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