Fall is here!!! Enjoy this Fall inspired yoga sequence perfect for kids and families.
Tag: kids
Moon Salutations for the Harvest Moon!
There is something so majestic and mysterious, so beautiful and captivating about the sight of a Full Moon! The Harvest Moon tonight is sure to be a lovely sight. If you are looking for a way to celebrate the Full Moon with the little ones in your life consider practicing a Moon Salutation together. There are many varieties of moon salute, but the one below is a great place to start with kids.
Before practicing, consider sitting in a comfortable position and asking your child to think of something they are excited to do in the coming fall season. Ask them to think about the changes that occur in nature through the cooler months. Encourage them to explore any emotions or feelings that come with the impending changes. Call to mind scents, sounds, and sights that they enjoy and expect through the month of October.
Read more about the moon’s meaning here.
Looking for more evening meditations? Check out this short evening meditation for families.
Namaste!
Let Your Light Shine Cloud and Rainbow Craft
One of the greatest things we can instill in our children is positive self-image and self-love. There is a difference between vanity and self-love and it is imperative for our children to know the importance of loving and valuing themselves for we cannot expect others to know our true value if we don’t know acknowledge it ourselves.
This simple craft is inspired by the way that brilliant rays of sunshine often peak out from behind the clouds. The cloud represents our physical bodies, and the rainbow rays represent the brilliant attributes that each of us have dwelling inside!
It is our responsibility and our privilege to help children not only identify these positive attributes, but also encourage them to express themselves and share their unique gifts and talents with the world.
Materials Needed
- White paper
- Various rainbow colored construction paper
- Markers
- Glue
Print or draw a cloud shape and cut it out of the white paper.
Have your child write their name in the center of their cloud.
Distribute strips of colored paper and have your child write something they love about themselves on each piece.
Glue the strips of paper to back of the cloud!
Use this project as an opportunity to discuss all of your child’s positive character traits!
Happy Crafting!
-Jillian
The Importance of Yoga for Children
Life is busy. As adults this is quite obvious. We spend our days rushing from destination to destination. The work/life balance is a tough one to maintain. Adults however are not the only ones who feel the stress and strain of a packed schedule. Children are just as susceptible to the negative effects of being stretched too thin.
It is is imperative that children be given the time and tools they need to decompress and refresh their minds and bodies.
My favorite thing about being a yoga teacher is the ability to connect with children. I am very much a child at heart and I love the exuberance and innocence often displayed by young minds. They are receptive, eager, inquisitive, creative and oh so funny! This photo is one that will be featured in my upcoming children’s book. My yoga kids light up my soul and bring such amazing energy to my studio space.
I recently read this excerpt in an article in yoga journal I thought it was so fitting and a beautiful way of describing the creative aspect of children’s yoga. “When yogis developed the asanas many thousands of years ago, they still lived close to the natural world and used animals and plants for inspiration—the sting of a scorpion, the grace of a swan, the grounded stature of a tree. When children imitate the movements and sounds of nature, they have a chance to get inside another being and imagine taking on its qualities. When they assume the pose of the lion (Simhasana) for example, they experience not only the power and behavior of the lion, but also their own sense of power: when to be aggressive, when to retreat. The physical movements introduce kids to yoga’s true meaning: union, expression, and honor for oneself and one’s part in the delicate web of life.”
If there are kids classes near you, I encourage you to check them out. If not, just get creative at home or use our Youtube videos for inspiration!
Happy Posing!
Make a Match!
I don’t know about you, but when school is out I am on the constant lookout to find ways to encourage summer learning that are just fun enough that my kids don’t even realize they are practicing the same skills they had been working on in school.
My daughter loves to read and just like her Mom, she will read anything she can get her hands on. We have plenty of flash cards and easy reader books that she can blow through in mere minutes but I have been looking for a way to continue her reading practice while having fun.
She loves to show off her yoga moves and she loves to play games. I came up with a simple memory match game that encourages her to think, read, and added bonus…. get active!
I created a set of cards. Each card has either a picture of a yoga pose or the name of the pose on the back. I laid them all out and had her try to make a match. Now we have like three of these games at home already. One is princess themed, one is shopkins, and the third is animals. While all of these encourage working on memory, none of them encourage physical activity or reading!
Every time she makes a match she has to hold the pose for 10 seconds. We kept our game small with only five poses. But you can always add others for a more challenging version the whole family will love!
This is a great activity for before dinner or bedtime, or any other time during the day when you just need something fun to do! We used ours during a thunderstorm.
Happy matching!
-Jillian
Jillian Amodio 