Wall Street Journal Features Kids Yoga

Wall Street Journal Features Kids Yoga

by | Featured In, Kids Yoga, Yoga in School

onday, March 28, 2011 was a great day, a momentous day, a once-in-a-life time kind of day. It was the day I woke up to find my name in the Wall Street Journal. Yes, the actual Wall Street Journal.

In mid-February I was contacted via e-mail by WSJ reporter Emily Glazer who had heard about Yoga In My School from Shari Vilchez-Blatt of Karma Kids Yoga in NYC (a million thanks to Shari). Emily was looking for information on yoga in schools, yoga for special needs, interesting/creative ways of teaching kids yoga. You’ve come to the right place!

I remember calling my husband, as he was out of town on business, and saying I’d received an e-mail from the Wall Street Journal. He chuckled and said to make sure it wasn’t spam but was actually from wsj.com. It was. Emily & I e-mailed back and forth and set up an interview date & time.

The interview lasted over an hour – a little longer than the 20 mins we’d planned on. Emily asked a lot of interesting, thought provoking questions and was intrigued by the interconnections between the brain’s function and movement. She was kind enough to ask about my personal story, how I came to be an expert in kids/teens yoga, and wanted as much information as possible about the kids yoga community and others involved in doing amazing things in bringing yoga to kids. For this we kept referring back to the Yoga In My School Interview series.

As well she wanted proof: studies showing the claims stating the benefits of yoga for kids were true. This is the Wall Street Journal after all, not a feel good article or a personal interest piece.

Needless to say my follow up e-mail was lengthy with lots of links to substantiate the kids yoga and mindfulness movement and shine a light on the many amazing people with whom I have the privilege to work (check out our Yoga Links I Love list).

Emily then pitched the story to her editors. She came back with further questions via e-mail and phone calls on various occasions wanting to know the number of schools in the US who use yoga, the costs of funding a yoga program, training expenses, locations where it is especially popular, and hurdles or obstacles which prevent yoga from being adopted into all schools. Some of these questions were challenging as I felt I was representing all kids yoga instructors with my answers and I wanted the information to be accurate, informative and authentic.

Emily then let me know that the article would be published on March 28th. I waited. In the meantime I learned that WSJ was also filming a video regarding kids yoga and that elementary students in Encinitas, CA were involved in a photo shoot. By Sunday the 27th I was simply happy to have been part of the process, that getting the message out regarding kids yoga and the good it can do for children of all ages and abilities was what was most important. I hoped that the WSJ’s article was open and fair, and that thanks to its reach and credibility more schools would offer yoga to their students.

It was with some trepidation that I googled the article Monday morning. First I found the video. How fun! Then I clicked on the article and found myself in tears as I read. Emily had done a fabulous job with the material … and I even got quoted.

So yes, Monday, March 28th, 2011 was a great day! A great day for yoga for kids and teens.

Please share the article with parents, teachers and school administrators in you know. Together we can make a positive impact on children’s lives, their mental, emotional and physical health.

Benefits of Music in Kids Yoga Class

Benefits of Music in Kids Yoga Class

by | Kids Yoga, Teaching Tips, Yoga in School, Yoga Teacher Training

Music serenades our lives, adding significance to moments, people, and events, connecting us to our experiences, emotions, memories and dreams. Truly the soul has an innate love of music. In addition, sounds have a profound influence on our cognitive functioning, motor skills, emotional development, behavior and social skills. There is scarcely a single function of the human body which is not affected by musical tones.

Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything.  ~Plato

Using music in a children’s yoga class is a wonderful way to allow them to develop their bodies and minds. From simple nursery rhymes to custom written kids yoga scores, children will respond positively to melodies and movement.

Benefits of Music in Kids Yoga Class

Music:

  • connects and brings people together, helping us interact one with another
  • engages our emotions and has a powerful impact on mood and energy levels
  • teaches rhythm, timing, orientation and coordination
  • focuses the mind and increases concentration
  • develops language and speech skills
  • improves listening skills and phonetic awareness
  • encourages creativity and self expression
  • enhances overall health and a sense of well-being
  • increases intelligence and brain connectivity

Best of all kids don’t really care is you can sing or not. So let lose, crank up the tunes, sing a favourite song and dance like no-one’s watching.

For inspiration check out these samples of using music in a kids yoga class: Star Pose, Bug Yoga (spider pose), Shark Attack. Or fill your mp3 player with catchy tunes and enjoy these musically inspired yoga games: Freeze Dance and Musical Mats.

Some valuable resources for your kids yoga class include:

 

Always Adding More on Pinterest

pinterest32x32Visit the Music for Kids Yoga Class Board on Pinterest for lots more ideas.

Kids Yoga Poses – Chair Pose – Utkatasana

by | Kids Yoga, Teaching Tips, Videos, Yoga in School, Yoga Poses

Discover how to energize your day with chair pose (utkatasana). This is a wonderful pose to build strength in the lower body and will vitalize your body and mind. This video includes breathing techniques and a twist that will quickly chase away fatigue and lethargy leaving you feeling invigorated and ready to meet new challenges.

Chair Pose – Utkatasana

Have you ever felt really sluggish and tired at school. Here’s a great way to energize your day. It’s called chair pose, utkatasana.

To do this pose you need to stand up nice and tall with your feet slightly apart. Then, bend your knees and stick your bum out as if you were sitting on a chair. From there, reach your arms up with your palms facing together. This is a fantastic pose to work the hips and the thighs and improve your lower body strength.

To really get a boost in your day we’re going to combine utkatasana with a breathing technique. As you inhale, reach up. Exhale, breathe out and bring your arms down with a ‘ha.’  Inhale reach out, exhale ‘ha’. Again. Up and out. Inhale up, exhale out. One more time. Inhale up and exhale out. And then return to standing.

Shake your legs out a bit before we go into the next part of this pose.

Chair Pose with a Twist

For the second part we are going to do utkatasana with a twist. So standing in mountain pose with your feet slightly apart. Come into chair pose, sitting your bum down, keeping your knees parallel to one another. Bring your hands to namaste in front of your heart. Inhale lengthen your spine. Exhale bring your elbow to your knee. Press your hands together. Press your knee against your upper arm. And keep breathing throughout the pose.

This kind of gets hard to do and you might feel your legs start to shake a little bit. That’s OK. Don’t worry about it.

Inhale come back to centre. Exhale and twist to the other side. Perfect. Very nicely done. Keep breathing. Remember you are working at increasing your energy and your strength. One more breath. Finally come back to centre and stand up.

And that’s utkatasana. It’ll help increase your energy whenever you are feeling tired.

For more kids yoga poses visit the alphabetical list of poses.

Classroom Yoga: Chair Dog

by | Videos, Yoga in School, Yoga Poses

Downward Facing Dog pose is a fantastic yoga pose to increase health and vitality while building strength and flexibility. However, it is not always feasible in a classroom to move desks out of the way and get on the floor to do yoga. The solution is Chair Dog, Downward Facing Dog pose with a chair. This is an excellent way to benefit from this pose in a classroom or office setting while making it accessible for everyone including those with special needs, weight issues, carpal tunnel/wrist concerns or overly tight hamstrings/back body. If a chair isn’t handy feel free to use a desk, counter top or even the wall.

Chair Dog (Downdog with a Chair)

Laura is going to show us how to do Downward Facing Dog pose with a chair, otherwise known as Chair Dog. Using a chair place it in front of you. Now, grabbing onto the back of the chair with your hands, you want to place your feet a little bit further back so that eventually your head comes down in between your arms and you make an ‘L’ with your body. If it’s difficult to make an ‘L’ because of tightness in the hamstrings or lower back, bend your knees and then push your hips back as far as you can push them. Your back will gradually lengthen and flatten. From there, if it is comfortable, straighten your legs maintaining the length through your back.

Hold this pose for a few breaths feeling the energy from your fingertips through to your hips and from your hips down into the ground and your feet. When you are ready come back to standing. And that’s Chair Dog.

If you enjoyed this video be share it with a friend and visit our YouTube Channel for more great yoga poses for kids and teenagers.

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