Posts Tagged ‘schools’


Top 5 Kids Yoga Tips for Greater Flexibility

This topic of yoga tips for greater flexibility was inspired by a question tweeted by Mrs. Johnson’s #1stgradeyogis in China…

“We want to know how we can stretch better! Any tips?”

 

SSY pic Mrs Johnson &B1

Thank you fabulous young yogis and your brilliant teacher, Mrs. Johnson, in China for this great #SSYkidQuestion!! We so appreciate you tweeting us questions and inspirations for other kids and their parents and teachers!

Most yogis think about their level of flexibility, so this is a relevant question for kid and adult yogis alike. Here are five yoga tips to help stretch you and your body to greater depths…

1.  Begin where you are.

So, first things first — in yoga and in any other area of life… where you are is exactly the perfect place to be! Really!! And if you would like to change something, “where you are” is the perfect place from which to start. For example, if you want to touch your toes in ragdoll (uttanasana), but right now you can touch your knees, first say to yourself “I can touch my knees today. I wonder how far I will reach in a month after doing yoga regularly.” You are where you are and there is nothing better than that! Celebrate today and move forward from here!

2. There’s only one person to compare yourself to… and that’s YOU! – not anyone else.

Comparing yourself to someone else is like comparing the ocean to the forest. Each person is beautifully unique – thank goodness for that – and comparing yourself to another person helps no one.

On the other hand, look at yourself today compared to yourself… say last year at this time… You have most certainly come a long way. Celebrate that! Always compare yourself to only you and you will see growth!

Regarding yoga poses and stretching farther, try this. Do a yoga pose that you enjoy and in which you would like to stretch farther. For example, (and maybe as a group) do the L Pose (Dandasana/Paschimottanasana), hold it for a moment while you notice where your fingers land on your legs. Maybe note this on a sticky note (Deb – Sept. 2 – L Pose – finger tips at knees) and put it away. Then, a month or so later, do the same thing and just notice if your fingers land in the same place on your legs or maybe just a touch farther – and note that. If not this month, maybe next month. Either way, yoga is not about how flexible you are. It does tend to increase flexibility but it is not the most important part! Be aware of your body and how magnificent it is and what it can accomplish for you!!

3. Hold poses longer.

If you’d like to increase your flexibility one strategy you can try is to hold some poses longer than we do in the Sing Song Yoga videos. Maybe as a class, you can decide a pose for the month to hold longer during your yoga time.

For example, for the month of September, each time we do yoga let’s pause the video and hold Standing V (Upavistha Konasana) longer. Maybe the class could vote to select the pose each month.

4. Do a sequence of poses working the same muscles/muscle groups.

Several yoga poses use similar muscles to do the poses. For example, hamstrings (those muscles on our back thighs) are lengthened within many different poses. And they are often tight and a main factor in how far we can bend forward — as in Rag Doll (Uttanasana).

If we were to just hold Rag Doll for 12 minutes, most of us would get bored. But, if we were to do several different poses within those 12 minutes that each focus on lengthening those hamstrings, we would not only better achieve it, but we would add in additional benefits from the other poses as well as enjoy the variety.

So, let’s continue with the example of lengthening our hamstrings. Using the Sing Song Yoga app, as a class, you can explore what poses to include to create and save a “Hamstring Sequence.” A sample sequence could include the following:

  • Rag Doll – Uttanasana
  • Standing V – Prasarita Padottanasana
  • Mosquito – Parsvottanasana
  • Downward Dog – Adho Mukha Svanasana
  • Dolphin – Pincha Mayurasana Prep
  • L Pose -Dandasana/Paschimottanasana
  • V Pose – Upavistha Konasana
  • Big Butterfly
  • Half Butterfly – Janu Sirsasana
  • Savasana

That’s 10 poses in under 12 minutes, when you slide the transition speed to the left (see pic).

sing song yoga app hamstring sequence

5. Repetition can help.

Do yoga more often… even while watching TV 🙂 If there is a pose you’d really like to improve, set a goal to try to do that pose every day. If I wanted to reach my toes in L Pose, I could try to sit in this pose each day whenever I think of it… while reading, while watching TV, while chatting with my friends, etc.

In the classroom, as a class, you could decide to sit in L Pose for a bit while you are studying your spelling words, or doing math flash cards, or reading… the possibilities are endless!

The main thing to remember is to be easy about all of this and have fun!

Thank you once again for your great question Mrs. Johnson’s #1stgradeyogis in China!! Please keep us posted on your yoga progress over the coming months! And of course, send new questions as they arise! Happy Yoga!

Please post your kids’ yoga questions on

Twitter or Facebook using #ssykidsquestions

 

See this link for an outline of the Simple Process for Creating and Saving a Kids’ Yoga Balancing Sequence within the Sing Song Yoga App and apply the process to creating a “Hamstring Sequence.”

#ssykidquestion green room

 


Related Posts:

Yoga in Schools: Kids and Teachers Talk Kids’ Yoga A quick peek into what kids and teachers are saying about using the Sing Song Yoga app in the classroom.

Top 5 Tips to Help Balance in Kids’ Yoga: Kid Twitter Question Answered A kid question answered: “Do you have any tips to help us balance better?”

Getting Kids Ready to Write: Yoga in Schools A teacher question answered: “I was wondering the best combinations [of poses] to use [with my students] for getting ready to write.”

8 Kids Yoga Myths  Some common misunderstandings about kids’ yoga.

Crossing the Midline and Kids’ Yoga Kids’ yoga is one of the many activites that can provide cross-lateral experiences for children. If done regularly might assist in building the brain for…

Top 6 Yoga Poses for Toddlers  “A few months ago a parent asked how she could best do yoga with her one-year-old daughter…”

Kids’ Yoga App – Create Your Own Balancing Sequence Effortlessly create a balancing sequence with a few taps of this kids’ yoga iOS app.

Twitter Leads to Most Rewarding Visit Imaginable  Sing Song Yoga founder does yoga with students she connected with on Twitter.

Kids Yoga App Series – #1. Adult Help Symbol in DVD/App Quick video explaining the “Adult Help” symbol used in the Sing Song Yoga® kids yoga app.

Kids Yoga App Series – #2. Try it Free A super quick video to demonstrate some features within the Sing Song Yoga® kids yoga app.


For more info:Yoga in a School Setting

Sing Song Yoga® Kids’ Yoga App

Sing Song Yoga® kids’ yoga DVD

Sing Song Yoga® school program

Sing Song Yoga® website

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 1st, 2015.
Posted in Kid's Yoga Sequences, Kids Yoga at Home, Sing Song Yoga, Yoga in Schools.
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Yoga in Schools: Kids as Teachers

Sometimes I think that I’m the teacher. However, I am continuously reminded that I am first and foremost a forever-student. And oftentimes, children are my wisest teachers. Yoga in schools holds such powerful opportunities…

2015-04-21 09.33.27

I recently had the honor of visiting this classroom in Michigan that has been using our kids’ yoga program every school day over the last few years.

When I began the class, I quickly learned that these fabulous young yogis knew our songs and teaching cues better than I do.  Mistakenly thinking I was the only yoga teacher in the room, I originally intended to shake things up a bit and add poses/songs that are not on the Sing Song Yoga DVD they use. However, their lead in the session kept us crisply on track of the classic session. My heart gratefully sang progressively louder as I gradually quieted my voice to allow for their voices and intentions to lead.

The joys, the love and the excitement was refreshingly uncensored. My cheeks actually hurt a bit from smiling and laughing with my new young yoga teachers.

2015-04-21 09.43.13

The lovely, progressive classroom teacher appeared to be pleasantly surprised at the level of mastery some of the students demonstrated in recalling the important details of each pose as we moved through the class.  Yoga through music has a magic about it and these students are clearly the magicians!

Thank you, thank you to these young yogis for being my teachers and to their classroom teacher for inviting me to experience this unbridled joy… with yoga in schools!!


Related Posts:

8 Kids Yoga Myths  Some common misunderstandings about kids’ yoga.

Crossing the Midline and Kids’ Yoga Kids’ yoga is one of the many activites that can provide cross-lateral experiences for children. If done regularly might assist in building the brain for…

Top 6 Yoga Poses for Toddlers  “A few months ago a parent asked how she could best do yoga with her one-year-old daughter…”

Kids’ Yoga App – Create Your Own Balancing Sequence Effortlessly create a balancing sequence with a few taps of this kids’ yoga iOS app.

Yoga in Schools: Kids and Teachers Talk Kids’ Yoga A quick peek into what kids and teachers are saying about using the Sing Song Yoga app in the classroom.

Top 5 Tips to Help Balance in Kids’ Yoga: Kid Twitter Question Answered A kid question answered: “Do you have any tips to help us balance better?”

Getting Kids Ready to Write: Yoga in Schools A teacher question answered: “I was wondering the best combinations [of poses] to use [with my students] for getting ready to write.”

Twitter Leads to Most Rewarding Visit Imaginable  Sing Song Yoga founder does yoga with students she connected with on Twitter.


For more info:Yoga in a School Setting

Sing Song Yoga® Kids’ Yoga App

Sing Song Yoga® kids’ yoga DVD

Sing Song Yoga® school program

Sing Song Yoga® website

 

 

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 11th, 2015.
Posted in Benefits of Yoga, Education, Sing Song Yoga, Yoga in Schools.
Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , ,


8 Kids Yoga Myths

A dictionary meaning of the word myth is — “a widely held but false belief or idea.” Ultimately ideas are yoga myths or not, only in the eye of the beholder. But I’d like to challenge some common misunderstandings about kids yoga.

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Adho Mukha Svanasana (tunnel of downward dogs)

Here are eight ideas that I typically hear from parents that I would consider yoga myths in the world of kids yoga:

1. My kid is not flexible enough to do yoga.

I hear from parents, about their children, and from adult students that they’re not flexible enough for yoga. This one is the misunderstanding that I run into the most often. Yes, over time many experience increased flexibility from doing yoga, but it’s not a prerequisite.

Doing yoga poses has many benefits within the process, one of which is gaining increased flexibility.  But as an example. let’s compare two yogis doing a forward bend (Uttanasana).

2015-04-26

Uttanasana (standing forward bend)

“Yogi A” uses blocks under her hands because she doesn’t touch the floor. And “Yogi B” folds forward more completely, turning her ribcage upside down with the crown of her head comfortably pointing toward the floor without strain.

Each of these yogis experience similar benefits from the pose.  It’s not as much about how far the yogi bends, it’s more about the alignment in the pose and the relative range of movement. For example, focusing on just one aspect of the pose, each yogi is stretching their hamstrings. The relative movement achieved with their personal full extension of their muscles provides the benefit – not the ultimate length that’s achieved. It’s likely that the beautiful photos of yogis bending in seemingly impossible ways contribute to this misunderstanding, however, just know that yoga works for all flexibility levels. That’s one of the benefits that fits everyone.

Furthermore, the less flexible folks can actually be less prone to certain injuries because their bodies give them some natural limits that the more flexible yogis might need to discover on their own. There’s no need to be flexible to do yoga!

2. My child is too hyperactive to do yoga

One common benefit of yoga is that many experience a calming effect. Due to this fact, some feel that their children are too hyperactive to do yoga.  However, a child might find that the opposite is true. The calming effect on the nervous
system that yoga can provide might be a good reason for some children to find yoga.  Again it’s a relativity thing.  Similar to the range of muscle movement (in number one) being the important factor providing benefit, it’s the relative range of the calming effect that provides the benefit. For example, a child who begins in a perceived hyperactive state and ends in a more typical active state might be achieving that same benefit as a typically active child ending a yoga session in a more perceived calm state.  It’s the relative change that is the important factor, not the overall perception of where others want that child to be (or behave). The nervous system holds the imprint of the change even if those outside the child’s body can’t see it as clearly through behavior.

3. My child can’t focus enough to do yoga.

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Upavistha Konasana (seated wide leg pose)

We have a bit of a relativity theme going here, but it applies to focus as well. Some children can sit and build puzzles for a seemingly endless span of time and some can barely sit long enough to open the box to begin.  The idea of “I am where I am” applies here. There’s no good or bad, there’s only the perception of such. And though it is true that yoga can eventually result in an improved ability to focus, it too is not a prerequisite. Some young yogis do a Downward Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana) for 3 seconds and then need to get up and run around their mat before they are ready for another. This child still gains benefit from the 3 seconds in dog even if it might not look the same as the child who can remain in Dog for 30 seconds. Growth is measured by looking at a particular skill in the beginning and comparing it to the skill after a period of time. So if this young yogi moves from doing Downward Dog for 3 seconds at the beginning of a 10-week session up to 8 seconds at the end of this time, then growth in the pose and benefit for the child has been achieved.

If you come across a yoga teacher who expects your child to do things the same as all other students in your class, it might be helpful to find a new teacher.  Yoga should remain outside the tradition of trying to get children to conform to the same robot-like conformity that is still expected in some settings. Yoga is personal. Its benefits are illustrated in personal ways.  Avoid comparing your child to others and enjoy comparing your child today to your child a year ago. Growth has occurred – whether it fits the norm or not (inside or outside of yoga).

4. My child cannot do yoga because of physical limits.

callie supta virasana - edited

Supta Virasana (reclined hero’s pose)

Ustrasana (camel pose)

Ustrasana (camel pose)

Whether your child is a fully able-bodied child or a child with some limits, the benefits of yoga can be experienced by most. One of my beloved young yogis who is limited physically was limitless in her determination to experience the joys and benefits of yoga as she achieved each. We together found one or more aspects of each pose that would be perfect for her to work on in that particular session.  For example, when working on the sitting forward bend (Paschimottanasana), one session we focused our attention on lengthening her calves, in the opposite direction of her high tone, extending through her inner heels and pulling her toes toward her shins. In another session we would focus on pressing her thighs into the floor. In yet another session we would work on lengthening from her hips up through her chest taking her shoulders away from her ears. This is similar to focus changes in fully able-bodied adults from session to session, but we broke it down in a child-friendly way for her to experience results.

5. My kid is an athlete and would not like yoga

Though yoga is growing in popularity in the States, there can sometimes still be a perception that athletes are not the “yoga type.”  Again, the opposite can be true. Athletes in many different sports have enjoyed the multitude of benefits from yoga due to the simple fact that yoga can provide a positive soothing balance for the sometimes overused muscles and emotional energy that the stream-lined goal focus within each sport can invoke. In addition, the breadth of focus in yoga, meaning the broad range of positive effects on the body, might assist the athlete in preventing injury.

6. Some kids are just not the “yoga type.”

Again, there still exists this idea that a person is either the “yoga type” or not but it’s simply not true. Virtually everyone can benefit from some time to deliberately chill while focusing on ones’ body in space.  Each child or adult experiences yoga in his or her own personal way.  There’s no “type” of person more likely to find benefit. The only aspect necessary is the willingness to give it a shot. And the only necessity to continue is the desire to do so.

7. Yoga is not for boys or men.

dead bug

Ananda Balasana (dead bug pose)

This is slowly changing but still remains an underlying belief for many. Yoga classes typically have more women than men, but as men continue to discover the benefits of yoga and these next generations begin yoga as kids, this will eventually fade out. As with most biases, children learn these from adults. Boys, themselves, come into this world as natural yogis. But a myriad of societal influences can eventually persuade boys that there are some things that boys just do not do.  This yoga myth will eventually fade and your family can be a part of this change. Boys can benefit greatly from yoga as mentioned in the characteristics outlined in the other myths in this post.

8. As a parent, I should know yoga before introducing my child to it.

As outlined in 6 Tips to Dive Right into Kids Yoga, there is simply no experience necessary to begin yoga – as an adult or as a child. Every single person is a beginner when starting something new. Your yoga instructor (a live person or through a book) will guide you through beginning yoga. So just dive right in!


Related Posts:

Crossing the Midline and Kids’ Yoga Kids’ yoga is one of the many activites that can provide cross-lateral experiences for children. If done regularly might assist in building the brain for…

Top 6 Yoga Poses for Toddlers  “A few months ago a parent asked how she could best do yoga with her one-year-old daughter…”

Kids’ Yoga App – Create Your Own Balancing Sequence Effortlessly create a balancing sequence with a few taps of this kids’ yoga iOS app.

Yoga in Schools: Kids and Teachers Talk Kids’ Yoga A quick peek into what kids and teachers are saying about using the Sing Song Yoga app in the classroom.

Top 5 Tips to Help Balance in Kids’ Yoga: Kid Twitter Question Answered A kid question answered: “Do you have any tips to help us balance better?”

Getting Kids Ready to Write: Yoga in Schools A teacher question answered: “I was wondering the best combinations [of poses] to use [with my students] for getting ready to write.”

Twitter Leads to Most Rewarding Visit Imaginable  Sing Song Yoga founder does yoga with students she connected with on Twitter.


For more info:Yoga in a School Setting

Sing Song Yoga® Kids’ Yoga App

Sing Song Yoga® kids’ yoga DVD

Sing Song Yoga® school program

Sing Song Yoga® website

 

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 30th, 2015.
Posted in Benefits of Yoga, Education, Kids Yoga at Home, Parenting, Sing Song Yoga, Yoga in Schools.
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Yoga in Schools: Kids and Teachers Talk Kids Yoga.

A quick peek into what kids and teachers are saying about using the Sing Song Yoga app in the classroom. Kids yoga in schools explored… Highlights from the video clip:

Tell us about Sing Song Yoga®

What I would tell other kids about Sing Song Yoga is that you have to try it because it calms you before, if you do Daily Five in your classroom or writing. ~ first grader, MI

It all started with a simple challenge from our movement specialist in the district to say we’ve got to get our kids moving and that will increase the engagement. And I would say that Sing Song Yoga is our perfect answer to doing that.  ~ Kristi Zoerhof, First Grade Teacher, MI

  • “It keeps you strong and healthy and it really keeps you calm when you’re doing stuff.”
  • “I would tell other kids that Sing Song Yoga is really fun.”
  • “It is the funnest thing in the world.”
  • “It gets your body moving and it makes you exercise.”
  • “The app is my favorite because it is completely customizable. Whatever you have time to work with, whether its 5 minutes or 20, you can create yoga sequence videos for your kids to do. And it is actually a spot in our lesson plans that we have a spot for yoga.”
  • “It’s really really fun and it’s relaxing.”
  • “They love it. They look forward to it. They request it. And it is probably our most popular activity of the day.”
  • “They should do it ’cause it’s really really fun.”

How does Sing Song Yoga® make you feel?

  • “Sing Song Yoga makes me feel happy and calm.”
  • “We find that we are more focused and our work time is more productive.”
  • “I feel happy from yoga.”
  • “Sing Song makes me feel happy.”
  • “Sing Song Yoga makes me feel calm.”
  • “It’s calming.”
  • “I like crane pose because it makes me feel steady.”
  • “Sing Song Yoga makes me feel happy.”
  • “Sing Song Yoga makes me get happy and excited.”

What would you tell other teachers about Sing Song Yoga®?

  • “I’m really sure that if your children do it, it’s going to be fantastic.”
  • “Truly, every minute spent in Sing Song Yoga we have seen the rewards and the benefits in our classroom work. I would recommend it to every classroom teacher who wants to give their students a moment to have intentional movement breaks.”
  • “The songs are really cool.”
  • “You can see it on the iPad and you can see it on the screen.”
  • “Try Sing Song Yoga. You will not be disappointed.”
  • “I love Sing Song Yoga.”

Related Posts:

Getting Kids Ready to Write: Yoga in Schools A teacher question answered: “I was wondering the best combinations [of poses] to use [with my students] for getting ready to write.”

Twitter Leads to Most Rewarding Visit Imaginable  Sing Song Yoga founder does yoga with students she connected with on Twitter.

Top 5 Tips to Help Kids Yoga Balance: Kid Twitter Question Answered A kid question answered: “Do you have any tips to help us balance better?”


At Sing Song Yoga we love tweeting with students about their yoga ideas, experiences and questions. We also love chatting with teachers! kids yoga in schools


For more info:

Sing Song Yoga® Kids’ Yoga App

Sing Song Yoga® kids’ yoga DVD

Sing Song Yoga® school program

Sing Song Yoga® website

This entry was posted on Monday, February 9th, 2015.
Posted in Benefits of Yoga, Education, Sing Song Yoga, Yoga in Schools.
Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


Kids Yoga in Schools: Getting First Graders Ready to Write

Sue, a first grade teacher from Michigan writes:

I was wondering the best combinations [of poses] to use [with my students] for getting ready to write.”

Screen Shot 2015-01-22 at 11.39.23 PM

 

This is a great question!  Yoga in schools can be a powerful resource for helping kids get ready to write, as well as do other school tasks.  Kids’ Yoga is not going to take overly energetic children and mesmerize them into a state of conformity, but it can help a child transform their energy into a more usable form for accomplishing particular tasks. As teachers we occasionally need tiny reminders that children are not built to sit for long periods, and their squirminess might be good feedback to us that their bodies truly need to move in order for their brains to work most efficiently.

I know that, as an adult, when I rush around my world to run errands and then sit down in front of my computer to get some work done, it takes me a bit of time to refocus on my task at hand.  Also, if I sit for an extended period of time I need to get up and move to focus most efficiently. Similarly, if a child is moving from one activity to the next without time to refocus with some deliberate guidance, or is sitting for extending periods of time without a chance for specific movement, then it’s likely that s/he won’t be able to give her best.

Yoga in schools can provide purposeful tools for helping children refocus.  There’s much involved in how yoga can do this.  However, simply put, focusing on one’s body to get into and hold a pose can help quiet the mind’s chatter, allowing more space for purposefully focused thought. And if the yoga movement itself is sufficiently involved it can fulfill the body’s need to move in order to stimulate the necessary systems for optimal learning.

In other words the physical yoga poses and the focus necessary to accomplish them work in tandem to help children refocus.

In addition to this, particular sequencing of poses also has the potential to calm the nervous system, which counters the stressors that physically shut down the brain for learning. The brain of a child who is in distress physically shuts down the networking necessary for learning.  The brain of a relaxed child has much greater learning potential.

When thinking about yoga in schools it might be helpful to know that poses can be divided into three categories regarding their main effects on the nervous system:

  • energizing poses (red – see arrow in pic below)
  • calming poses (blue)
  • neutral poses (yellow)

Poses can be sequenced to deliberately shoot for particular goals. For example, our Brain Break sequence was created to assist students in refocusing within their school day with the least number of poses necessary to accomplish the goal.

Brain Break Sequence includes:

  • Triangle – general movement lengthening and strengthening the entire body
  • Standing V – the inversion allows blood flow to the brain which may enhance mental functioning and forward bends calm the nervous system
  • Eagle – crosses the mid-line helping the two halves of the brain communicate through the corpus callosum (helping to coordinate skills being carried out in different parts of the brain).  Eagle also stimulates the vestibular system (balance), stimulating the brain for new learning
  • Sailboat – crosses the mid-line and twisting allows for additional release of tension

Note below: the color coding above each pose in the app screenshot: red, blue and yellow represent energizing, calming and neutral poses respectively.

Brain Break Sequence shown in Canvas. Press Play to begin video.

Brain Break Sequence shown in Canvas. Press Play to begin video.

 

The Jazz up My Brain sequence within the Sing Song Yoga App is a longer version at 22 minutes. Teachers can throw poses out or add poses within the app within the sequence canvas and make it work for each situation. Sequences you create can be saved and named.  And here’s another example of the app in use.

Thanks for stopping by! We intend to continue growing our posts dedicated to helping teachers enjoy the benefits of yoga in the classroom!

Until next time, Happy Teaching!

 

We would LOVE to hear from you – how you’re using yoga in schools or questions of how to begin.  We are on Twitter @singsongyoga  and Facebook  and really look forward to connecting!

#ssykidquestion green room

 

For more info:

Sing Song Yoga® kids’ yoga DVD

Sing Song Yoga® Kids’ Yoga App

Sing Song Yoga® school program

Sing Song Yoga® website

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 24th, 2015.
Posted in Benefits of Yoga, Education, Kid's Yoga Sequences, Sing Song Yoga, Yoga in Schools.
Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


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