9 Jun 2013
Finding Your Voice
Finding your voice as an artist, writer or teacher is an ongoing process.
There comes a point in your life when you start to listen to that voice inside and it speaks through you, in everything you do.
When it comes to teaching kids yoga, the voice of my 5 year old comes naturally, but teaching adults has been more about allowing my inner voice to shine through. The past month, I have been teaching yoga to the teachers in one of my preschools. I have been trying out new themes and playlists, using poetry in my dharma talks and tuning into my students more and more to find out their needs and preferences.
Two weeks ago, I led a restorative yoga class with blankets as props and they all LOVED IT!! Last week, I did a modified version of the class outdoors and it was amazing to connect with Nature. When I surrendered to that voice within me that KNOWS and TRUSTS, I was able to guide my students to surrender, feeling fully supported by the Earth and taking in the beauty of the sun, wind, sky, being at one with it all…
At the end of class, when we chanted our final OM together, I could feel the energy reverberating through me, feeling the connection to myself and know that connection is running through all of us. When I see the peace and tranquility in their smiling faces, I am so grateful for what yoga provides. It has truly been a gift to discover my “voice” in such a welcoming and supportive environment.
Finding your VOICE is like coming home to yourself…
14 Jun 2013
ABC Yoga
One of the best things about being a kids yoga teacher is coming up with creative lessons!
I have been having lots of fun in my yoga classes experimenting with some new props and yoga resources.
This week, I was excited to try out my new Rainbow Kids ABC Play Cards, which I bought online on the Rainbow Kids Yoga website!
ABC Yoga is a great way for kids to learn about the alphabet AND explore yoga!
I introduced my lesson by asking:
Did you know we can use our bodies to make each letter of the alphabet? I brought these very special cards for us to do some special ABC Yoga Poses. Are you ready…what’s the first letter of the alphabet?
They all called out “A”!! and that’s where the fun began…
The A card was for ALIEN which is a modified DOWNWARD DOG, so I asked them what yoga pose it looked like and we started in Down Dog and lifted one arm to make the line across our “A”. For some of the poses, such as BUTTERFLY, we did both the letter shape AND the actual yoga pose (Baddha Konasana).
The kids loved the whimsical illustrations on the cards (A for ALIEN, F for FLAMINGO, M for MERMAID, U for UNICORN) and trying to guess what pose came next!
They also came up with other favorite yoga poses that began with some of the letters, including as CAT, DOG, FROG, LION and more!
After doing 26 yoga poses, they were more than ready for Savasana and now that the school year is almost over, I can see how much more relaxed and able to be still they are. At the end of one of my classes, the children started singing the ABC’s song which warmed my heart because I know they enjoyed doing ABC YOGA!
Being a writer and word lover myself, the more I use books and other resources that reinforce literacy, the more I appreciate being able to teach kids to develop a love of language, as well as yoga!