Hello to all Little Lotus Enthusiasts! I wanted to share with all our class design as I have many inquiries into our class design and what is incorporated into children’s yoga classes. The famous questions is always- How do you do yoga with 2 year olds!?
Tune In
We always begin with a tuning in to the class. The little ones enjoy sharing their OM’s!
Sharing & Caring
This is a special time when the children are invited to share anything special that is happening in their lives and share how their heart feels. For the little one’s we usually hear MY HEART IS HAPPY today! I find the 6-12 year old yogi’s and yogini’s enjoy the supportive atmosphere to possibly share any areas of stress they had in their day (ie: test, disagreement with friend, sister, etc.)
Pranayama
Pranayama is the control of life force, which is our breath. Little Lotus 2-5 year olds share in balloon breathing, begin to understand that they can create breathe through noise and mouth, etc. Little Lotus 6-12 year olds begin alternate nostril breathing, deep abdominal breathing, cooling breath and others!
Asana
This is our posture practice time. Little Lotus 2-5 year olds enjoy imitating animals in various yoga asana (postures), including dogs, frogs, whales, cats, cows and more! Little Lotus 6-12 year olds may begin Sun Salutations and vinyasa flows (flowing movements from one posture to another) and more advanced postures.
Yoga off the Mat
This is an opportunity for participants to grow in an environmentally friendly and “green living” way. We share, talk about & design crafts about recycling, protecting trees and our responsibility to maintaining a safe and clean Earth. Younger yogi’s and yogini’s may share thoughts through various colouring in their journals, with older yogi’s and yogini’s sharing thoughts and emotions through pictures and written entries in their journals.
Relaxation
Students are encouraged to relax into savasana (corpse pose / starfish) for a final relaxation at the end of class. Story meditations are sometimes shared. Little Lotus 6-12 year old participants may also use this time to meditate on a positive thought (ie: I am brave, I share with others) they have chosen. Our class ends in a creative circle creating peace and serenity, sharing another round of OM’s and special good-bye’s until the following class!
We love to hear what you enjoy the most in any children’s or family yoga classes you have participated in. Feel free to share! Or, let us know what your little yogi likes to come home from class and share with you 🙂
Namaste ~Amanda
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