Feb. 24th and 26th, Reflecting and Relaxation

The younger kids continue to develop their poses, this week we used the song, Head and Shoulders, Yoga pose to put together the mix of poses.  We are working on building our core strength by practicing valley pose.  This one is most challenging for the younger kids, and I encourage them to try it with one leg at a time, and focus on being stable.  We also have been doing some other challenging poses such as bow pose and bridge pose to help strengthen our back and hips.  Be sure to ask them to show you these fun new poses.

I also brought in my breathing ball and we have been spending time quieting our minds towards the end of class in relaxation.  We have been using the ball to remind ourselves to take deep belly breaths and on the exhale letting go of our worries and fears.  We will keep working on this area with the younger kids, Taking time to slow down and focus on deep belly breathing helps relax their mind and rejuvenates their bodies.  

 The older kids, have been practicing more challenging yoga poses and reviewing the alternate nostril breathing technique.
Here is how to practice this Prana-Yama ( Sanskrit word which means Breath Elongation)
1. Breathe in through both nostrils
2. *Close Right nostril and exhale through left and then inhale through left
3. Close Left Nostril and exhale through right and then inhale through right
4. Close Right Nostril and exhale through left and then inhale through left
This would complete 1 cycle, I would suggest you can try 2 cycles
*I have shown the kids 2 different mudras (hand gestures) to close the nostril

 We also talked about opening our hearts through Yoga poses.  We  played a fun game called "Cross the line," I called out various actions that we take on a daily basis that are acts of kindness. Some examples that I called out were "Cross the line
 if you have held the door open for someone
 if you made a card to cheer someone up
 if you took care of a sick pet
 if you ever took part in a charity walk or run
It was wonderful to see their smiles as they crossed the line several times, and realised that we have been using our hearts and being kind:)
To end the class, we reflected on how we could open up our hearts and use our talents to make the world a special place.  It warmed my heart to see what everyone had to share.  We can truly make this school and community a loving place by opening up our hearts:)