One of my favorite things about fall, or the traditional fall that my northern friends get to enjoy, is the drying up of the leaves, the impending barren nature of the trees, and dwindling of the sun. In a way, these things are an end to the life cycle - the beginning...
If you were born doing something, one would assume you are near-perfect at it. As land-dwelling mammals, breathing through the nose is something we do, without pause, from the microsecond that we come into this glorious world. Yet, surprisingly, it took a yoga class...
On Halloween night we are sure to see many kids wearing skeleton costumes in pursuit of treats. Therefore, October is the perfect time of year to teach kids a little about their bodies, especially with regard to their skeletal system. Bones help give our bodies...
Admit it. You've asked a child to "calm down" or "pay attention" at least once in your lifetime. Maybe you've bribed one of your own kids to just sit still for a minute. What you are really asking for (begging for?) is for them to be mindful, to focus on the moment...
A useful way to help children visualize how their brain works is to describe the brain’s layers as upstairs and downstairs neighbors. Calm, Happy, and Creative all live upstairs while Bossy, Alerting, and Scared live downstairs. In this model, the upstairs neighbors...
In this time of uncertainty, anxiety, seclusion, and fear, we all need to find ways to improve our mental health. For centuries, yoga has given practitioners the tools live in a healthy way. Now is a perfect time to find an online yoga class (you can do a search on...
maitri-karuna-mudita-upekshanam such-dukkha-punya-apunya-visharyanam bhavanatash-citta-prasadanam The projection of friendliness, compassion, gladness, and equanimity towards objects - be they joyful, sorrowful, meritorious, or demeritorious - bring about the...
Our minds are like a 6 lane highway. We have thoughts constantly moving along throughout our day. Some of these thoughts move along at a crawl, some speed along the shoulder almost unnoticed, others pileup with thoughts they should never even come in contact with. But...
“Momma, sun!”, my daughter gushed while doodling on a rainy afternoon. She handed me her purple crayon. “You want me to draw a purple sun?” I laughed. “Purple sun, purple sun, purple sun!!” she insisted. Obviously, we had no time to waste! We drew a purple sun, a blue...
If you have ever experienced confusion or concern from a parent about yoga as a religious activity, then I hope this discussion will help. Also, some of you may be working on proposals for yoga clubs in public schools where this question may come up as well. I see no...
Stop what you're doing for a moment. Take a long sip of air through your nose. Good! Now exhale so slowly that you wouldn't blow out a birthday candle held right in front of your face. Congratulations! You just hacked into your body's relaxation response. Easy-peasy,...
Many of us have heard that yoga is a science. It is not Earth Science, not Rocket Science, not Geology, but is no-doubt linked to human well-being. This link is through biology, the study of living organisms and to chemistry or reactions in the brain and systems of...
Pranayama. It’s the biggest word that all children (and adults) need to learn right now. So what is pranayama anyway? Simply put, it's focused breathing. Each breathing practice has its own rhythm and sequence, but they all help our bodies calm down... even when...
**This blog article was written by (all grown-up) KAY kid, Whitney James, currently a student at Elon University in North Carolina** WHAT IS THE PARASYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM? The parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS) is part of the body’s autonomic nervous system...
It's not just an old wives' tale - taking a few deep breaths really does help you regain control in stressful or angering situations. Not only does it give you a moment to hit the pause button before you explode (or implode), but deep breaths also physiologically...
Watch at your leisure!
Watch at your leisure!
