One of the (positive) surprises of teaching yoga online (through FB Live, IG Live, Zoom, Teams, etc.), is that I am able to teach children that live across the country (and world)! Little yogis that I wouldn't have had the honor of teaching have been able to join in...
You can search high and low and never find your perfect parent tribe. Some parents just stop looking and rely on family to support and care for our children. Some families don’t always have those resources and rely on a crew of parents navigating this wilderness of...
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...
I’m sure by now most everyone has heard of Laughter Yoga, especially if you are in the mindfulness community. Let’s explore where, when, why, and how this came to be. A search on the World Wide Web points to Dr. Madan Kataria as the originator of a laughter club in...
Around the globe, life came to a halting stop in February and March. Depending on where you live, you’ve been in lockdown, social distancing and most likely teaching your kids yoga classes virtually for at least three months. In the beginning, there was some...
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...
A beautiful trait in children is that they tend to get caught up in a moment. This gives them the highest of highs, where their whole bodies just light up from the inside. But these strong emotions can also have them spiraling into stress and anger with no clear path...
A yoga card deck is a must-have for your bag-of-tricks! My favorite deck is from Kidding Around Yoga. They are like a “class in a box” that you can take with you for instant fun and activities wherever you teach and in any environment. You can simply pick a few cards...
This lesson plan is perfect to use with in-person classes or in virtual classes! “An example is a clear bulb or a colored bulb. If the bulb is colored, it gives colored light. But you wouldn’t say the electricity inside is also colored.” -Swami Satchidananda, The...
Every morning we wake up, and before we even open our eyes or get out of bed, we strap on a backpack. Not a school backpack – you can’t touch this backpack or see it with your eyes. But it’s there. You can feel it. When it’s full, your shoulders get tired, it is hard...
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...
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...
Yoga isn't just about poses and breathing. It's also a creative practice, open to children's imaginations and creative play. Use an art theme to really explore yoga in a deeper way. I Ain't Gonna Paint No More (Karen Beaumont): This was a favorite around my house, and...
Watch at your leisure!
Watch at your leisure!
