Animate On Scroll.
Animate On Scroll.
NOTE TO PARENTS/CARERS
Thank you for being so interested in sharing yoga and mindfulness with the children in your life. Since having my daughter, Isabella, and incorporating yoga into our daily lives, I have participated in one of the most magical connections I have ever formed. Through yoga and mindfulness practices, I have learned to roll with life’s punches, name and offer support for seemingly random fits of emotions, and feel eternally grateful for the rollercoaster that is parenthood. I offer these practices to you, my friend, in the hope that they will support you and your family on your journey together.
In what follows you will notice that I can offer several different types of children's yoga classes.
1. Children's Yoga and Mindfulness 11-week Course (3-5 year olds)
2. Woodentots Yoga (3-5 year olds)
3. Wigglebums Yoga (3-5 year olds)
4. Parent/Carer (Mum) & Baby Yoga (6 weeks to crawling)
5. Family Yoga (all ages)
These Children's Yoga and Mindfulness classes offer the potential to improve the day-to-day well-being of your child and your family as a whole. Through the understanding and practice of yoga and mindfulness, your child—and you—will gain valuable life skills that can be used in school, home, and social situations. These classes will offer opportunities for your child to strengthen their capacity for present-moment awareness and self-regulation, increase their connection with themselves and the people around them and, ultimately, promote a full and more enjoyable life experience. I look forward to embarking on this beautiful journey with you and I am grateful that you might allow me to witness the beautiful transformation to come.
~ Ashley
(E-500 Hour Yoga Teacher; RCYT Registered Children's Yoga Teacher)
In what follows you will notice that I can offer several different types of children's yoga classes.
1. Children's Yoga and Mindfulness 11-week Course (3-5 year olds)
2. Woodentots Yoga (3-5 year olds)
3. Wigglebums Yoga (3-5 year olds)
4. Parent/Carer (Mum) & Baby Yoga (6 weeks to crawling)
5. Family Yoga (all ages)
These Children's Yoga and Mindfulness classes offer the potential to improve the day-to-day well-being of your child and your family as a whole. Through the understanding and practice of yoga and mindfulness, your child—and you—will gain valuable life skills that can be used in school, home, and social situations. These classes will offer opportunities for your child to strengthen their capacity for present-moment awareness and self-regulation, increase their connection with themselves and the people around them and, ultimately, promote a full and more enjoyable life experience. I look forward to embarking on this beautiful journey with you and I am grateful that you might allow me to witness the beautiful transformation to come.
~ Ashley
(E-500 Hour Yoga Teacher; RCYT Registered Children's Yoga Teacher)
Animate On Scroll.
COURSE TERM SYLLABUS
WEEK 1 (Understanding)
The first week takes a close look at the science of focus, emotional regulation, and self-control. Through brain-based themes, we explore what it means to focus, pay attention, and become thoughtful. Through transcendental meditation, yoga-inspired animal poses, and storytelling, children and carers observe first-hand the connection between emotions and focus.
WEEK 2 (Explore)
The second week will give parents more information about yoga and mindfulness: what they are, how they relate to each other, and why they can help improve focus and emotional regulation. We utilize a story this week and apply the values within it to our lives -- values such as generosity and honesty, balance, awareness, contentment, sincerity, study and introspection, dedication, love and compassion for all, truthfulness and integrity. Via asana, pranayama, and various mindfulness meditations, children and their carers are introduced to the elements of our future classes: connection, breath, movement, focus, and relaxation.
WEEK 3 (Get Started)
The third week will provide you with a complete guide for implementing a yoga program with your child. It will give you all the logistical information needed to work with children safely and effectively. This week, carers are informed of the guiding principles for sharing our yoga practice together. Children are taught to set up their yoga space, including their mat and materials, which holds them accountable for their practice and establishes a routine for our future classes. Through the opening and closing rituals, the repetition of the last class's asana, pranayama, and mindfulness practice, the children also gain confidence in their abilities and a firmer, more grounded sense of self. Children are introduced to the "I Am in Charge Mantra," a variation of a traditional kundalini yoga meditation. It is an active meditation that reinforces your child's personal power and capacity for self-determination. It is accessible and engaging for children who have trouble keeping their bodies still; for many children, this becomes one of their most relied-upon tools.
WEEK 4 (Connection)
Weeks 4 through 8 will give you step-by-step instructions for introducing your child to yoga and mindfulness activities, along with ideas for integrating them into your child's daily life. Week 4 focuses on the element of connection. We will explore activities that can help reorient your child to their present-moment experience, as well as train their mind to stay tuned in to what is happening physically, mentally, and emotionally. This class introduces Layers of Sound (Singing Bowls), Walking Meditation, and Mindful Eating as a way by which to develop more control over one's attention. Children are then invited to "Check In" and discuss with their carer how their body feels whenever they feel particular emotions. Class ends with a Loving-Kindness Meditation or Metta practice, a type of meditation that can help your child develop compassion, contentment, and a feeling of well-being.
WEEK 5 (Breath)
Weeks 4 through 8 will give you step-by-step instructions for introducing your child to yoga and mindfulness activities, along with ideas for integrating them into your child's daily life. We discuss why our breath matters and its relationship to our emotions and energy. The activities in this week's class are meant to increase both breath awareness and breath control. Using playful props, we will explore Balloon Breath, Heart and Belly Breath, Langhana and Brahmana Breath, Alternate-Nostril Breathing, and Back-to-Back Breathing.
WEEK 6 (Movement)
Weeks 4 through 8 will give you step-by-step instructions for introducing your child to yoga and mindfulness activities, along with ideas for integrating them into your child's daily life. Week 6 introduces new yoga poses, which will teach your child to use their body intentionally so that movement helps generate and maintain a state of engaged alertness. As a result, frenetic and hyperactive energy is reduced, yet they will still feel vibrant and strong. These Movement activities aim to validate your child's inclination to be active while giving them the tools to make choices about it. The objective is not to send the message to your child that they "need to calm down" but that they can be mindful of their actions and find an enjoyable balance of energy and stillness.
WEEK 7 (Mindfulness)
Weeks 4 through 8 will give you step-by-step instructions for introducing your child to yoga and mindfulness activities, along with ideas for integrating them into your child's daily life. Learning to focus is a skill that we all can develop and improve throughout our lives, but few of us receive any formal instruction or training in how to do it. For children, improving the ability to focus can make a tremendous difference in their quality of life -- everything from their grades in school to their interaction with peers is impacted. As we think about helping our children improve their focus, we need to recognize the significant difference between telling children to focus and teaching them how. Week 7 provides various activities in which your child will practice focusing on something concrete and tangible. The goal of each activity is to train the children to notice when their mind has wandered and for them to bring it back to the object of focus intentionally. These practices will strengthen their capacity to regain their focus in daily life. We will explore Drishti alongside asana, the Expanding-Energy (Reiki) Meditation, Trataka, and the Thought River Meditation.
WEEK 8 (Relaxation)
Weeks 4 through 8 will give you step-by-step instructions for introducing your child to yoga and mindfulness activities, along with ideas for integrating them into your child's daily life. In order for any person, a child or an adult, to be the best version of themselves, they must get enough sleep. In this final step of our yoga and mindfulness practice, we will learn activities that help children rest and restore, reduce insomnia, and help with the transition to sleep. This week's activities are based on restorative yoga practices that provide profound relaxation for both the body and the mind. In restorative yoga, the idea is to set your body up in a well-supported pose and then completely relax, allowing gravity to do all the work. These poses are held for an extended time based on what feels good. Our space will have dim lighting, gentle music, cozy blankets, and soothing aromatherapy.
WEEK 9 (Putting it All Together)
Week 9 will give you suggestions for combining activities into full yoga sessions for your family. Transitions are introduced, and carers are invited to select from a selection of sequences and to practice implementing them slowly and without pressure. Parents are reminded of the bell curve structure -- starting with a calm activity, bringing the energy up, and then slowly bringing the energy back down to a quiet and relaxing finale.
WEEK 10 (Celebrating)
This week, we celebrate our journey with a fully play-based class. We repeat our first lesson, wherein we practiced transcendental meditation and yoga-inspired animal poses. Only this time, we can practice this lesson with a complete toolbox of yoga and mindfulness practices to enrich each child's unique experience.
WEEK 11 (Support for Parents/Carers)
Week 11 offers some thoughts on supporting your own wellness and dealing compassionately with the many challenges that parenting presents. Parenthood is a beautiful, challenging, exciting, frustrating, mind-boggling journey. So is childhood! As you and your child work together, compassion is the most important place to return to when things get hard: compassion for yourself and compassion for your child. A yoga practice of your own can be a tremendous tool in this work of parenting, and it will be an anchor in surprising and inspiring ways. You are invited to attend a parent's-only class at a time slot that makes sense for your group.
Animate On Scroll.
OTHER TYPES OF
CHILDREN'S YOGA CLASSES
