We’ve had a great time sharing 10-15 minute practices for children and teens live with Yoga International. We check in with our bodies and minds, move with power and purpose, connect with our breath, and have some fun. We’ve finished up our livestream series for now, but you can check out the past week’s practices… Read more »
I loved talking with Kathryn Ashworth of Yoga International for this article exploring children’s yoga and offering practical advice and encouragement. Check out the full article below and let me know what you think! “there are a lot of things to keep in mind as a kids’ yoga teacher, but as you continue on this path,… Read more »
A few years ago I decided to take on a position as a full-time Yoga Specialist at a charter school. I was ecstatic about the groundbreaking experience that lay ahead. It is also fair to say that I was totally naïve and in over my head regarding the enormous tasks that lay ahead: Design a year-long yoga… Read more »
The Kind Wishes activity is a child-friendly version of a lovingkindness practice, a type of meditation that can help develop compassion for others, and crucially for the self. In a traditional adult lovingkindness practice, kind thoughts would be sent to the self, to people close to you, to people you feel neutral about, and to… Read more »
As a high school teacher in the Bronx for 14 years I got to meet and deeply know a lot of teens. Having those relationships taught me a lot about what makes adolescents tick. I saw that the way adults view teens impacts the way teens see themselves, and ultimately the lives they think they… Read more »
The peace corner is a powerful and touching space in the classroom that supports self regulation. It’s private. It’s structured. It includes choice. It’s an experiment. It’s inviting. It’s a movement toward independence onto the mat (or the desk or the rug spot) and ultimately into everyday life. It’s called the “peace corner” because there… Read more »
With the increase of ADHD, behavioral disorders, child stress and anxiety, relaxation is becoming more and more important for children of all ages. With so much going on in their lives, children need to find time to simply unwind, put their feet up, and have some quiet reflective time where nothing is being asked of… Read more »
Anchor breath is one of my favorite practices to teach my students. Anchor breath is the practice of using your breath to help focus your mind on one point. The instructions are to place your hand where you most feel the breath in your body. I offer three options: on your belly, on your chest,… Read more »
Life comes with a lot of challenges. Sometimes these challenges can lead to frustration. I find one of my most effective ways to empower the children I work with is to give them tools that help them navigate big emotional experiences, like frustration. What triggers frustration can be different for each individual. Some examples of triggers… Read more »
This mindful listening practice asks your children and students to explore what they can hear around them in an intentional way. Our hearing is so sensitive. All of the sounds around us are competing for our attention all of the time. Learning to attune our hearing to the sounds that are most important at the moment… Read more »
CLICK HERE FOR ENLARGED VERSION OF RESEARCH POSTER Database Coding and Interpretation: April 20, 2014, Colin Pearsall Social emotional learning (SEL) theory posits that a child’s capacity for self-understanding and self-regulation is a gateway to achieving personal goals and participating in the community. This research takes the reporting of SYP yoga teachers and interprets… Read more »
by Mayuri Gonzalez, The School Yoga Project Director and Little Flower Yoga Teacher Trainer Chair yoga is beneficial for teachers to practice during their long stretches of desk-time and for students, who spend hours sitting in their desks without many opportunities for physical activity breaks. Practicing yoga in the chair is a simple way… Read more »
The efficacy of yoga and other mindfulness practices are supported by thousands of years of tradition. Now, science is confirming the benefits for kids, too. (exceprt from Little Flower Yoga for Kids) Yoga and other mindfulness practices have been the subject of an increasing amount of research as they have become more popular in the… Read more »
We often ask our children to pay attention. Pay attention to your school work, pay attention to your father, pay attention to your teacher. But we don’t always have a clear idea of what we are actually asking of them. When we ask our children to pay attention, what we really mean is something along… Read more »