Yoga for Kids (7-12 years)

Thursday, 4:00-4:40pm
NEW PRICE $20.00 per month
(bring your own mat)

Our kid’s class is still enrolling! Tuition has been discounted to $20 per month. Call 491-0825 to sign up now.

Prenatal Yoga
NEW CLASS
(For Pregnant & Recently Pregnant Moms)

Tuesdays, 7:00-8:00pm
Begins January 6th
$20.00 per month

Take some time to take care of yourself. Come enjoy our soothing prenatal yoga class. This class is designed to relax and rejuvenate, relieve stress, and teach relaxation and breathing in preparation for birth and to recover from birth. Maintain or regain your physical fitness while bonding with your beautiful baby. New moms are welcome to bring babies (up to 1 year old).

As a singer and voice teacher, I have always been interested in the power of the voice. Vocalization was one of my most powerful tools during my labors to help me deal with the pain of childbirth. I found an interesting article on www.myyogaonline.com about this subject.

BENEFITS OF VOCAL TONING:

• open throat = open birth canal
• increases the length and depth of the exhalations
• sound vibrations also carry tension out of the body
• relaxing
• the sound helps calm and focus mind and body
• helpful tool to cope with labor contractions
• helps to let go of anxiety
• creates a sound of familiarity/continuity (and therefore reassurance) for your baby
• it is also a powerful breathing exercise

HOW TO TONE

Always tone from a soft throat and the sensation of an open throat tone for the entire length of the exhale, always following a deep inhalation low vibrations help to resonate the lower body, higher vibrations help resonate the upper body during labor, tone for the full length of the contraction if you are un-able to intake a deep breath during labor, try layering the breath in 2 or 3 short inhales, and then tone for the full length of the exhale/contraction.

Go with your intuitive sound. If “owww” is what works, go with it. There is no wrong or right sound.

PRACTICE

Start experimenting with different sounds. An easy one to start with is : ” ahhhhhhhhh”. Practice “mmmmmmm” The try all the vowel sounds “a e i o u” noticing what those different sounds feel like as you vocalize them. Everybody gravitates to their own personal sound. There is no wrong or right sound. Feel free to combine sounds, or even use a word.

PRACTICE WHILE PREGNANT! Your baby will listen! You are creating a comforting sound for baby.

PRACTICE WITH YOUR BIRTH PARTNER! So that they can help match your rhythm during labor,

and so that they know what to expect. Their voice can add a powerful support for your momentum during labor.

PRACTICE IN THE SHOWER, THE CAR, WHILE DOING DISHES, WHILE LYING IN BED……

DO NOT ALLOW ANY ONE TO TELL YOU TO “SHHHHHH” OR BE QUIET DURING LABOR. If this is suggested to you, request that this person leave the room. You are the one in charge of your labor, and ultimately, the birth. Be Empowered to know your voice can be spoken.

ENJOY, RELAX, FIND RHYTHM IN THIS RITUAL

Read more at My Yoga Online.

I’m having a Yin-Yang struggle today. I want to be practicing my new favorite pose, Blogasana, where I sit cross legged on a firm chair, inhaling and exhaling while gazing serenely at my monitor, as my fingers tap-tap-tap on the keyboard. It is such a relaxing (physically lazy), yet energizing (fun) pose. My mind fills with ideas, even as my wrists start to feel a little tingly and my head aches from the glare of the screen.

Instead, today I am going to practice my most difficult, exhausting, frustrating, and important pose, Mamasana. It is actually a series of poses that begins early in the morning as I stretch my sleep deprived body out of a warm bed to lift my crying two year old out of his crib. I tighten the muscles of my upper body into a big good-morning hug and breathe in deeply to inhale the scent of his shaggy hair. I engage the muscles of my diaphragm to yell at my four-year-old to turn off Sesame Street and come eat breakfast.

The real warm-up begins as I wrestle my boys into their clothes and shoes. I fight back annoyance at the sounds of fussing and fighting, focusing instead on the rhythm of my breath. Too frequently, I lose my concentration and my balance, and crash headlong into cranky-mamasana. I have to remember to breathe, to hold my center.

I root myself down into the floor as the boys jump on top of me and each other, stretching my arms wide to grab the wrists of my little runaways. The next hours are spent in a blur of tantrum-tamingasana, making-lunchasana, cleaning-up-messasana, wiping-nosesasana, changing-diaperasana, and various other advanced mommy poses.

After dinner I bend into a deep squat, contemplating the enormous mess of spaghetti which is carpeting my kitchen floor. Fatigue is setting in, and I wonder if I can find the energy to make it through the last chapter of my day. My boys run in endless circles around our couch, crashing into each other, alternately laughing and crying hysterically. I curl up into child’s pose on the living room floor and let the kids jump over me or climb on top of me, competing for my attention. We play Superman for a good 20 minutes, each boy taking turns flying while balanced on my feet, arms outstretched, chanting “to infinity and beyond!” over and over. Once we are all exhausted, we gather together in meditation, giving thanks for the day we spent together. Then, after both my boys have finally surrendered to total relaxation, I lay comatose on the couch for a few minutes, letting my mind clear, undoing the stress of the day. I am completely worn out and burned out. But, in the back of my mind, I know that I accomplished something amazing. I raised my boys for another day. Tomorrow I’ll do it all again, breathing in and out, feeling gratitude for the chance I have to stretch and reach and grow and balance and change.

I have been looking for a comprehensive article on prenatal yoga practice, and I found a great one, with lots of pregnancy-safe poses, and clear descriptions and photos of each posture. I think yoga is one of the best ways for a pre- or post-natal mommy to keep in touch with her changing body. The important thing is to be accepting and non-judgmental of yourself as you gain weight and change shape. You’ll find you are more flexible during pregnancy, so don’t overstretch, but enjoy that openness in your joints and muscles.

Benefits of practicing yoga during pregnancy

Yoga relies heavily on breathing techniques to make the exercise fruitful. Exhale and inhaling deeply provides oxygen to the whole body, something we desperately need during pregnancy. The fetus stands to gain the benefit of this charged blood pumping in. While doing the exercise, breathing and moving the body sets the pace, and each is incomplete without the other. The results of this coordinated activity are phenomenal.

Yoga exercises also help in pre and postnatal depression, basically by relaxing the mind and putting a lot of fears at rest. The primary advantage of practicing Yoga is that the essential breathing exercises provide a mental calmness to the would-be Mom. This peace descends to her baby, and also helps her to take the crucial time of childbirth in her stride.

Physically speaking, the mild yogic exercises help maintain muscle tone, especially for the back and pelvic muscles that take such a tremendous beating during the nine months of pregnancy and about a year thereafter, till the baby is a toddler.

Yoga Nidra (Yogic Sleep) also relaxes the mind and body to such an extent that in many cases it even helps during the trauma of childbirth. The gentle toning and stretching exercises do wonders for preparing the body for caring the baby as well a delivering it.

Read more at Fitness Articles: Practicing Yoga during pregnancy.

This demanding pose strengthens the entire upper body, particularly the pectorals, shoulders and upper back, triceps, wrists, and the abdominal muscles. It is vital that you lift and lock your abs towards your spine, or you will have a saggy plank that stresses the shoulders and lower back.

Begin on your hands and knees, with your back long and straight, and your head in line with your spine. Stack your shoulders directly on top of your wrists, and spread your fingers wide. Step your feet back until you are balancing on your toes and hands in a push-up position. Send energy out through your heels and the top of your head, stretching your body in opposing directions. Press the floor away by rooting down through your hands and contracting your upper arms in towards each other.  You should be in one long, diagonal line from the top of your head through your shoulders and hips and out through your legs. Don’t let your shoulders hunch up by your ears; keep your neck long and free. Make sure your hips are level with your shoulders,  then squeeze your abs in and up to stabilize you in the pose. Hold for at least 5 – 10 deep breaths, in and out through the nose. Drop your knees and curl into child’s pose.

If practicing Plank with your child, do not expect perfect form. This is a very difficult pose for young bodies with limited arm and chest strength. They will probably only be able to hold the pose briefly, and that is okay. Encourage them to straighten their backs and arms. You can spot them in the pose by helping them lift their hips into alignment. Direct them to imagine that they are like a long, straight slide at the park. You can even get their favorite stuffed animal and have it “ride” down the slide from their heads to their feet!

Is your child stressed out at school? Not getting enough exercise, or having trouble focusing on tasks? Yoga is a fun way to help kids relax, focus, and deal with stressful situations. They won’t even know they’re exercising!

Call 491-0825 for info about Kids Yoga classes at Hobble Creek Learning Center. It’s not too late to register! Cost is $20 per month. Visit my facebook page for information about the classes.

Here is a gentle pose which engages the muscles of the lower back and core, and prepares you for a deeper backbend.

Lay face down on your mat. Inhale and place your hands lightly on either side of your ribcage. On an exhale, use the muscles of your back to lift your head and chest slightly off the floor. Lengthen through your spine, squeezing your shoulder blades firmly together to open your chest. Press your shoulders away form your ears and maintain length through the back of the neck, not allowing your head to drop back. Keep it in line with your spine! There should be no weight in your hands; they are simply resting on the floor for support.

For a deeper backbend, exhale completely as you press your weight down into your palms and straighten your arms to lift your chest and belly off the mat.  Contract your abdominal muscles to protect your lower back! Inhale and squeeze the inner thighs together while pressing your shoulders downwards towards the floor. Do not slump your shoulders up by your ears. Exhale and drop the belly and chest back to the floor, releasing into child’s pose for several deep breaths.

Children love this pose! They can hiss like a snake, or pretend to be a seal or a sea lion. Encourage them to make animal noises, and ask questions to help them use their imaginations. What other poses can a snake do? Can they slither on their tummies? What about a rattle snake? How would you move if you didn’t have any arms?

It’s not too late to sign up for Yoga classes at Hobble Creek Learning Center! Tuition is $20 monthly. Call 491-0825 to register.

Yoga Together: for moms and kids ages 3-6 Tues. or Thurs. from 12:00-12:40

Yoga Kids: for kids ages 7-12 Thurs. from 4:00-4:40

Here are some great yoga games by Kelly McGonigal from her site, openmindbody.com

Yoga Game 1: Name this Pose

Intention: To encourage students to playfully reflect on their experience in a pose.

Directions: Have students come into a familiar pose. Invite students to observe how they feel in the pose, and what thoughts and images come into the mind as they hold the pose. Tell students to “name” the pose, based on their experience. I invite students to shout out the name and then enter a resting/neutral pose. For example, I used this game for utkatasana, and the names students came up with ranged from “legs tired pose!” to “flame exploding pose”. After they shouted out their name, students rested in uttanasana.

Yoga Game 2: Pose this Name

Intention: To encourage students to follow their intuition in their yoga practice.

Directions: Have students close their eyes. Make up a name for a yoga pose, and invite students to practice that pose. Tell them that the pose doesn’t exist – until they create it. I tell students not to think to hard about it; follow their first instinct or response to the name of the pose. This will be their intuition telling them what their body needs at this point in the practice. In a recent class, I used these names to inspire made-up yoga poses: “spider pose”, “waterfall pose”, “happy pose”, and “take a really deep breath pose”.

Yoga Game 3: Opposites

Intention: To encourage students to follow their intuition in their yoga practice, and explore the sensations and actions of specific yoga poses.

Directions: Talk students through a pose of your choice. Then, ask them to practice the “opposite” pose. Don’t tell them what the opposite pose is – invite them to practice any pose that seems, to them, to have some quality of “opposite”. I love watching students playing this game – they intuitively respond to many qualities of a yoga pose. Some come up with a natural counterpose, some flip a pose upside down, some turn an active pose into a supported pose, or vice versa. Some focus on the emotional/energetic aspects of a pose, and some focus on the physical actions of a pose. I usually run through 5 or so poses like this.

This energizing pose brings fresh blood to the brain, helping you to focus and clear your head. It requires strength and flexibility in both the upper and lower body, toning and lengthening your achilles tendons, calves, and hamstrings, while opening through the chest and armpits. It strengthens the wrists, forearms, and triceps, and builds a strong core as you lock your abdominal muscles to your spine.

Begin in child’s pose, with your hips resting on your heels and your arms stretched out in front of you. Spread your fingers wide on the mat and curl your toes under. Press down through your palms while lifting your sitting bones up to the ceiling. Bring your navel strongly toward your spine and flatten out your lower back. Keeping a soft bend in the knees, make sure your feet are about hip distance apart, with your toes pointing straight ahead toward the front of your mat. As your hamstrings become longer, you can work towards bringing your heels flat on the floor. Let go of all tension in the head and neck, while pressing your shoulders away from your ears.

Kids love the feeling of being upside-down. Use this pose when your child is acting hyper or overstimulated to help redirect his energy in a positive way. Inversions of all kinds are particularly beneficial for children with ADHD.

When teaching Down Dog to your child, demonstrate the pose and tell her to make a triangle shape with her body. It doesn’t need to be perfect, it just needs to feel good and be comfortable for the child. Together you can try lifting one leg up toward the sky, or walking back and forth in your triangle shapes. Encourage them to think of other things that are shaped like a triangle. Are they a mountain, or a tall Pyramid, or the sails of a boat? After holding the pose for a few breaths, drop down into child’s pose (see previous post) and relax!