Back to School With Mini Me Yoga
For many children around the world it’s the start of the school term at some point this week. It could be that they are starting a new school, their first time at ‘big school’ starting nursery or preschool, or going into a new school year with more emphasis on the social pressure that comes with getting older.
Whatever the situation, we can safely say that CHANGE is often feared and put off, rather than embraced. I had to think long and hard about this when deciding to write about kids yoga and how it can be used in this scenario. I hadn’t really expected it to be about change but that is what I felt it all boiled down to.. and if we look at that process and how we deal with it, we can see the patterns on how we treat change as we get older and into adulthood.
Lets face it- we could write a whole paper on change and the effects but really what we want to know, is how not to pass down our emotions to our children in this time of transition.
“That’s easier said than done” I hear some of you saying .. yes for sure. Letting your little ones go to school or big school can often be as daunting for the parents as it is for the children! Children finding their place in society and being accepted, can bring back emotions that we experienced, sometimes we are not even aware of that happening. Of course we all put a brave face on, it and smile and clap and get excited seeing them in their new outfits or uniforms; but you see kids are clever, they know, they know what we are feeling deep down and they pick up on the smallest things that most adults wouldn’t give a second glance. How do I know this ? Because kids behave in a way that they observe from adults. They rarely do as they are ‘told’, as in spoken to, because they use all 5 of their senses to access what is happening. As they get older of course they shut this down, and become like us adults just using a very small part of 2 perhaps 3 senses if we are lucky.
So we need to be fully aware that we are helping children in this time of change and transition by doing what we know works best .. yes you got it .. HAVING FUN ! There is NO BETTER method than bringing Joy, laughter and fun to ward off any jitters or nerves.. its like a bomb (a good one that is ) and obliterates all those fears, apprehensions, nerves, worries right out of the water!
So first thing is first get your Mini Me Yoga Magick yoga cards out and start doing the 15 minute program each morning. If you don’t know the 15 minutes to happy healthy kids .. fear not here are two very simple ways you can bring fun into your life through kids yoga..
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Shake of your sillies
I love this game to get us in the mood and release frustrations as well as it being so funny!
So do you know here your right hand is?
Children hold up right hand.
Well done!
Give everyone a wave and let’s look each other in the eye and say hello. (Smile as you do this.)
Well done! I wonder can anyone count to 5? 1,2,3,4,5
Yes! Great! I wonder can we try and count from 5 backwards? Shall we give it a go?
Shaking the right hand and arm as you count, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 (With each count shake that arm as much as you can – shake all the negative energy off.)
Now, let’s try the left hand.
Repeat as above: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Now the right leg: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Now the left leg: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Now back to the right arm, this time starting at 4: 4, 3, 2, 1
and now the left arm: 4, 3, 2, 1 and now the right leg: 4, 3, 2, 1 and now the left leg: 4, 3, 2, 1
Now the right arm (get quicker as you go) 3, 2, 1 now the left arm, now the right leg, and now the left leg
Right arm 2, 1 left arm 2, 1 right leg 2, 1 left leg 2, 1
Right arm 1, left arm 1, right leg 1, left leg 1. (This should be really quick.)
Then go crazy, wave your arms and legs, stick your tongue out and make a silly noise!
Really let go, really go crazy so that the children can go crazy too, they will follow your lead. What you are doing gives them permission. You should all be out of breath and smiling lots by n
Game 2 … Yoga Freeze
Choose music that is fun for your children. Older children will need music which they think is cool.
‘When you hear the music, I want you to dance as crazy as you can around the room. When the music stops, I want you to freeze!
Then, choose a card/pose, then do that pose.
here are two poses to get you going from our Explorers Club Cards ..
The key thing to remember is in in doubt have FUN and your child will always associate change with the fun, exciting times they shared with you as well as helping them to feel good about the change that is happening right now.
As always much love from Mini Me Yoga
Kate Bartram Brown