Mindful Mantis Pose

This morning when I opened up my living room curtains, I saw a Praying Mantis on my window. I grabbed my cell phone and snapped a picture as he was sitting there, perfectly still. When I came back through the living room 45 minutes later, he was still sitting in the same spot.

After observing him for a bit, I see why some of the symbolism of the praying mantis deals with stillness and patience. The mantis lives life at its own silent, unhurried pace. This is a good character trait to emulate- especially when we are busy,overwhelmed and can barely hear ourselves think -and to model and pass down to our students, children & grandchildren.

The Mindful Mantis pose is one I use often for children's yoga classes and seems to be a favorite, especially of the 7-10 year old boys. They are quick to point out that a Mantis is a fierce fighter and hunter, and I agree, adding that the mantis only hunts when necessary, reacts with force only when threatened & always is patient. A Mantis never makes a move or reacts until he is 100% positive that it is the right thing to do. In fact, in China, the mantis has long been honored for his mindful movements. In other cultures, the Mantis is a symbol of stilless, awareness, and intuition. I emphasize these traits and as an example for us all to quiet ourselves & think before we make a choice or react in a certain way, to a person or situation.

Children's Mantis Pose can be done either sitting or standing. The posture is physically good for releasing tension, improving spine flexibility and aiding digestion. When done slowly and deliberately, it teaches children to slow down and to be aware of how their body-and Life- is flowing, either with resistance or with precision.  

1. Begin Mantis Pose by standing tall with feet together. Bend elbows and place palms of hands together.
2. Inhale and begin to bend knees-then exhale and slowly twist to right side, exhaling with the movement, until the left elbow reaches the right knee. Hold for 1-3 breaths.
3. Slowly un-twist and straighten legs & spine until you come back to starting position.
4. Take one full breath (Inhale-exhale) in standing position.
5. Repeat the above steps to other side of body: twisting to left side and touching right elbow to left knee. Hold for 1-3 breaths.

6. Slowly come back to standing position and take one full breath.

This posture can modified and completed while seated in a chair , on a therapy ball, or on the floor. If your students are seated on the floor, be sure to have then sit on folded thick blankets, (with hips on front edge of blanket and feet on floor) to elevate the hips about 2-3 inches off the floor. This allows the hips to relax while the movement is being completed.

Be sure your students move slowly and deliberately, and breathe through the movement. The breathing and slow pace of this posture helps to train the nervous system to a relaxation response and helps keep students calm & focused.

If the student cannot yet touch opposite elbow to opposite knee, just have them go as far as is comfortable until the spine learns to relax more and a larger range of movement can be obtained.


Not sure how to adapt this or other postures for a student? Please contact me! barbara@bodylogique.com

Find more children's yoga poses here.

*See more photos of "Mindful Mantis" here.


* I am currently Working on my first children's book entitled "Mindful Mantis", due to be released sometime in 2013. Please stay tuned for updates and announcements and be sure to look at our "What's New" tab on this blog and our website.

In the meantime, we would be happy to see you connect with us on Facebook and Twitter .


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Summer Yoga Postures for Kids (Our 3 Favorites)

I love taking yoga outside in the summer. There is something so energizing about the sensation of grass against my bare feet & the sun slowly rising over the trees as I move & relax through each sequence in the morning air. When my daughter was little she would  be right next to me, in the evening after dinner, shadowing me for a little while, then running off to catch fireflies as the sun set.

Today's post shares our three favorite summer postures, (modeled by my daughter). Try them outside with your kids or in your office as you take a break from the computer. Remember to keep your breath moving as you try each one and you will find the posture easier to do. (When we hold our breath, we are not just holding breath. We are also holding on to muscle, mental and emotional tension. When we let breath flow, we allow relaxation, awareness, creative ideas, solutions to problems and calm to "come in" to our stressed bodies & brains.)

Seahorse Pose:



Seahorse Pose
Photo: B. Gini

Seahorse (more commonly known as 'Chair Pose') strengthens legs, (particularly thighs), ankles and lower back. Its a good posture for those with flat feet. This posture stimulates digestion, and also strengthens the breathing muscle (diaphragm) and the heart.

Stand with your feet hip width apart. Bend knees as if sitting down. Raise arms up as shown. Breathe in deeply to the count of four and out to the count of four. Remain in posture for 30 seconds to a minute. (You can adapt for children or beginners and have them stay in the pose for 3 breaths. Then increase to 5 breaths, 7 breaths, etc.) Imagine you are a seahorse swimming under the water. (You can vary the pose and strengthen feet by raising up & balancing on your toes while knees are bent. )

To come out of this pose straighten your knees and come back to a standing position with an inhalation, lifting through the arms. Exhale and release your arms to your sides. (Make this more challenging & increase thigh strength by placing & squeezing a ball, balloon or block between knees during the pose.)

Surfer's Pose:

Surfer's Pose
Photo: B. Gini

(More Commonly known as Warrior II) Strengthens the shoulders, lower spine, chest, inner thighs and hips. It also has been known to instill an overall feeling of confidence, improve energy level and increases stamina.

Begin by standing with feet about 3 feet apart (wider than hips.) Turn right foot in towards center about 45 degrees and left foot 90 degrees outward to the left. Stretch out arms and bring up to shoulder height. Keeping spine and trunk straight, turn head to look over left foot (the 90 degree one) and past fingers. Bend left knee so that shin is perpendicular to the ground.  Imagine that you are perfectly balanced as you surf towards the beach.

Stay in posture for 30 seconds to 1 minute or a pre-determined number of breaths. Inhale to come up. Reverse the feet and repeat for the same length of time to the opposite side.

Peace Pose:

Peace Pose
Photo: B. Gini

(Also known as Easy Pose) Improves overall posture and strengthens the trunk from the back down to the hips and pelvis. It is a calming posture and helps relax & recharge the brain and central nervous system.  When practiced regularly it can have a grounding effect on children, and can help improve concentration over longer periods of time.

To do this posture, fold a thick stable blanket several times as shown. Sit with hips to edge of blanket so that they are about 4-5 inches off the ground. (This takes pressure off the hips and makes it easier for children or adults with limited flexibility to sit in this position.) Criss-cross your shins, and slide each foot beneath the opposite knee as you bend knees and fold the legs in toward your torso. (Do not tuck feet in close to body. Leave them about 6-12 inches away from body.)  Relax legs. (You can use a pillow or folded blanket to support knees at first if posture is initially uncomfortable.)


Be sure to keep spine straight, as if the head was being lifted up by a hot air balloon, and bottom grounded to the blanket or floor. Hands on knees and always alternate the order in which the legs are crossed. Sit quietly and notice each part of your body, from your toes up to your head. Imagine that each breath comes in and out of that body part, relaxing and re-charging it.  (This posture can also be adapted to be done while seated in a chair with feet flat on floor and spine against back of chair.)


Do you have a favorite summer (traditional or non-traditional) posture or stretch? Tell us what it is in the comments below!


Find a downloadable version of this article to use in the classroon or at camp:
BodyLogique.com

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Questions?  please e-mail: barbara@bodylogique.com

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Snowmen At Night

One of the things I love about my work is the inspiring creative people I get to meet, talk with and learn from every day. We all share, use and adapt ideas to what our children or students are working on at the moment. I LOVE the creative ideas and inspirations I get back! I received an e-mail last week from one such inspiring, energetic teacher.

Her name is Margaret Ricciardone & she has been working with children since 2004. She is a yoga teacher at Ridgewood Montessori in Paramus, NJ.

Margaret has also provided yoga programs for several preschools in the Bergen County area, as well as storytime, art, and cooking classes for the Saddle River Cultural Center. It is her mission to share her love of yoga with children in a warm, fun, non-competitive environment.

As a new mother, she participated in "Mommy and me" yoga classes with her two boys and worked as a co-op mom in their preschool, making her realize that working with children is her heart's desire.

Storytelling is an integral part of Margaret's curriculum and the children use their imaginations & bodies to become an active participant in the story. Margaret wrote to me about one way she creativity engaged the children in the story of  "Snowmen At Night"  and it was so awesome that I wanted to share it with you here:


Hi Barbara,

Just have to tell you, it was a fun class yesterday. Thanks so much for your ideas. Here's what we did:
 We opened with the Namaste song from Storytime Yoga. Then we [warned our hands by rubbing] and woke up our eyes, turned on our ears to listen better, etc. We became sprinklers/fountains, watering the grass and it started to get cold and the water turned to snow. Then we were snowflakes gently falling, then became a blizzard and then freezing rain.

I asked them what they liked to do in the snow and that led of course to our "SNOW-GA Adventure"! (I used Music-'Wipeout' to take them through the activities they were telling me). We then became snowmen. Our snowmen slowly melted and we put them back together using happy baby pose and rolling up and down on our backs to form the snowballs. Then we rested with Snowball Breath by imagining a snowball in our bellies getting bigger and bigger until it was big enough to throw. On the exhale we threw them....and they pummeled me with snowballs!

After that, we dusted ourselves off and read "Snowmen At Night". The children then imagined what snowmen did  and  we played a game where we did what we thought our snowmen do at night... dancing around, sledding, skiiing, etc (to the music of "Squirrels in my Pants"!) When I stopped the music, they had to "freeze". I pretended to be shocked that the snowmen were not as I had left them, commenting on each snowman and sometimes trying to move their frozen limbs. They loved it!
For relaxation, we imagined we were snowmen melting in to the yoga mat. To wake back up again we rebuilt ourselves in our minds.

I was going to have them draw their snowmen, but we ran out of time. I'm saving the "Snowflake Dance" for next time. I used coffee filters to make them (using kids scissors that cut jagged/curvy lines) and they can take them home next week.

PS- I was thinking about "The Mitten" story. If you use a bed sheet as the mitten, when the kids are all in the middle, hand them (or they can grab) a piece of the edge and bring it to the middle and up to their chins to look like they're in a mitten. Then they can give a giant sneeze, jump up and let go of their end. The same for a yoga mat - after they roll up, they can 'sneeze' their way out of it.

Thanks again for all the inspiration/ideas. Yesterday was a blast and I can't wait for next week!

Talk to you soon,


Margaret
 

You don't have to be a very experienced "Yogi" to play & move with kids and teach them in this manner. You can find a qualified children's yoga teacher to present a program for you. In the meantime, you can just grab a book and look around for inspiration! Don't just read a story BE a story!

(Thank you so much Margaret for sharing your fantastic ideas with us! : )
 
To contact Margaret about classes or to read more about her you can find her bio  here at Storytime yoga (under "Find a teacher in NJ"):  http://www.storytimeyoga.com/teacher_mRicciardone.html

To order a copy of "Snowmen At Night" click the link.




Contact: barbara@bodylogique.com

Giraffe Pose

In yoga, the poses teach us something about the world outside of us as well as the world inside of us. Each pose has an intrinsic nature that can give us clues & insight  about our own natures.

For children, this can be a wonderful opportunity to explore the way their bodies move compared to the animals, or to trees, or to geometric shapes. It is a fun journey into their colorful imaginations that will gradually become their ability to 'see' what is going on inside themselves in times of triumph & joy or in times of stress & unhappiness.


The giraffe is a majestic creature & the tallest walking mammal on Earth. Ancient Savannah Tribes beleived that the Totem or Life Lesson of Giraffe was strongly associated with intuition. Its height represents the connection between the earth & spiritual realms & also a far-reaching view (vision). For this reason the giraffe can also be embraced as a symbol of future planning or goal setting.

I first met Giraffe last spring-early one Saturday Morning. He was walking across the hotel room in NY City,tall & graceful, saying "I'm A Giraffe... (No. I was not in dream time nor was I out drinking. I had been attending a Karma Kid's Yoga Training with my former business partner. Strange and wonderful things happen when you attend Yoga workshops with Shari & her staff (photo at right) at KKY!!)  Giraffe stayed with me for a while & has become somewhat of a mascot for the endeavor I had been undertaking last year and a favorite among the children I teach. I had gotten very curious about giraffe, as he kept showing up everywhere I looked: art, literature, the news, etc. and I figured that he was trying to tell me something.

So ever since then I have shown the children  (& the grownups) how to embrace their own "Inner Giraffe".


Here are some ways you can be like a Giraffe in your everyday life:


Step 1

The throat in general represents communication. The giraffe itself makes sounds undetectable to the human ears. When giraffe symbolism appears in your dreams, (or in waking life) take it as a reminder to become heard. Be a better communicator, when speaking as well as listening. Use words confidently& choose those that empower rather than undermine. Really begin to listen and absorb what is being said (and not said) to you. You'd be surprised at and interested in what you hear!

Step 2                                                       

The giraffe's long neck also represents the idea of "sticking your neck out". Tribe elders beleived that this was as way to retrieve higher knowledge & visionaries would draw from giraffe energies during their vision quests to help open up their third eye during meditation. Giraffe symbolism reminds us to stand tall, stick our neck out & seek out higher truths about ourselves,our community & the world around us.



Step 3

Giraffes live in herds and depend on its community for protection and survival. The family oriented giraffe teaches us the importance of family connectedness & strength of community for overall well being. Find ways to reconnect with family or old friends. You can also feel renewed & empowered with new friendships or "families" by volunteering for community projects. Strive to be one who people can "look up to."


Step 4

Giraffe is a symbol of the connection between the earth and spiritual realms. Look into ways to deepen your understanding & experiences. This could be as simple as taking a walk in nature, and feeling the connection with the Earth and all it has to show us!

 
 

 
 

Physically, Giraffe Pose will help children strengthen abdominal muscles which will improve posture & balance; it will help loosen hips and lower back, strengthen the upper legs and arms, open the chest allowing the child to feel more confident!



(Lauren doing "Giraffe Walk" at left)

 

To see more animal yoga poses & games  for kids visit us at : bodylogique.com









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