Aesop’s Fables are well loved the world over for their entertainment value and moral education. Here Sydney Solis adapts The Lion and the Mouse into a yoga story perfect for kids yoga classes. Watch next week for The Farmer and the Fox.

As told by Sydney Solis of Storytime Yoga – See original post Mercy or Revenge? Aesop Stories and Yoga for Children

Once upon a time there was a great lion.  Roaming in the jungle, he spotted a tiny mouse and pounced on it. “Ah ha! I have caught you!” The lion roared. “Now I will have a tasty snack!”

The little mouse shook in fear, but found the courage to say, “Lion, please, I beg you. Do not eat me. If you spare my life, I promise to return the favor and help you one day.”

“Ha! How can such a little mouse do anything important for such a great creature as I? I’m hungry!” And he lifted the mouse up by its tail and opened his great jaws wide.

“Please! I am sure I can help you one day! Give me a chance. Such a great creature as you surely has the power to spare some one his life!”

“All right. I will let you free,” the lion said, and went to sleep under a tree.

The next day, the mouse met the lion again, but  this time the lion was caught in a net from a trap that hunters had set for him. The Lion looked at the mouse with sad eyes and said, “Dear friend, can you help me?

And the little mouse looked at this great beast trapped and helpless. Then the mouse said, “Of course!” And went to work gnawing the ropes with his teeth and setting the lion free.

Yoga Asana:

Who is this story about?

Lion – Lion pose, simhasana, – roar like a lion, the great courageous and powerful creature that you are.

Mouse – Child pose, balasana, – then squat, bring hands to chest like a mouse and walk around squeaking. No matter how small you are, you are capable of big things!

What happens in this story?

Net – Upward facing bow pose, urdva dhanurasana, or upward boat, urdva navasana, The trap of pride, fear, anger, hatred and revenge.

Gnawing – Opening and closing mouth wide, exaggerating chewing motions, puckering mouth to exercise the muscles of the face.

What is the benefit of showing mercy?

An Open and Free Heart , Peace and Freedom- Camel pose, - ustrasana

Shavasana and Meditation:

Visualize a lion in side your heart. See its radiant, golden mane. Feel its strength, courage and power. The lion’s power comes from his peaceful abiding. He knows that his strength and power comes from divine goodness, forgiveness and love. He does not harm others but grants them mercy and freedom instead.

See a little mouse inside your heart. Know that that little mouse is capable of great things – kindness, intelligence, quick-thinking. Nothing is ever too small to be of no importance. Know that you are important. Practice acts of kindness small and large.

Discussion:

How are you like the lion? Have you ever had the opportunity to have power over another? What did you do?

How are you like the mouse? Have you ever been bullied or threatened by someone bigger and more powerful than yourself? What did you do?

What do you think would have happened if the lion ate the mouse instead of freeing it? How would that have affected the lion’s ability to be freed from the net?

Make a list of creatures in your life that are small and helpless. How do you treat your pet, baby sister or the spider in the bathtub? How does remembering the way you treated them make you feel? Happy? Proud? Ashamed?

How can we treat others who are different from us in looks, clothing, language, religion and nationality with respect and dignity?

Look at your body. Every human being has the same fingers, toes, bones, ligaments, organs and muscles.

Affirmation:

• I use my power for love and mercy toward all creatures in the world.
• I treat others as I wish to be treated.

If you enjoyed this post and are looking for more check out Yoga for Literacy and the Language Arts Page. Be sure to subscribe (RSS or e-mail) or sign up for our newsletter to receive updates on this topic.

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The idea for this post if from Sydney Solis of Storytime Yoga.

The children’s classic The Owl and the Pussy Cat by Edward Lear is a perfect example of how to combine literature and yoga for learning and fun. It’s easy to see how yoga poses such as eagle pose (owl), cat pose (pussy cat), boat pose (pea-green boat), tree pose (bong-tree), cow pose with pig sounds (Piggy-wig), half moon pose (light of the moon) combine to create a wonderful physical poem which compliments this charming nonsense rhyme. By using yoga with  literature you help children to involve more senses and thereby increase retention by creating and reinforcing neuron pathways in the brain. Besides that – it’s fun.

artwork from Nicola’s Art Room

The Owl and the Pussy Cat

The Owl and the Pussy-Cat went to sea
In a beautiful pea-green boat:
They took some honey, and plenty of money
Wrapped up in a five-pound note.

The Owl looked up to the stars above,
And sang to a small guitar,
“O lovely Pussy, O Pussy, my love,
What a beautiful Pussy you are, you are, you are!
What a beautiful Pussy you are!”

Pussy said to the Owl, “You elegant fowl,
How charmingly sweet you sing!
Oh! let us be married; too long we have tarried:
But what shall we do for a ring?”
They sailed away, for a year and a day,
To the land where the bong-tree grows;
And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood,
With a ring at the end of his nose, his nose, his nose,
With a ring at the end of his nose.

“Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling
Your ring?” Said the Piggy, “I will.”
So they took it away, and were married next day
By the Turkey who lives on the hill.
They dined on mince and slices of quince,
Which they ate with a runcible spoon;

And hand in hand on the edge of the sand
They danced by the light of the moon, the moon, the moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.

Enjoy this wonderful video by master storyteller and children’s yoga expert Sydney Solis of Storytime Yoga as she takes a group through the poem along with the corresponding yoga poses.

For more suggestions on how to use yoga in Language Arts class visit the Yoga Classroom Language Arts page.

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