35% OFF ONLINE COURSES

🌸 Use code BLOOM at checkout 🌸

Kids NEED Restorative Yoga, Too!

Today’s blog author is Kaden, an 11-year old Yogi (pictured below)

This all started when my mother, my grandmother, and I were going over to a yoga studio to do a class on restorative yoga. I was really excited because this would be my first kadenrestorative yoga class. We went in and set up our mats and began the class. Some of the poses we did were pigeon, reclining twist, crocodile, and waterfall. The effect of the class was very calming especially at the point that the yoga teacher brought out this rose quartz bowl known as a crystal bowl*. When she played the crystal bowl, the noise was utterly soothing and made me relax and want to fall asleep (my mother admits she did fall asleep). While the teacher was playing her crystal bowl she came over to me and put it on my chest. When she put it on me I felt like all the vibrations of the universe were vibrating within me, just like Om. The teacher was very attentive throughout the class, paying attention to how everybody was doing. After the class I felt much more relaxed and calm like nothing could bother me at all. It. Was. Amazing! When talking about my crystal bowl experience, my mother later mentioned how cats must feel when they purr, like Om is all inside of them. Actually about that, my mother and brother told me a story about a cat at a “cat show” they went to that was very nervous and was purring to keep itself calm. Do animals automatically know what is relaxing and to be filled with the vibrations of the universe?

One relaxing practice I do every morning is the mantra, “Peace begins with me.” This practice make me feel nice and calm and ready for the start of a new day. I do this practice by touching my thumb16298399337_54ce80ca53_z to every finger on my hand and say a word every time my thumb touches another finger. This helps to connect my mind and body so my thoughts aren’t jumping around. And it doesn’t have to be “Peace begins with me.” The mantra can be “I am peaceful,” “Today will be great,” or anything else that come to mind.I do a breathing practice called Bee Breath when I go to bed and I am restless and cannot sleep. I do this by using both of my hands to close my eyes and ear flaps while humming so all I can hear is the vibration in my head. It shuts of my senses so I can ignore everything else and just concentrate on the humming. It lulls me to sleep. Zzzzzzz…… Oops! I fell asleep just thinking about it! But don’t believe me, try it yourself!

The last relaxation practice I will share with you is the popular Childs’ Pose. In case you’ve never heard of this pose, what you do is find a nice spot to lay down and curl up into a ball. My legs are underneath my body and gently tucked in, my hands stretched out or using my folded hands as a pillow. The benefit I feel the most from this pose is it relaxes my body into a nice and easy stretch. My Mom gets technical and tells me its calming because my head is below my heart in this pose.

*One last note about the instrument I mentioned earlier called the crystsinging-bowls-792558_1280al bowl. The crystal bowl is a bowl shaped instrument. When hit by a mallet the sound that fills my ears is just wonderful. There are different styles to playing the crystal bowl such as chanting, or concentrating on a chakra. Some of these crystal bowls come in sets where you can play them like a set of drums (just much quieter). I would greatly recommend listening to one of these or more bowls being played.

Like what you read here? There’s so much MORE to explore and learn with Kidding Around Yoga. Check out our website for our live and online teacher trainings, Yoga Alliance-approved 95-hour RCYT trainings, specialty online courses, original music, merchandise, podcast, and beyond! KAY even offers a 6-hour workshop designed to teach school educators and homeschool families how to bring yoga and meditation right into their classrooms (EduKAYand an online course specifically for families to incorporate these practices in their family’s routine (Mindful Parenting)

 

FREE WORKSHOP RECORDING:

Bringing Mindfulness into the Classroom

Watch at your leisure!

FREE WORKSHOP RECORDING:

Relaxation & Meditation for Kids

Watch at your leisure!