Ninja Stars- A Balancing Tool

We have been talking a lot about super heroes in our classes and are working on strengthening our super powers by practicing Yoga.

In October, I had shared a fun super hero tool that can be used at home and in my class to develop balance.   I brought in a craft I had made at home with my boys called, "Ninja Star."  Most of the kids loved using Ninja Star!   Ask your child to show you how to use it and make it a family event to see how long each of you can hold a balancing pose with Ninja Star on your foot.

For those who would like to make one with their family, I have posted the directions here so feel free to give it a try:)

Challenging ourself with new Poses

We had another action packed class on Monday trying out some new poses, and I was so happy to watch all the kids gave these new poses a try with a "Can DO" attitude.  

I introduced a new breathing technique called "Bunny Breath,"  where we take a few (we have started with 3) rapid breaths in a row through our nose, and then exhale out through our mouth with a long, smooth sigh.  This breathing technique helps boost their energy and clear their minds;  ask your child to teach you this fun and energizing breath:)

The kids were introduced to bow, plank and camel pose today, and admidst the excitement, I managed to take a few pictures of a few of them giving it their best shot.  With the older kids we played unscramble the word with our Yoga Alphabet cards and the kids had fun unscrambling the word           " Peace," while doing the poses that corresponded to the letters.

P: Plank

E: Elephant

A: Alive

C: Camel

E: Elephant, group pose

We are also working on holding our poses longer at least 3 full breaths in each pose for the younger kids and about 4-5 full breaths with the older ones.

The class ended with relaxation and us being grateful for the special people we have in our lives:)

Suggested Activity:  Play a game of unscramble the word with your family and come up with a Yoga pose to correspond with each chosen letter.  Get creative and come up names for the poses and use this time to connect, laugh and be active with each other.

Welcoming the Bell of Silence

Today, I introduced the kids to a special bell that I will be using in our classes.  The bell serves as a reminder for us to stop what we are doing and just close our eyes and connect with our breath.  We practiced our balloon breathing while using the bell.  The kids are learning to use their balloon breathing to help them settle their breaths after a sport or any other strenuous physical activity.

We transitioned into our Yoga poses, where everyone had a wonderful time playing Freeze and Move and selecting a pose performed by some of their favorite characters. They all loved the game and ended up challenging themselves with some new poses.

Suggested Activity:  I will be handing out Breathing Graphs to all of them tomorrow.  It is a fun visual way for kids to start learning and gaining breath awareness based on physical changes in the body.  Have fun with it and create a version of that graph for each of your family member(s) and observe, discuss and graph as a family.  Some of the questions you want to ask are how does your breath feel when  you are playing, or sitting, or balloon breathing.  Guide them with words such as short, long, cold, warm, fast, calm, and also help them observe how many breaths they end up taking in half a minute after different activities.  I am looking forward to introducing the graph to the kids tomorrow and guiding them with their observations.

FAMILY YOGA CLASS IS NOW FULL

THANK YOU TO ALL THE FAMILIES WHO ARE PLANNING TO ATTEND TODAY'S FAMILY YOGA CLASS.  AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WERE UNABLE TO JOIN US, WE HOPE TO SEE YOU IN THE FUTURE:)

We are going to Outer Space

3.............2....................1.............  BLAST OFF !

Welcome everyone to our October Yoga session where the kids have embarked on an exciting mission to outer space.

Before heading off on our trip, we warmed up, did some jumping jacks and high knees to investigate what our breath feels like when we engage in intense activities.  Most of us agreed that our breath and heart beat felt super fast and so we learned to calm our bodies using our breath and just like magic our breath and heart started slowing down and we felt calmer:)

As astronauts about to leave on a mission, we had to make sure our lungs were strong, so we practiced a special breathing technique with my fellow space jetters.  This time our mission took us to the moon and we rode moon buggies which was a lot of fun but took a lot of energy, so we checked in on our breath and calmed our minds and bodies down by breathing.  All of us had a blast exploring yoga poses as we travelled through space.

I have asked the kids to bring in any books, space figures etc that they would like to share with us and we will use them to help us out on our search and rescue mission.

My hope is that along-with Yoga, the kids will also learn a little more about outer space as we move forward on our journey.  We wrapped up our class with reflection and relaxation, and each child took a minute to write one of their dreams.

                                                      

Suggested Family Activity:  Ask your child to share some of their dreams with you and be sure to share some of yours.  Write down your wishes on a star and post them on a wall to inspire everyone to fulfill their dreams:)

FREE FAMILY YOGA CLASS

FAMILY YOGA

BLOSSOM YOGA INVITES YOU FOR A FREE PARENT AND CHILD CLASS

NO EXPERIENCE REQUIRED…. BE READY TO HAVE FUN WITH YOUR CHILD EXPLORING YOGA POSES, GAMES AND SONGS TOGETHER :)

                       REGISTER EARLY VIA EMAIL Pmonaghan@stjudesacademy.com 
OR AT FRONT DESK

 SPACES ARE LIMITED!

WHEN:  FRIDAY OCTOBER 4TH 
TIME: 4:00PM-5:00PM

LOCATION:  A2 GYM @ ST. JUDES ACADEMY

What will my child be doing in YOGA?

We have embarked on our Yoga journey and will be exploring many different Yoga poses along with breathing exercises to help strengthen our bodies and minds.  The breath work done in our classes is an important tool that allows children to relax and focus their mind.  We will intertwine breath work with our Yoga poses;  my goal is to help kids learn how to use their breath to deal with different emotions, stress and anxiety.  

As a rule of thumb the Yoga poses that the kids will learn will fall under these categories:

• Leg and Arm Stretch and strengthening
• Balancing
• Twisting and Bending

I usually use a combination of games, songs and stories to teach kids Yoga poses.   Based on the child's ability, they will also work on Yoga micro exercises that will prepare them to safely do the pose.

The class wraps up with relaxation where I use music and/or guided imagery to help the young yogis relax.

If you have questions as to how your child is progressing please email me at: upatrawala@gmail.com or come see me after class.
Namaste!