Truly the best thing you can teach your students is that Earth day is everyday. We try to recycle as much as possible in my home. But with 4 kids, 3 dogs, and tons of company and gatherings it’s not always up to the level that I would like it to be. I always think I’m doing pretty well UNTIL I visit the Integral Yoga Institute in San Francisco. I am an Integral Yoga teacher and we have Institutes in New York City, in San Francisco, and an Ashram in Virginia called Yogaville.

I have visited The San Francisco Institute quite a few times in the past few years. I am, of course, teaching our Kidding Around Yoga teacher training, usually twice per year there. I always learn a lot when I go there but one of the greatest lessons I learn is about taking care of Mother Earth. Man do they take their recycling seriously in San Francisco!! I mean there is a bucket or a can for EVERYTHING! And if you don’t follow the instructions there you could get pummeled to death by an organic carrot. Just kidding. But seriously you have no choice but to LOVE MOTHER EARTH and when I get home from my visits to the Integral Yoga Institute in San Francisco my family knows…WATCH OUT! Mom is on the recycling war path….oooooh ah!! (she says in her cheerleading voice)

Kidding Around Yoga likes to do their part in sharing goodness, kindness, and compassion with the children we teach yoga to. Many times in the form of a good old fashioned Yoga story. We act out a story with yoga poses and badabing badabang badaboom, before you now it, the kids are learning, growing, stretching AND doing Yoga. It’s a win win win.

I’d like to share a great kids yoga story with you that was written by my very dear friend and teaching buddy, Cassie Dixon. If you are a kids yoga teacher or you work with children in any level you can do this with them if you know your yoga poses. You really don’t have to be a children’s yoga instructor to be able to do this with your kids. You can be a PE teacher, or an elementary school teacher and use it as a brain break and an opportunity to teach some cool stuff… but of course, Yoga-based.

Here is the Kidding Around Yoga Earth Day story. Of course, every time you see a capitalized word that means it is a great Kids Yoga pose!

FLOWERS breathe in the air we exhale. CROWS rely on the strong branches of a TREE to build their nests. TURTLES swim in the clean waters of oceans and streams. Nature has life within it. Let’s talk about how we can help nature survive.
Have you ever taken a walk in the park and seen trash in the FLOWERS? Bend over like a RAG DOLL, pick it up and throw it away. BUTTERFLIES will look so much prettier. Did you know that TREES need healthy soil to keep growing and not fall over in the wind? By using the right amount of water, the DOLPHINS will still have water to swim in and the TREES will live for a long time.
Would you like to swim with empty soda cans floating next to you? FISH and other animals that live in the water can’t pick up the trash and garbage littering the oceans and streams. When a TURTLE sees a plastic bag floating in the water, the TURTLE eats it. He thinks the bag is a jellyFISH. Not a healthy thing to eat!
Recycling and reusing clothes, bottles, cardboard, and other items are things we can do every single day to help keep the planet healthy. Wow, and all this clean-up has made me tired. Ready to lay down and rest our minds and bodies?

Ok the story is over and NOW you can let them rest and play our super fabulous song about the Secret Garden. Press the play button below.

[mp3j track=”www.kiddingaroundyoga.com/mp3/samples/The_Secret_Garden_sample.mp3″ title=”The Secret Garden”]

If we all took better care of Mother Earth we would would be surrounded by a beautiful garden ALL of the time and we wouldn’t have to push play to see or hear it. Some of us do live in beautiful spaces where they can see and hear the sounds of birds chirping, waterfalls flowing, and other natural sounds. Some of us need a little help from the MP3 player. Listen to a sample of our song, “The Secret Garden”, and, of course, you can purchase it if you wish to.

OM Shanti and Happy Earth Day from Kidding Around Yoga!