family each evening, each person saying one thing at a time in a circle, and call it “Thankful For.”  Often at the end of a full day the responses are, “I’m thankful for bed, pillows, sleep, etc.” When the offerings get generic and often repeated (my family, my friends, my home) we remind the kids to think of something specific from today (a trip to the park, the colours of the clouds at sunset, the taste of fresh picked berries, etc). We also occasionally switch it up by saying “If I were so-and-so (the family member to their right or left) I would be thankful for…” This is always an interesting exercise and prompts some insightful observations. It also helps teach children to think about others and what happened of importance in someone else’s life that day.

Over the next while YIMS will be providing numerous mindfulness and compassionate living exercises and games so be sure to subscribe (RSS or e-mail) in order to get them delivered directly to your reader or in-box.

photo by Hamed Saber

Dr Seuss asks You to Discover Your Place in Life, Be Your Best Self

We just got home from vacation. Each year we head to my parent’s cabin on a beautiful lake in British Columbia, Canada. There are so many memories of my childhood there. I especially love picking up the well worn books off the shelf in the corner to read to my children. These are the books I read as a child. Illustrations, rhymes, tattered covers take me back to the innocence, joy, and simplicity of that time.

This year my six year old loved reading the Dr Seuss books. As I read Put Me in the Zooby Robert Lopshire for the umpteenth time I was struck by the fundamental life lessons found within those pages.

Questioning Who You Are

First the leopard is rejected and tossed out of the zoo, then he is asked by the young girl and boy “What good are you? What can you do?”

Don’t we all ask ourselves those same questions? Again and again at various times in our lives we search to define who we are, our worth, our contributions.

Your Time to Shine

And so the leopard shows all he can do by turning his spots various colours, juggling them, changing their size, etc. He is one talented leopard!

You are too! It is vital to remember that we all have talents and abilities…divine worth. As we come to know ourselves, we can shine by being the genuine article: our best, truest self. Share it with the world. Do your thing!

Finding Your Place

However, the girl and boy regretfully inform a disappointed and discouraged leopard, “But you should not be in the zoo.” Only to show him his true calling, “…the circus is the place for you.”

We also need to find the place we truly belong, somewhere we can shine. We may need a guide, a teacher, a friend to show us the way. That place may also change as we grow and learn, progressing along life’s journey. However, once we are there, we, like the leopard, can bask in the joy of finding our place, of being our best selves.

So I thank Dr Seuss (and my sweet daughter) for making me reflect on these essential life questions.

• What is your mission?
• How can you fulfill it?
• Have you found your place?
• Are you sharing and giving joyfully from the heart?

Hooray! The long lazy days of summer have arrived. After having successfully completed another school year you can’t wait to spend time doing nothing. It is important to allow kids unstructured time to renew, refresh and come to know themselves. However, more often than not, sometime during the next few months children will utter the words, “I’m bored. There’s nothing to do!” (add whiny voice as appropriate). Here are some suggestions to keep kids active mentally and physically which also nurture them emotionally. Remember summer is a wonderful time to build relationships by spending time playing, doing, and growing together.

1. Have family members set summer goals. For example: list of books you want to read, things you want to do, places to visit, skills you need to learn.
2. Take your child to the library and sign up for a summer reading program.
3. Have your child help put together a first aid kit that can go with you on your many summer outings.
4. Give your child an inexpensive camera and let them take pictures of all the fun activities you do over the summer. Create a scrapbook of memories.
5. Practice pranayama by blowing bubbles or dandelion heads.
6. Pack a picnic and enjoy eating outdoors.
7. Watch a baseball/football/soccer/beach volleyball game together. Talk about the rules and how they are important.
8. See how many places in your home (not including books) where your child can find words to read.
9. Make paper airplanes and practice airplane pose (Warrior III with arms out to the side).
10. Plant a garden and enjoy tending it throughout the season.
11. Visit a local museum or art gallery.
12. Sketch or paint outdoors: clouds, night sky, trees, a favourite view, an interesting building…let your imagination and creativity soar.
13. Lie on the grass and look at the clouds. Make up stories about the shapes you see.
14. Colour mandalas. Go for a walk and find mandalas in your neighbourhood (flowers, signs, art, stepping stones, etc).
15. Learn geography while watching the World Cup. Find participating countries on a map.
16. Teach your child their personal information: phone number, address, etc. Practice each day.
17. Can your children tell time? Teach them how to read an analog clock with yoga eyes.
18. Check out a book of jokes or riddles. Share one over dinner each day.
19. Create an indoor or outdoor miniature golf course. Play a round or two.
20. Grab a broomstick and hold a limbo contest. Back-bends open the heart and invigorate the body.
21. Add food coloring to a dollop of shaving cream. Let your child use it as finger paint.
22. Make homemade ice-cream. Practice two scoops partner pose.
23. Help your child write a letter or card to a relative or friend telling about summer events.
24. Fly a kite. Practice triangle pose (sometimes called kite pose).
25. Have a pillow fight.
26. Enjoy face painting and then perform face yoga in the mirror and laugh at your funny faces.
27. Read under the stars. Take a blanket and book outside and read with your child by flashlight.
28. At dinner have each family member say something nice about every person at the table.
29. Make puppets out of a paper bag, an old sock or a stick. Put on a puppet show.
30. Cut out pictures from several magazines. Have your child write a story about them.
31. Give your child a bucket of water and some paint brushes. Let her “paint” the sidewalk, fence, house, etc.
32. Find out when the sun sets and rises in your area. Learn how to do Sun Salutations.
33. Look at the stars with your child. Make up new constellations together.
34. Find a local kiddie pool, beach or fountain and go wadding.
35. Play alphabet games with your child. List countries, animals, cars or yoga poses in alphabetical order.
36. Build a fort inside or out using blankets, sheets, boxes, tables, chairs and other items found around the house.
37. Meditate upon the breeze as it ruffles the leaves of your favourite tree.
38. Create a treasure/scavenger hunt and help your kids follow the clues for a fun reward.
39. Play hopscotch.
40. Choose a new recipe. Have fun cooking with your child.
41. Cut out pictures of healthy foods from weekly grocery ads.
42. Discuss the Food Pyramid. Have your child use the pictures from the above activity and make a chart of nutritious choices.
43. Look at family photos. Share stories and remember wonderful moments together.
44. Play with a hula hoop and discover hoop yoga.
45. Make musical instruments from things around your house. Have a concert.
46. Play a card game with your child; Crazy 8s, War, Rummy, Old Maid, Go Fish, Snap all build memory, hand-eye coordination & math skills.
47. Collect bugs and do insect poses such as locust, spider, inchworm, bumble bee lips, etc.
48. Fill water guns, buckets and water balloons and have a water fight.
49. Camp out in the back yard.
50. Create amazing sidewalk art with sidewalk chalk and a little water.
51. Help out at the local SPCA. Learn how to do downward dog pose, cat pose, rabbit pose and other poses for animals at the shelter.
52. Visit an orchard or u-pick farm.
53. Build sandcastles.
54. Feed the ducks at the local pond. Enjoy a great hip opening exercise by walking like a duck.

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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