Posts Tagged ‘yoga for kids’


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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Kids Yoga Classes in Zeeland

As school begins for kids over the next few weeks remember to provide them with times to reconnect by deliberately quieting their outside world. Kids’ Yoga is a great way to provide the time and space to do just that… and so much more.

We’d love to have you join us for any or all of our five-week sessions!

Zeeland Rec schedule 15-16

 

Zeeland Recreation Registration Methods

1. Online at: http://recreation.zps.org

2. In person, mail or drop-box: 320 East Main,Zeeland, Michigan 49464

3. Phone: 616.748.3230

4. Fax: 616.748.3234

Visa, MasterCard, Discover, checks and cash accepted. Checks made payable to: Zeeland Recreation.

Office Hours: Monday-Thursday, 8:00am-4:30pm, Friday, 8:00am-4:00pm


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 Wednesday, August 19th, 2015.
Posted in Sing Song Yoga.
Tagged: , , , , , , ,


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…

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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.

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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.
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6 Reasons I Want My Kids to Learn Through the Arts in Schools

Schools are changing, by necessity and through driven educators, but is happening  s – l – o – o – o – w – l – y!  I’m really itching to see changes occur at a much faster pace at this point in my life! My own children are at an age where I’m incessantly looking for something significantly different. I continuously explore the variety of alternatives available. This post will discuss learning through The Arts in schools — not as a side activity, but actually using the arts as the method to teach. Teaching math, reading, writing, science, social studies, etc. through music, movement, drawing, theater, poetry, etc.

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Learning the arts through a specialist is critical to learn each “art” in greater depth. At the same time learning our content through the arts allows us to deepen our learning of all subjects!

Will teaching through the arts fix everything that is missing in education? It’s not likely. But it can vastly improve the experience and results for kids and our communities. According to Linda Crawford in her book Lively Learning: Using the arts to teach the K-8 Curriculum, there are 6 powerful reasons for integrating the arts into the daily curriculum and I will explore each of these below.

1. The arts make the content more accessible

The idea of teaching the school curriculum through the arts to make content more accessible seems to be the most obvious reason for making it a part of our classroom. The arts are able to reach all different types of learners simply because the arts in and of themselves have stemmed from our human desires over the centuries. We weren’t told we had to dance or draw, we were simply given the materials to explore them naturally. We weren’t forced to tell stories or listen to others tell stories, we were just naturally drawn to doing so. In using the arts, drawing might provide students with a jumpstart to writing or math. Students who learn most powerfully through their bodies, kinesthetic learners, might first act out a fairy tale or a story problem to better access a deeper understanding of each. When a teacher provides the opportunity to use the arts within the content area it not only reaches more students’ learning styles but it also enhances the depth of learning for each individual student. It provides them the opportunity to explore through a wider range of experiences. This not only engages more of the brain for easier learning, but it allows students to discover naturally their own strengths and most powerful interests, thus leading to more powerful learning and growth.

2. The arts encourage joyful, active learning

If I were to ask you to remember some of your most joyful learning in elementary school, you’re likely able to easily remember some. When our learning is connected with joyful authentic purposes, it literally changes the chemistry of the brain and has the potential to open up the gateway to our long-term memory. Emotions are powerfully connected to our learning.  Learning in a drab, emotionally-devoid environment takes so much more work and energy as compared to learning in a joyful way. It would seem obvious to most that integrating the capacity of the arts, including the positive emotions often elicited through them, provides greater opportunity for learning and growth.

3. The arts help students make and express personal connections to content

When I meet someone and learn their name I do my best to remember it – at least for the time period that I’ll be spending with them.  I have found over time that if I make a connection (relate it to something I know) right away I’m more likely to remember. If her name is Mary, I connect it to my sister, etc. If it’s a name I’ve never heard of, I connect the parts of the name to something familiar.  Last week I met a guy named Artiaysa (ART-I-ESSA). It took me a moment, but I made three connections to remember it. “Art”, of course. “Eye” in the middle and my niece Tessa for the end.  Making connections from the know to the unknown is necessary for learning.

If I was in the classroom and learning new vocabulary, I could draw a simple sketch of the parts of the words. Students could also use poetry, songs, theater/videography to make and express these personal connections to these new words and to their understandings of each. If I can connect it to my life, I can remember it.  Additionally if it interests me, it adds extra potential for greater depth of understanding. The arts can add to the interest level of subject matter simply by providing additional avenues for expression of the new concepts. If I have the chance to write a song about photosynthesis, for example, it instantly ups my interest level.

4. The arts help children understand and express abstract concepts

Abstract ideas are those that need to be visualized or imagined as they cannot be illustrated through concrete examples. Learning letters and their sounds is an abstract concept for children. But teaching the alphabet through the arts naturally allows for a deeper level of understanding and use/expression of the letters… aka reading.

One example of using the arts to learn the alphabet is using music, movement and sounds along with the visible letter to transform the abstract shape  of the letters to a more concrete understanding. As students repeatedly connect the abstract letters to the concrete experiences they gradually move toward reading… turning those abstract letters and sounds into words and sentences with real meaning.

5. The arts stimulate higher-level thinking

According to Linda Crawford, in the above mentioned book, there are three kinds of thinking we want to encourage in our kids: attending, discerning, and inventing. She says that attending and discerning are more analytical skills, but inventing takes students a step further to building upon what they’ve learned to make new meaning. This, she says, required imaginative understanding.

The arts are a natural way to encourage all three types of learning within our classroom. They can help children move from a more-in-depth understanding of the world as it is, as well as encourage children to imagine the possibilities of what it can be.

6. The arts build community and help children develop collaborative work skills

The benefits of integrating the arts into the content areas is multiplied when students work together to create and learn. When we work in a creative manner and throughly enjoy the process and the final product, the depth of learning and experience is enhanced dramatically. In my kindergarten classroom one simple collaborative creative activity is making up movements to our songs. The movement, music, fun, and collaboration combined work beautifully together to help the children not only remember the song lyrics more easily, but also provides a deeper understanding of the subject matter being shared within the song lyrics.

Learning the arts through a specialist is critical to learn each “art” in greater depth. lively learning through the artsAt the same time learning our content through the arts allows us to deepen our learning of all subjects! Our children greatly benefit from both! So let’s work together as educators to begin giving the arts a try within our curriculum in addition to the critical learning that occurs through the specific arts classes with a specialist. Thank you to Linda Crawford for sharing the basis for this post in her book Lively Learning: Using the Arts to Teach the K-8 Curriculum. And if you’re interested in giving it a shot, this book is a nice resource.


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.

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?”

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 Friday, April 17th, 2015.
Posted in Education, Parenting, Yoga in Schools.
Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , ,


Crossing the Midline and Kids Yoga

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Do you ever wonder why small children seem to lack coordination and tend to perform tasks slowly and somewhat clumsily? This is due to the fact that they are in the process of building neural networks –  “roads” – in the brain.

You have likely heard of the terms cross-lateral movements or crossing the midline.  The midlines are invisible lines dividing the body in half. When a leg or an arm from one half of the body crosses over to the other half of the body this is crossing the midline. This helps the brain communicate in greater depth by connecting both halves of the brain via the network of fibers, called the corpus callosum. This integration of the two sides of the brain determines the speed, flexibility, adaptability and depth of the brain’s thinking. When children are allowed to play freely over the years of childhood, they naturally cross these midlines just by being kids and playing in limitless ways.

Sometimes, however, children will show up to school without having had many of the necessary experiences for this to have occurred with the necessary repetition. When the midlines aren’t fully developed, cross-lateral movements might feel unnatural to a child. Educational researchers, educators, occupational and physical therapists have come up with activities to attempt to make up for lost time, so to speak.  By getting children to move in specific ways within deliberate activities it can make midline crossing a regular occurrence to help achieve the repetition necessary to help build these roads in the brain. The handout below says “Think of it as doubling up on the brain’s processing speed and power as it draws on the strengths of both the left and right sides to create ‘whole-brain’ thinking.” Authors of A Moving Child is a Learning Child say that crossing the midline not only streamlines movement, it supersizes those superhighways across the corpus callosum. As such it plays a critical role in preparing children’s brains for formal learning.

Kids’ yoga is one of the many activites that can provide cross-lateral experiences for children. And if done regularly, along with other rhythm and movement activities, it might assist in building the brain for optimal development.

The handout below explains midlines in a new way for me. Prior to this learning I only divided the body in two halves, the left and right.  But this author divides the body in two additional directions: the top and bottom and the front and back, thus making it midlines – plural. This opens the doorway to many more physical movements meeting the requirements of cross-lateral movements and is worth exploring further. I always love learning new things!

For some occupational therapy activities for crossing the midline see OT Mom Learning Activities.

Thank you to Free Spirit Publishing and authors of A Moving Child is a Learning Child, Gill Connell and Cheryl McCarthy, for allowing me to share this handout through Learners’ Edge.

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Related Posts:

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.

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?”

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 Monday, March 30th, 2015.
Posted in Benefits of Yoga, Education, Parenting, Yoga in Schools.
Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


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