35% OFF ONLINE COURSES

🌸 Use code BLOOM at checkout 🌸

Locks And Keys Yoga Story

lockkeys
Here at Kidding Around Yoga (KAY), we teach regular people, parents, teachers, and yoga instructors alike how to share yoga and stress management with children. One of our favorite ways to teach themes, several poses, and yoga philosophy (like this story does) is through acting out yoga stories written by ourselves or other KAY teachers who have shared them on one of our forums. As you read this story, you’ll find the poses in ALL CAPS. Some names are changed slightly to fit the story. You can find photos and explanations for how to do the poses on our Asana Page or by visiting Yoga Journal’s extensive pose gallery.

Like what you are reading or seeing on our site and think YOU could do this too? Check out our list of trainings all around the world (and now Online)!

We hope you enjoy this yoga story written by our own KAY Teacher, Mandee Morris. The yoga sutra about “The Four Locks and Keys” can be found in The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Book One, Sutra 33. It says this:

“By cultivating attitudes of friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous, and disregard toward the wicked, the mind-stuff retains its undisturbed calmness.”

There once was a Happy GODDESS who had a special sitting ROCK, located next to a lake where she often liked to go for rides in her purple CANOE. Some days, she liked to read her BOOK written by a super cool yogi named Patanjali next to the lake. While reading, she learned that happiness comes when you use the key of friendliness to unlock it. Not only was she friendly to her family and the people in her community, but to the BIRDS (bird of choice here), TREES, FLOWERS (deep breath), and FISH.

One day she was MEDITATING on the ROCK when an unhappy snapping TURTLE bit her toe! She began howling in pain and jumping up and down like a crazy monkey. Remembering the wise words from her book, she unlocked the unhappy TURTLE using the key of compassion. Realizing he must be hungry since he thought her toe was a snack, she decided that sharing her lunch of SOUP, SANDWICH, and PRETZELS would be a good way to show compassion.

Later that day while she was out in her purple CANOE, she saw a blue HERON and a CROW sitting in a CHAIR having tea at a TABLE on the shore. Her mom was always teaching her to be honest and virtuous, so she approached the two silly birds with a delightful attitude and asked to join in for a spot of tea. A mischievous mean CAT and a rowdy DOG ran by knocking over their table! Then a mommy EAGLE came by with five BABIES. You’ll never guess what they were wearing—DIAPERS (it was a super silly thing to witness)! The HERON, CROW, and GODDESS were able to finish their tea using the key of ignoring CAT, DOG, EAGLE mommy, and all five BABIES. After all that activity the GODDESS was so tired she went and laid down in her purple CANOE and went to the Secret Garden…
purplecanoe

FREE WORKSHOP RECORDING:

Bringing Mindfulness into the Classroom

Watch at your leisure!

FREE WORKSHOP RECORDING:

Relaxation & Meditation for Kids

Watch at your leisure!