Back in the 90’s before I had even heard the term ‘mindfulness,’ my older brother came back from a trip abroad, full of stories. One of the things he found funny was a sign that read “Mind your head.” As a practitioner of Buddhism, he automatically interpreted it as...
Disciplining our children or even simply redirecting undesired behaviors has been a hot button topic that spans generations and cultures. Our schools are no exception. Mindfulness and yoga are being adopted in schools as contemporary ways to meet the social and...
Pay attention! You need to focus! Can't you just concentrate? Sound familiar? Have you heard or said these things before? Yeah, me too. We probably all have. It seems we all need help once in a while being mindful. Mindfulness is simply paying attention to what is...
Mindfulness is a meditation practice that trains the practitioner to be completely immersed in the moment, with all five senses. With practice, we learn to bring our scattered attention and energy back to what we are experiencing right now, without judgment, without...
A few years ago, I participated in a course called “The Happiness Program.” One of the activities we did was to go to every member of the group, look them in the eyes and say, “I belong to you.” The whole situation brought out awkwardness, shy smiles, and some...
One thing we say quite frequently in our home is “What team are you on?” This question gets asked during times of bickering, but also general discontent. The correct answer is “I am on team Ruggieri.” We have teams in all areas of our life: family, friends, sports,...
Kids worldwide need the same things to thrive: food, clothing, shelter, confidence, security, and a sense of calm. However, no two children are able to receive these necessities in the same way. Some children blossom in routine while others crave variety. One child...
A lovely way to spend a lazy afternoon is to rest in the shade of a big tree - the branches and leaves rustling above you and the soft earth feeding its roots below you. Trees provide a sense of timelessness and patience, of strength with flexibility. That union...
It’s no secret that everyone needs a tribe. A sangha. As humans, we thrive when we have support, help, and friendship. We tend to gravitate towards those people more like ourselves and grow our community from there. And that’s okay! However, it’s a good thing to build...
Creating a yoga community is essential to starting each yoga class. I love to emphasize positivity and building each other up to make each student feel empowered! Positive Language Oftentimes you hear students say “I did it! It’s easy.” or “I can’t do it!” Whenever I...
You know what they say about assumptions... I won’t finish the sentence. But I will emphasize how important it is not to make assumptions about our students when we are teaching yoga (or for that matter, about any other human being we encounter in any other...
With a nod to the great Aretha Franklin, we all need a little respect ("just a little bit"): respect for others, for the earth, for ourselves. As a children's yoga teacher, I have found that teaching about respect in its various forms takes more than a quick...
Want a new challenge for you and your young yogis? Try moving your Kids Yoga practice off the mat and into a swimming pool! Here are some easy ideas for games and activities to really make a splash! Cannonball: Assign a pose and have each child jump into the pool in...
Coordination can be tricky, even for some adults! We all know, and perhaps we were, that kid who is just uncoordinated or klutzy. Yet coordination is something we can build as a young child and improve through the lifespan. Coordination building games can be great fun...
I grew up loving miniature golf. My grandparents have had a camper at Alleghany Mountain Resort at Rainbow Lake since my mother and her brothers and sister were young enough to enjoy the fresh air and open spaces. Much of summer’s free time was spent with aunts,...
Watch at your leisure!
Watch at your leisure!
