I’ve been playing with the play-list for the Hot Yoga for Teens class I teach once a week. It’s an abbreviated class, only one hour in duration, but involves as many of the 26 hot yoga poses as we can fit in, along with a lovely savasana at the end. The students spend the first few weeks learning the poses and then each week we add in a few new challenges and technique hints to bring up their level of yoga and deepen their experience.
I like to include a lot of current and pop tunes which are fun and have positive messages. I always keep in mind the teens and try to choose stuff they’ll enjoy. Also, I encourage my students to suggest tunes to add and they love to hear their favourites during class. This particular play list may be more energetic than most yoga play-lists, which are known for their relaxing, calming sound tracks. I wanted to empower the students and let them know anything is possible through hard work, dedication, focus, and love. So this is what it looks like currently. It’ll change before the next session starts, but for today we’ll enjoy this version.
Breathe – Sia
Amber – 311
Hey, Soul Sister – Train
This Too Shall Pass – OK Go
Uprising – Muse
Sober – Pink
Karma Police – Radiohead
Sewn – The Feeling
Love Is The Answer – Weezer
Hey World (Don’t Give Up) Michael Franti & Spearhead
Hungry Heart – Minnie Driver
Breathe – Anna Nalick
Claire de Lune – Claude Debussy
For suggestions on music for kids and teens yoga class visit The Magic of Music on The Kids Yoga Resource.
Happy Baby Pose (Ananda Balasana) is also called Dead Bug Pose and looks exactly like its name, whichever you want to use. It is a fantastic hip opener. Mobility in the hip joint is vital to healthy knee and back function. The freedom of movement classic in infants can be maintained throughout life with open hips. The hip joint is the meeting place of the upper and lower body. A healthy hip joint will be able to absorb the shock of walking or running and provide a steady base for the spine and internal organs. Hip openers also aid with digestion and circulation as you gently compress and massage the internal organs.
Happy Baby – Ananda Balasana
happy baby pose
Sit, grasping the inside of your feet with your hands
Roll onto your back, feet to the sky
Alternatively start lying on your back and bend your knees into your belly, then grasp the feet
You can stretch one leg straight keeping the thigh close to the floor while bending the other, alternating sides
Coo, giggle, and make happy baby noises, then roll back to sitting
If imitating a dead bug be sure to use appropriate facial expressions without the baby noises
Benefits: opens the hips, gently stretches the groins and lower back, calms the brain, relieves fatigue and stress
Here is a laughing baby video to bring a smile to your face and lighten your day.
As a member of the Namate Book Club I’ve been reading a wonderful little book entitled Downward Dogs & Warriors: Wisdom Tales for Modern Yogisby Zo Newell . The premise of the book is to educate the reader about the powerful stories from which Indian culture and yoga has come. It is “about using asana and related images for reflection, self-examination, and healing” in order to deepen “your yoga practice through observation of your body, your mind, and your emotions.”
The first story in the book is that of Shiva as Destroyer: Warrior Poses. In a nutshell, Shiva’s wife, Sati, threw herself into a fire becoming the sacrifice her father refused to provide during a ritual party where he was simply flaunting his power and prestige. Upon hearing of his wife’s demise, Shiva, overcome with grief and fury, ripped his hair from his head and threw it on the ground where it became a Warrior, the embodiment of his emotions.“This is Virabhadra, the personification of righteous anger and the noble impulse to defend the innocent.”
This pose and its story took on very personal meaning over the past week as an innocent child became the victim of molestation. Suddenly each time I do Warrior pose, I am Virabhadra filled with anger and anguish at the injustices of life. What was once a sometimes demanding physical pose now encompasses an entire range of strong emotions.
Newell encourages yogis to:
Reflect and journal on a time when you came to the defence of a righteous cause or an innocent person. Invite the emotional qualities of that experience into your practice of the warrior poses. Keep the experience in mind while practicing with softness in the eyes and openness in the heart.
It may be a too soon for me to practice “with softness in the eyes and openness in the heart” as I am still in protect and safety mode. However, knowing the story behind the pose has given me hope to work through the pain to the point where my heart is open and calm as I move into action.
There are far too many children who are victims of abuse. Please do everything within your power to protect and fight for their innocence. Be the Warriors for those who cannot protect themselves.
Congratulations to Andre of Wholly Yoga, the winner of our February give-away of a copy of “What I See, I Can Be” by Janet Williams. Andre won by commenting on the post Kids Guided Yoga Flow – Review and Give Away and will be receiving his book and CD set graciously donated by Light Connections Press. For a full selection of companion products visit Childrens Yoga Books.
Upon learning of his good fortune Andre said,
I am excited to have won a copy of What I See, I Can Be. I look forward to using it in kids yoga class in the near future.
Thanks to everyone who commented. I love to give things away and spread the yoga love. There are some more great give aways in the works so stayed tuned and keep those comments coming.
Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) will benefit from yoga since it addresses both the physical and emotional symptoms of the disorder.
The typical gross motor delay, low muscle tone and impaired coordination of ASD often result in low self-esteem and lack of confidence which can extend to other areas of life. Yoga is an appropriate and enjoyable physical program which improves strength and tone in the muscles, develops balance, and increases body awareness. Even fine motor skills will be improved as yoga emphasizes being in tune with the entire body, hands and fingers, feet and toes.
Children with ASD may also suffer from sensory issues including sensitivity to light, noise, taste, texture, or smell. Furthermore, they may repeat movements that seem uncontrollable (stim behaviours). Yoga can help with these symptoms by soothing the nervous system and allowing pent-up energy to be released from the body in a non-competitive, peaceful manner.
The breathing techniques and guided visualization exercises also assist by reducing stress, teaching coping techniques, and providing a sense of calm and acceptance. Once a child has learned some of these exercises they can use them anytime, anywhere.
When teaching yoga, take things slowly, introducing poses incrementally as comfort levels allow. Work on basic poses (Mountain, Tree, Cat, Warrior, etc.) and breathing exercises. Build one pose at a time, gradually adding more options.
To create visual stimulation and connections, line up stuffed animals or pictures of animals at the front of the room. Follow the line of animals, doing the pose for each in turn, creating an effective pattern. A similar exercise is to place the stuffed animals or pictures in a pile and have them picked at random, doing the corresponding pose each time.
Music is also a powerful tool for children with ASD because it provokes engagement and interest. Drumming, chanting, singing and moving to music are effective ways to engage individuals and helps to stimulate the emotional center of the brain.
Watch for more articles on this important topic with expert in yoga for children with autism Rachel Greb of Yoga Sprouts. Subscribe through RSS or e-mail today so as not to miss a single one.
Whenever I teach yoga to kids and teens I talk anatomy. What part of your body is working in this pose? Can you feel that in your abs? Which part of your body do you use when your breathe? are all standard questions even for Pre-School and Kindergarten aged students. I keep the questions and discussions age appropriate realizing that 5 year olds and 15 year olds have different frames of reference and comprehension levels.
I am a firm believer in being familiar with the body in order to understand how to best keep it healthy and happy. As individuals come to understand and appreciate the many functions their body performs, they are better prepared to take care of it. For example, understanding that a complete breath begins in the abdomen, permits the diaphragm and ribs to perform their functions, assists in getting adequate oxygen into the body, and helps reduce stress.
Knowledge of anatomy brings consciousness to yoga practice and helps individuals talk about their body without embarassement. In fact, recently I taught a group of 20 teenage girls aboutmula bandha or Root Lock. You should of seen them all blush. It was great! We’ve all got these parts, we’d better know what they do and how to take care of them in order to use them properly, avoid injury, and maintain good health.
Here are a couple on-line resources to help reinforce the topics and activities from yoga class which teach kids/teens anatomy.
Anatomy for Kids
A complete site with movies, word finds, online quizzes and activities is How the Body Works on KidsHealth.com. Kinetic.com also has a fun anatomy game called InnerG where body parts (ie: liver, heart, teeth, blood, etc) need to be placed into the body. As you do so, supporting information and recipes to keep that part strong and healthy are provided. My seven year old daughter thoroughly loved testing these sites out.
Anatomy for Teens
For Jr and Sr High School students more detailed anatomy learning games can be found at Anatomy Arcade with Whack-a-Bone and Poke-a-Muscle, among numerous others. The top level of these games are challenging and a great interactive way to learn anatomy. If you really want to get into anatomy including reviews of iPod and iPhone apps, dissection videos, and learning inter-actives visit Think Anatomy.
During your next yoga class with kids/teens be sure to take the time to teach anatomy whether for basic understanding or more in depth comprehension of how the body works. Its quite a miraculous thing. How do you teach anatomy to your students?
by Zo Newell . The premise of the book is to educate the reader about the powerful stories from which Indian culture and yoga has come. It is “about using asana and related images for reflection, self-examination, and healing” in order to deepen “your yoga practice through observation of your body, your mind, and your emotions.”
by Dion E. Betts. For further information regarding Autism Spectrum Disorders, visit the 
