Partner Yoga

3 Creative Ways to Do Yoga with Toys

TOYS!  What child doesn’t love them?

Puppets, stuffed animals, dolls, toy trains, planes & trucks, the list goes on and on…

I’m sure your child got an assortment of toys for the holidays that they have been enjoying playing with.

But, did you know that toys are a perfect prop for teaching children yoga, focus, and relaxation?

Yoga with Toys

As a yoga teacher, I have experimented with different kinds of props and have found that some of my most popular lessons have been using simple toys to spark a child’s imagination.  I have my very own collection of stuffed animals and puppets which I love using in my classes.

Here are three ways to use what’s in your child’s toy chest or play room to teach your children positive, healthy yoga and movement activities while having FUN!

1) Toys are great for exploring Yoga Poses and Movement.  

Grab your child’s favorite stuffed animals, dolls, trucks or puppets and go on a yoga adventure with them.   A toy can be a wonderful prompt to MOVE and BE like the animal or object which the toy represents.  Bark in Downward Dog Pose, Fly in Airplane Pose, Arch your Back in Cat Pose, Squat in Frog Pose…You don’t even need to be familiar with the yoga poses to enjoy this play time with your child. Just ask your child how a snake, a butterfly, or a car or truck moves and then stretch your body this way or that.  Recently, a parent shared with me that once a week her 2 year who is in one of my preschool yoga enrichment classes would lay out a blanket and her stuffed animals and pretend to be the ‘yoga teacher’!

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2) Toys are wonderful props for developing focus and concentration.

Whenever I bring out my bag of finger puppets, all my students get excited and are ready to explore our yoga poses together.  They all watch and listen in anticipation as each child chooses a puppet from the bag and leads the class in a yoga pose!  Doing yoga with a toy helps children focus while trying some of the more challenging poses.  For example, ask your child to hold the puppet or toy out in front of them or place it on their head when doing a Tree Pose, which helps keep their attention on standing still and steady in the pose.

You can buy a set of adorable plush animal finger puppets for your child on my shop by following this link HERE or clicking on the image below.
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3) Stuffed animals or beanie babies are a fun breathing or relaxation ‘buddy’.

Your child’s favorite stuffie is the perfect companion for breathing exercises or relaxation time.  Place the beanie baby or stuffie on your child’s belly as they are lying on the ground or snuggled up in bed.  Have your child close his or her eyes and breathe in and out, slowly as they give their stuffed animal friend a gentle ride on their belly.  The kids love this!   This breathing exercise can be done right before bedtime so children can enjoy a restful night’s sleep.

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For more creative ideas on using props for yoga, look at some of my other posts:

Fun Finger Puppets as Yoga Props

Imagination Kids Yoga Props

Kids Yoga Props on a Budget

 

 

 

 

 

By: Category: Breathing, Children, Creativity, Family, Fun, Imagination, Inspiration, Kids Yoga, Meditation, Partner Yoga, Props, Relaxation, Teaching, Theme Classes, Yoga

Surrender to Love Yoga Playlist

My Valentine’s Gift to you:

May you SURRENDER to LOVE…and let it FLOW.

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This flowing yoga playlist is sure to open your heart and soul to LOVE…

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or follow this link to itunes music playlist

https://www.beyogabelove.com/resources/music-playlists/

By: Category: Creativity, Freedom, Inspiration, Love, Music, Partner Yoga, Relationships, Self Love, Soul, Spirituality, Theme Classes, Yoga

Connecting Through Acro Yoga

I attended another awesome Acro Yoga event sponsored by MERJ at Om Factory in NYC.    MERJ connects people with similar interests through local activities.  Members can select an event or interest they enjoy and find activity partners who would like to join them in that activity.

The idea behind both MERJ and Acro Yoga is to connect with others,  so this event was the perfect way to bring people together.

The best part of these Acro Yoga events is the instant connections you get to make with near strangers.  Since Acro Yoga is very hands-on, the barriers that are usually there when you first meet someone are left at the door.

The event was led by two Acro Yoga facilitators, one of which was Sandhi Ferreira, who also teaches at OmFactory and Jivamukti.  There was a really relaxed vibe and a DJ playing chill music in the background.  We began with some group stretching to break the ice and get to know each other.  From the smiles on everyone’s faces, it is clear to see that there was some real connection and fun going on!

Merj Group Stretch

Merj Grp Arm Stretch

Then we broke off into small groups and practiced some Acro Yoga.  The instructors demonstrated all the poses to make sure we were clear about the steps involved.  I learned some new flying poses and we all had a great time working together.

Merj Flying

We each had the opportunity to be the base, the flyer and the spotter, which helped us build confidence in our ability to set up and support the pose.  There is something so reassuring about knowing that you are being fully supported and that someone will catch you if you fall.
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Acro Spotter

Aside from having lots of fun, I had a breakthrough thanks to Sandhi’s support.  I realized that I don’t really have a hard time trusting others when being the flyer, but when it came time to be a base, I had a hard time trusting myself.  I would be holding someone up in a flying posture and and then the fear and doubt would creep in.   I was afraid I was not strong enough to hold someone up or that I would drop them.

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Trusting myself is been something I have been delving into for some time and I was so grateful to have a teacher support me in breaking through my own limitations and embracing my power.  It was so liberating to be able to let go of my fear and step into my POWER.  I am excited to continue growing and evolving through my Acro Yoga practice, as I continue learning about trust.

What would you do if you truly TRUSTED YOURSELF?

I would love to hear from you…

By: Category: Acro Yoga, Partner Yoga, Relationships, Self Development, Teaching, Trust, Yoga

Partner Yoga Fun

This is a repost of a prior blog entry because my Partner Yoga poses have been quite popular.  

Here are some great ideas here for doing Partner Yoga with kids, tweens and teens. Enjoy!!

My niece has been doing yoga with her Auntie B (me) since she was a baby and is familiar with many of the kids’s versions of the poses.   Now that she is older, she has been more open to learning new poses and has even come to a yoga class with me.

The other night, my niece and I decided to do some yoga.

We set up our yoga mats in the living room and I had brought my Yoga Pretzel Deck which has lots of fun yoga activities for kids of all ages.  She looked through the cards and was immediately drawn to the Partner Poses, so she pulled out the cards and we gave them a try.

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Partner Yoga is FUN!

We started with Partner Warrior and then moved on to some sitting poses like See Saw and Partner Boat.  We had quite a few laughs trying to lift our legs up at the same time because my niece has extraordinarily long legs for a 12 year old!   We tried every single one of the partner poses, some more than once.

Our favorites were Double Downward Dog and Lizard on a Rock, where one person rests in Child’s Pose (the “Rock”) and the other (the “Lizard” lays  on their back…what an amazing back stretch!  And from the smile on her face, it’s easy to see how much she liked this pose.

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Lizard on a Rock

We had a hard time (and non-stop amusement) trying to get up off the floor from sitting back to back in Partner Chair, but my niece would not give up.   She was determined to figure out how we could lift each other up and we almost got up, but it didn’t happen.  We really enjoyed some flying poses where we lifted each other up in the air!

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Wheee!

Partner yoga is such a wonderful bonding experience for children and adults alike…it involves supporting your partner, helping each other stretch and looking at each other while in the pose. It was so much fun doing yoga together and hearing the sound of my niece’s laughter!

By: Category: Children, Creativity, Family, Love, Partner Yoga, Relationships, Yoga

AcroYoga: Dare to Fly

dare to fly

Last weekend I attended an amazing AcroYoga Elementals Playshop at Starseed Yoga in Verona, NJ.  The class was led by Lorrie Sheppard and Brian Yuen of Interactive Yoga.  I have done partner yoga with my niece before and love doing inversions on my yoga swing, but had never taken a formal acroyoga class.

AcroYoga is a form of partner yoga where one person (the “base”) supports the other (the “flyer”) in a series of aerial postures.

Lorrie and Brian created such a safe, fun space to explore acroyoga!  We began with some partner and group stretching, where we were able to get a deeper stretch by working together.  The instructors first went over some of the basics and safety guidelines and then we plunged right into the flying!!

We practiced some very challenging poses which involved doing advanced backbends.  We also learned important techniques in “spotting” or assisting both the base and the flyer to feel supported and safe.  It was a team effort, as we helped each other find the balance and alignment in each pose.

Betty Acrobat Yogi

AcroYoga allows you to fully immerse yourself in a pose while your weight is being fully supported by your partner.

There is a fluid synergy between the base and the flyer, as you work together to discover creative ways to join your bodies in flight.  Each of us took turns being the base, the flyer and the spotter, so we all  got to experience the full spectrum of AcroYoga.   The playshop was nourishing on so many levels and gave us the opportunity to connect with others and try certain postures which required openness and trust.  But most of all, we all had FUN!

Betty Acroyoga 3-10-13

For me, the lesson was about trust and surrender.  

There is something so freeing about being able to fly in the air and trust that you are being held and supported.  Just like in AcroYoga, life is about learning to trust and surrender to the Universe, knowing that you are supported and will be taken care of.  That is not always an easy lesson but daring to take risks and fly is the only way you can soar!

I can’t wait for my next AcroYoga Adventure!  For upcoming acroyoga events, be sure to visit Interactive Yoga’s website at http://www.interactive-yoga.com.

By: Category: Acro Yoga, Partner Yoga, Relationships, Self Development, Teaching, Trust, Yoga

Partner and Group Poses for Kids

A great way to teach children about working together is by doing partner poses.

Partner yoga teaches kids  to work together and be gentle with each other and kids love it too!  Begin with a discussion on how you can help others and then introduce how we can also help each other with our yoga poses.  Select a few poses that can be done with a partner or all together as a group and then start by doing each pose alone.  Some great poses to try together are TREE, FLOWER, BOAT, PRETZEL, and DOWNWARD DOG.  Then pair children up with a buddy for some poses and do others together as a group.  For example, when you do Tree or Flower with everyone holding hands in a circle, you can make a Forest of Tress or a Garden of Flowers together.

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A garden of flowers!

Downward Dog Tunnel is a great activity to teach kids about focus, body awareness and working together.  Children line up and come up into down dog together as one child goes under them through the “tunnel”.  They really enjoy watching their friends as they crawl under them and waiting their turn to go through the tunnel!

Downward Dog TunnelPartner poses are not only fun but can be a great platform for teaching children the importance of getting along, working together and being mindful when interacting with one another.  Doing yoga together teaches kids valuable life skills that they can use at school and at home and carry with them throughout their lives.

working together

By: Category: Children, Creativity, Partner Yoga, Relationships, Self Development, Teaching, Yoga