It was a lot of fun teaching to the kids at an after-school Storytime Yoga program at the Estes Park Public Library in Colorado. I had the kids shake out their bodies first, after all, they have been at school or something all day. Need a little bit of what I call, “Controlled Chaos.”
Then Lalita the puppet opened things up, set the rules so that nobody hurts themselves moving, and she also introduced the theme of Love for Valentine’s Day. Since February is also poetry month, we used nonsense poetry to warm up our bodies by gently tapping the body all around and waking it up. Mr. Bones taught about healthy eating and drinking water. We talked about heathy snacks.
We did the Valentine Warm up, above, and then moved into the American folk tale of the Most Beautiful Heart. We reenacted the story with warrior poses for the characters, as well as heart opening poses. Then I did a little puja, which was tricky because kids were a little more high energy and it was difficult to arrange them into two circles, get them with a partner. So no sweat, i just paired kids up and they did exercises of bowing to each other, changing partners, looking into the eyes of the new partner, change partners, do partner poses of tree, bridge and more with different partners. They had fun and got wound up, more Controlled Chaos. And then I brought them down for relaxation. I told another story of true love, The Wealthiest Fisherman in the World from India (also on You Tube), and then afterwards we discussed the story, how they felt during relaxation. A lot of kids were wiggly, which is perfectly fine and normal. A few kids really expressed themselves well and said how relaxing it was and how much they enjoy yoga and relaxing because it de-stresses them. Several parents nodded their heads in agreement! We reviewed the stories and a few yoga poses they could do at home. And encouraged them to read stories, write stories, do yoga!
Now there are always wiggly kids and there is always an ADHD kid or two who needs reminding of rules, but I use gentle tolerance. These kids need to be included, rather than “straightened out.” I let them move around and look at my puppets to a limit that does not distract. These kids learn by MOVING. I just let them be aware of their bodies and actions and what is too much. Also, never be afraid to enlist the help of the adults too. Ask them ahead of time to watch out for kids who maybe are being distruptive! During relaxation, some kids were talking too much, and so the librarian went over to them. However, you can’t expect kids to all relax. Some will just sit up. Others lie down, and others will close their eyes. We just introduced it to them, and used a story to anchor them. Guaranteed, the story will really slow them down and hush them!
Wonderfully, a child also blurted out during sharing time that her cat had died. I said that was great that she could share her feelings and felt safe about that, and that it’s important to share those feelings with others to help us with our grief. Things do die. I’m amazed at how many children have said in the past after shavasana, that a pet had died!!!
Next I will be doing an artist in residency at a public school in Hygiene, Colorado and a Haitian Children’s fundraiser with the Lyons’ Elementary third grade! We will be telling stories of compassion!
Love and Peace,
SYDNEY SOLIS
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