Final Week

This will be the last week of our Yoga Kids classes. The time has gone by quickly, and I will miss the energizing and fun-filled days I shared with some amazing kids! We are already looking forward to next summer's yoga adventures. So, enjoy this last pose of the week and remember, "Practice and all is coming."

Pose of the Week

Bold Warrior

Last week you learned how to be a Brave Warrior. I know you have been practicing and are getting braver all the time. Now you are a Bold Warrior as well as a Brave Warrior. Congratulations! Keep building your strength and courage.

Instructions

1. Jump your feet apart (Steps 1-4 are just like Brave Warrior.).
2. Stretch your arms straight out of the shoulders, palms down and fingers stretched.
3. Turn your toes toward the right.
4. Bend your right knee into a right angle.
5. Turn your torso forward.
6. Raise your arms alongside your ears. Feel the support of the earth underneath you and stretch your hands to the sky.

Affirmations

In this pose say the following:

• I am a bold warrior.
• My body is strong.
• My mind is strong.
• My love keeps my family strong.
1. Come up.
2. Turn your feet to the left.
3. Do the pose on the other side.

Note to Parents and Teachers

The word warrior comes from the root “war”. In yoga we practice peace, so I’d like you to encourage your children to think of the qualities a warrior has besides someone who fights. Discuss with your children the characteristics that peaceful warriors possess. Some ideas are

strength, tenacity, perseverance, focus, concentration, believing in yourself. Is there something that your child would like to have or achieve at the moment? It could be anything from a toy, to getting better at a sport, realizing a goal, or whatever they come up with. Explain to them about the posture, presence, mind and other characteristics of a warrior.

Activity Ideas for Home or Classroom

Math Medley

Notice the shapes that your lower body makes in the warrior poses. Which of these angles does your knee make in your Brave and Bold Warriors?

• Is it a right angle at 90 degrees?
• An obtuse angle at more than 90 degrees?
• Or an acute angle that is smaller than 90 degrees?
• Can you see and feel them as you practice?

Visual Vignettes

Draw yourself, your friends and family as warriors. Color them. Decorate them too. Put your warriors on a hangar with a string and make a mobile.

Nutrition Tips

The American Dairy Association says, “milk does a body good.” Yet there are many other foods besides milk that help create a strong body and bones, and actually contain more usable and digestible calcium than milk. Except for people of northern European origin, most adults worldwide can't digest lactose, the natural sugar in milk. This is because as we mature, our bodies stop making the enzyme that breaks it down. As a result, many peole may develop intestinal discomfort whenever they have milk or milk-based foods (Weil). Here are some ideas for alternative sources of the vitamins and minerals milk provides:

Sesame Seeds...

can be ground or made into a paste like tahini and used in halvah or hummus. Put them in homemade cookies, cereals and candies too. They are rich in calcium and protien.

Leafy Greens...

like kale, spinach, collards, turnip greens, bok choy are excellent sources of calcium and vitamin D.

Molasses...

is a great source of calcium too and can easily be used in or on pancakes, waffles, cookies, breads, cakes.

Did you know that most nuts and seeds can be made into milk too? There are many to choose from like almond milk, soymilk, sesame milk, rice milk. Actually, goat’s milk is said to be more digestible than cow’s milk especially for children.

Copyright 2006 Marsha Wenig/YogaKids International.
Photographs by Susan Andrews
info@yogakids.com - 1-800-968-0694 - fax 219-873-7612

Yoga Kids Weekly Pose

Yoga Kids classes have been extended into July, and we're having a blast. Today we sampled foods that make our bodies happy and chose to put away foods that make our bodies sad. Wes and Tilden loved the seaweed while Jamie decided it tasted too much like fish. The Nelsons brought freshly picked carrots from their garden and I brought blackberries and beans from mine. These were everyone's favorites. Some had mixed feelings about the melons, whole wheat bread, yogurt, asian pear, and dreaded sea vegetable- seaweed. The kids were already well informed about good nutrition and what to look for when reading food labels! These little yogis taught me a thing or two. Kids are never too young to begin incorporating healthy eating habits as well as healthy living habits. But we all agreed that some of the foods like chocolate cake, cookies, and fruit juice are sometimes okay. Sofia summed it up perfectly when she said, "Just a little bit sometimes is good." I couldn't agree more.

Pose of the Week

Wheel

Open your heart and get a boost of energy in this pose round.

Pose Instructions

1. Lie on your back.
2. Bend your knees and place your feet flat on the floor, heels in close to your backside.
3. Bend your elbows and lower your arms over your head.
4. Place your palms flat on the floor beside your ears with the fingertips pointing toward your shoulders.
5. Pull your elbows toward each other.
6. Press down into your hands and feet, as you straighten your arms and legs, and lift your chest and thighs toward the sky.
7. Release down.

Finish up by curling into a ball and letting your body rock and roll back and forth.

Note to Parents and Teachers

This is a challenging pose. Please supervise and assist your child to come into this position

easily and without force. Most young children will be unable to arch their spines like a wheel. Their pose will look more like a table..their chest level and their 4 limbs supporting their torso like the legs of a table.

Activity Ideas for Home or Classroom

Affirmations

Make up some positive statements that will help you in this pose as well as make you feel good. Some examples of YogaKids affirmations are:

• I am flexible
• My heart is open
• My spine is strong
• My brain is alert

Body Benefits

This pose brings strength and flexibility to the spine, back, legs and arms. The more you practice, the more this pose will begin to look “wheel-like.”

Brain Balance

Whenever the head is lower than the heart, blood flow to the brain is increased. When done properly, wheel can oxygenate and wake up the brain.

Visual Vignettes/Laughing Language

Talk to your children about all the different ways that wheels make a difference in our lives. Imagine if we didn’t have cars, skateboards, skates, scooters, bicycles? Can you think of new ways to get around? Write and draw your innovative inventions.

Nutrition Tips

Most children love wagon wheels. Use whole wheat, rice or semolina pasta as a healthier alternative to refined white flour. Top it with a hearty tomato sauce filled with vegetables.

Do the wheel pose regularly to boost energy, awaken the brain and make yourself feel alert! What foods make you feel good? Which ones don’t you like very much? How do certain foods make you feel? Try this fun Food Mood activity.

Take three paper plates and have your children draw different faces:

• Make a happy face.
• Make a sad face.
• Make an angry face.

Attached their decorated plates onto the wall or the refrigerator. When your child likes a food, have him draw or write it on the happy plate. If what you are serving isn’t a favorite choice, she will choose the “sad” plate. Foods that contain a lot of sugar, artificial ingredients or too much salt can have an adverse effect on your child’s moods and feelings. Have him “post” these on the angry face plate.

Copyright 2006 Marsha Wenig/YogaKids International.
Photographs by Susan Andrews
info@yogakids.com - 1-800-968-0694 - fax 219-873-7612