ROOTS OF WONDER

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Beyond Picture Books – Children’s yoga

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RHYTHMS AND WONDERS BEYOND PICTURE BOOKS

Children's Yoga

The Department of Health and Human Services designated September National Yoga Awareness Month to inspire people to live a healthy life style and to educate them about the health benefits of yoga.

I discovered yoga about fifteen years ago, and the inner peace, strength, and spirituality it has given me has greatly enhanced my life.  Mindfulness and relaxation breathing techniques were essential tools in my elementary school nursing practice.

I wanted more information about yoga, about teaching yoga to children, techniques and tools, music and lesson ideas.

I became a Certified Children’s Yoga Instructor, A Certified Yoga Instructor for Infants and Toddlers, and Certified Instructor in Relaxation Therapy, addressing the needs of children with autism and different abilities.

I  was a pediatric RN for 35 years, and draw on my knowledge of pediatric growth and development, anatomy and physiology, and behavioral and mental health to challenge students within their individual ability. When planning and sharing a yoga class with children, I use this knowledge to make each child feel safe and comfortable.

WHY IS YOGA HELPFUL FOR CHILDREN?

According to many experts,

Children today, especially in the years of Covid-19,  live in an age of media and technology, hearing and seeing war and violence.  They watch TV, play video games, and don’t run and play outdoors connecting with friends, exploring the world and getting exercise.  The developing bodies and minds of many children become overwhelmed, causing stress, which can lead to various health issues.  They suffer disconnection with their own minds and bodies, and with their environment.

Yoga, in Sanskrit, means to unite, (to yoke).  Yoga unites the body, mind and spirit.  Children’s yoga is playful and creative, interweaving asanas (postures), pranayama (breathing), and relaxation, encouraging imagination and connection.  Continued practice provides children with the tools to manage their emotions, to focus and concentrate, and to calm and center themselves, to become more connected in body, mind and spirit.

MARIPOSA KID’S YOGA  (mariposakidsyoga.com) is the name of my yoga business, established in 2015. Not just a studio, Mariposa Yoga is a concept, where children of all
abilities share yoga together.  I teach Infant Yoga, Toddler and Preschool, School-Age, Pre-Teen, and Children with Autism and ADHD.  I have fun with kids yoga birthday parties, at girl scout and Sunday School meetings, after-school sessions;  any kids party or meeting!  I also teach yoga in school classrooms.

Yoga themes for my preschool and elementary school students are often based on picture books.  Refer to my literacy blog on my website for mariposakidsyoga.com  

I also blog about crafts we have created in yoga classes elementary through pre-teen, and yoga poses. I blog about children’s issues, such as “Simple Strategies for coping with children’s fears,” resilience, meditation, and gratitude. 

http://mariposakidsyoga.com/category/literacy/  

A favorite picture book, THERE WAS A COYOTE WHO SWALLOWED A FLEA, by Jennifer Ward , is a colorful outrageous book; a southwestern take of an old classic.

Other picture books enjoyed in my younger yoga classes, and that I discuss on my Mariposa web site:

  • DOWN BY THE COOL OF THE POOL by Tony Mitton
  • ONLY ONE YOU by Linda Kranz
  • GIVE UP GECKO by Margaret Read MacDonald
  • THE BREATHING BRIDGE by Annie Buckley
  • IAM PEACE and I AM YOGA  by Susan Verde
  • IT WASN’T MY FAULT by Helen Lester
  • THE CLEVER MONKEY told by Rob Cleveland
  • THE RAIN FOREST GREW ALL AROUND by Susan K. Mitchelll
  • FROG’S BREATHTAKING SPEECH by Michael Chissick
  • ELMER by David McKee (a favorite)
  • PEACEFUL PIGGY MEDITATES by Kerry Lee MacLean

“To watch joy emerge in a child’s eyes makes my soul happy.”

The joy a child experiences when she begins to accomplish a yoga pose, or the twinkle in her eyes when she begins to understand the book she is being read or learning to read, is remarkable.

CHILD’S MIND by Christopher Willard is an important book, that I refer to  often as I plan my yoga classes for all ages and abilities, and I  highly recommend this book to many parents and friends.

“People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle.  But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or on thin air, but to walk on earth.  Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don’t even recognize:  a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black curious eyes of a child—our own two eyes.  All is a miracle.”   Thich Nhat Hanh

Christopher Willard introduces his section on walking meditation in his book, Child’s Mind, Mindfulness Practices to Help Our Children Be More Focused, Calm and Relaxed with this beautiful quote.  This  book is an invaluable resource for parents, educators, health care providers, and anyone who wants to bring mindfulness into the lives of children.

This book begins with “Planting the Seeds”, where mindfulness meditation is explained, then meditation basics are beautifully described, using personal stories and short meditative practices.  Dr. Willard’s core mindful practices address physical health and mental and emotional well-being, and have intriguing titles such as:  mindful water drinking, the universe in a raisin, Zen counting, Sai and the horse, homesickness meditation, calming impulses, wise mind, and the six senses.  For each stunning meditation, he explains the benefit of the practice, tips for adults and children to deepen their practice, and what the meditation can teach us.  The Appendix includes complete lesson plans for any adults working with young people in groups.

Please take a look, and try “riding the waves” or a “walking meditation.”

WHY YOGA FOR INFANTS?

Recommended for babies 6-8 weeks and older, with their parent or caregiver.  My favorite class, as I watch the bond between parent and child, and observe new parents become friends.

Ten Reasons Why Infants Need Yoga:

  1. Promotes better sleep patterns
  2. Improves digestion and eases gas pain.
  3. Strengthens growing
    muscles
  4. Strengthens the parent – child bond
  5. Increases Body Awareness
  6.  Helps children learn to navigate physically in the world around them.
  7. Language Development
  8. Boosts the immune system
  9. Stimulates the neuromuscular system
  10. Reduces stress,  plus
  11. It is Fun

YOGA THERAPY can help to re-organize the body and balance the energetic systems of the brain of children of all abilities.  Yoga therapy can address attention, speech and language, self-regulation, learning and high and low muscle tone.  It teaches children of different abilities how to control their bodies, how to breathe, and how to relax. It provides them with tools for success and to develop opportunities for independence. Each yoga therapy lesson plan is highly individualized.

A few of the different abilities that yoga therapy has been known to benefit:  physical disabilities, Down Syndrome, Emotional Behavior Disorders, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

PRESCHOOL AND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL YOGA is imagination and music.  The children are unicorns searching for a magic castle, bears looking for another furry friend.  Parents are often involved with the younger kids, especially when the parachute comes out. A short Savassanah (relaxation) can happen with preschoolers if they have a breathing buddy (beanie baby) on their tummies.

Yoga becomes more challenging in the upper elementary grades.  Poses flow from one to the other.  Partner poses are favorites.  

PRETEEN YOGA involves more challenging yoga poses, and moving beyond the physicality of yoga.  Partner poses are a favorite and always “let’s see how many we can add to this pose”.  My lessons are units around which poses and meditations are built.  Some of these include the Chakras, the Elements, Mandalas, Crystals, Essential Oils, and Sanskrit.