Young yoga, as taught by Audrey Kindred

YOGA FOR THE VERY YOUNG

A guide by Audrey Kindred

I start the season with the skeleton of a class -- establishing basic terms, rituals, rhythms they can count on, and a basic vocabulary to driving themes of Nature, Spatial Orientation and Body Identification. This is a set of reference points to build upon throughout the whole season. As the classes continue, these elements stay rock solid for them as pillars of familiarity while details and new movement challenges grow from these. Because young children are Language Learners, and I have worked with many for whom English is a second and brand new language, movement possibilities grow reciprocally with teaching actual words. We are building movement vocabulary in tandem with spoken vocabulary. We are teaching the whole child.

FIRST DAY OF PRE-K YOGA

I usually visit their classroom first and sit in a circle with them. It is nice if they are wearing name tags, which teachers appreciate a request for in advance. The intention here is to bond with them and build some trust and recognition, before moving them into an unfamiliar space and subject matter. When I enter, I am very silent and friendly. Once sitting in a circle on the classroom rug with all the children, I communicate.... first in movement... then with song.... then with demonstration.

1. greeting.

I silently use my hands to wave hello, and silently many will respond. Then I add my simple song:“Hello Children, I say Hello with my hands to you.” “Hello Teacher-_____, we say Hello with our hands to you.” (This is a chance for the children to engage in the motion)

Then to me: “Hello Teacher-Audrey, we say Hello with our hands to you.” (This is a chance for me to show how the gesture can be appreciated. I often instruct them, “please show me your hello hands. thank you for your friendliness.”) We can go around the room and sing childrenʼs names with efficiency and focus, if we have asked for name tags in advance: for example: “hello to Diana and Robert, we say hello with our hands to you.”

2. “Kindness Framework” I start very simply. I add a few more simple movements they can relate to without disturbing the circle format of the group (i.e.no movements that reach out to the sides and bump into neighbors).

Hands drum on the ground with a sung-word “down.” Hands tickle the sky with a sung-word “up.” With repetition, the children will join in. Then the words can grow from “down...up” to “down low...up high” to “down low on the earth...up high in the sky” to

“hello earth....hello sky” to
                    “I love you earth...I love you sky.” 

Hands drum gently on body to say hello to self and breath. I am cautious here not to use movements that made the elbows jut out toward neighbors: “Hello Strong Body” (we drum on our knees.... this is very grounding) “Hello Smart Brain” (we tickle the top of our heads)

“Hello Loving Heart.” (we place our palms on the center of our chest) “Hello Gentle Friends.” (we open our hands) THEN I begin to Breathe audibly: in through the nose and out through the mouth. With my fingers, I touch the tip of my nose, as I breath in. I point to my mouth as I breath out. The children join in.

I may say, “Hello Deep Breath. Hello Peaceful Feeling.” A familiar peaceful song might feel helpful here.... Like Twinkle Twinkle.

3. Demonstrate Yoga Mat Care

In the center of the circle, I show them how to set up a yoga mat, and fold or roll it up again. I will make finger-frames on my eyes and say “WATCH WITH YOUR EYES.” I demonstrate opening my mat, putting my shoes at the back of the mat, sitting on it in cross legged and breathing deeply. “We will do yoga on our mats. Then we will put our mats away.” I get a child-helper to help me fold or roll the mat up, then put on my shoes.

4. Short Session on Mats

This has taken half of our class time. Now we will go to the yoga space, set up our mats, and say “HELLO YOGA!” We can ground ourselves with some of the same movements we just did in the classroom circle. I will add one free- movement yoga song that really gets them moving on their mats ʻ

“Yoga shapes, Yoga shapes, These are my yoga shapes.” “Yoga rest, yoga rest. This is my yoga rest.” (We lay down on mats)

5. Thank you's and mat clean up “Thank you earth, Thank you sky, Thank you heart and Thank you friends.” The children have time to roll up their mats and put on their shoes. To compel them to focus, I often share a bell-ringing or scent-spray in the line of children who are finished.

When I return after a week away, I may be a stranger again to these young children (for a few weeks, this may be true). Usually, when I first arrive, I go their classroom with my silent gesture of waving hello, carrying my familiar prop: my yoga mat to help them organize their brain/body for yoga class to happen. I sometimes am even thoughtful enough to wear the same bright color of shirt.

The Pre-K Season continues...

PRE-K YOGA: Ages 3-5: A guide by Audrey Kindred

Below “a guiding script” is in bold italics for easy skimming. The rhythm of the class will include many short resting points throughout it as well as a final relaxation. I breathe deeply and begin with song.

GREETING: “Hello Yoga Friends! I say hello with my hands to you!”

GROUNDING the class with sitting stretches while establishing Kindness vision Arms reaching up and down: “Hello Earth, Hello Sky.” Arms closing and opening: “Hello Heart and Hello Friends.”

Deep Breathing: “Smell and Blow” Identifying nose and mouth. Identifying in-breath and out-breath Noticing “peaceful FEELING”

Side stretch: And then “paint a rainbow of colors, over your head”

Dynamic Forward Bend: Sitting, put two long legs in front of body. Long and straight on the floor.“Smart brain, kind heart, long legs, WOOOSH” (hands trace the front of the body from head to toes in and then fly forward and up through air to head, repeating).

RELATING TO LIMB SUPPORT: 3 counts of 4

Table/chair exercise:

“1-2-3-4” (hand & hand on floor behind body (1-2), foot & foot stomp (3-4), hips rise up and lower in rhythm from table to chair) In later weeks: we raise one foot up and wiggle those toes, balancing “put a candle on the table. blow it out”

Boat pose:

“1-2-3-4,” (putting limbs up into air one at a time: hand, hand, foot, and then slowly balancing, add that last foot. We move our arms like boat paddles to balance, singing “row row row your boat.” The song really helps the struggle, and makes it very fun.

In later weeks: we learn to hold our thighs to balance here, and then we tuck to

“rock and roll” “back and forth” on “the yoga swing”.

Downward dog, running:

“1-2-3-4,” (hand, hand, foot, foot.) Yes, Again! Note that repetition with variation is very powerful for the rhythm of the class) “Run, Run, Run, then Knees Down to make a drum ” Here, the hands pat the thighs -- a very grounding way to bring children from a pose where they canʼt see you back to a focus where they can follow you again.

In later weeks: we do more repetitions of this, building strength. Later we can add donkey kicks and other variations.

PRE-K YOGA: Ages 3-5: A guide by Audrey Kindred

Cat Pose into Childʼs Pose for rest

Early on, we may stretch our tail (one leg) out behind us. Eventually, we reach a paw (arm) forward, and a tail (foot) back, to balance. Then, eventually we learn how to make sure the raised arm and leg are on opposite sides of the body, not the same side. Many children figure this out through ease of trial and error, and teaching this demands you focus earlier in the lesson on the concept of “opposites.” The cat-character becomes very alive for the children. For actions of lifting and releasing the spine, I use the “hissing cat and the meowing cat,” instead of switching the character into the more traditional yoga-cow. A rhythm of “Hiss-Meow-Hiss- Meow” leads the motion without children needing to look at the leader.

MID-LEVEL BALANCES

“2 knees on the floor.” raising and lowering hips: “Up, down -- up, down -- up, down, UP!” (make sure to end on the up with hips high.)

Then, “One knee up and one knee down....” This puts them in a strong shape with a bit of a balancing challenge. Create a movement pattern of clapping under the raised knee, and over the head: “Under and over... Under and over.... Under and Over and U, UP, UP.”

“One hand down.... one hand up... (the grounded hand should be firm on the ground in front of the lowered knee.) Hello Sky!” Look up at the sky waving upper hand. You can even take a minute to notice and name actual shapes on the ceiling here.

You can even sing “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” Here is a fun song for the twist above:

“A star in the sky, and a starfish in the sea...Hello World, I am free!”

RISE OR REST You may wish to take a short childʼs pose here to rest. To rise: “Hands down, Feet on the ground. Open your wings and fly up to the sky.” Clap hands at the top, and once everyone has arrived, then raise one leg and clap under it, and clap over the head, repeating this recognizable movement pattern that was done earlier. “Clap over your head, and under your leg. Over and under. Over and Under... slowly..... then faster.... then slowly... and stop”)

To rest in Childʼs Pose and then rise:

“two hands down, two knees down, hips down, head down.

A movement sequence for rising from Childʼs Pose: “rain-drop fingers” (fingers pitter patter on earth) windy breath (blowing hard) floating clouds (arms wave back and forth, leading body up into curvey dance)

PRE-K YOGA: Ages 3-5: A guide by Audrey Kindred

clapping thunder (clap hands in bursts of 3 claps) lightning power (arms rise strong and straight overhead) rain-drop fingers (fingers pitter patter on top of head)

STANDING STILL:

“I am a mountain... Tall and still... I do not move at all. I am a mountain... Tall and still... Listen to my wind”

SUN-SALUTE STORIES. I like to return to familiar “Hello-structures” and make sequences from that.“Hello Sun, Hello Earth, Hello animals who live on the earth! Hello dogs with four legs. Hello cat with a long tail. Hello turtle with a shell. Hello long snake that wiggles. Hello frog that jumps. Hello bird that flies. Hello people that walk. Hello heart that loves.... Give yourself a hug.”

GAME FOR VINYASA AND POSES This repetitive structure introduces the concepts of “movement” vs. “shape”

“mooooooove to make a shape” (they freeze on the word shape, so articulating that P sound is very important.) There is a lot of freedom and structure combined here. They love it and can do it for quite a long time. It is a great chance to model yoga poses, as well as made-up shapes, and to point out shapes qualities and levels and details. It is a wonderful way for them to feel the uniqueness of their choices, as well as to proudly copy other peopleʼs shapes as a kind of sharing process.

RESTING with eyes closed and body still with song “I am peaceful, I am peaceful.... I am gentle, I am kind.” Later: I add plural: “We are peaceful, we are peaceful....”

AWAKENING

“Wiggle your fingers, wiggle your toes, wiggle your heart, wiggle your nose” “Hug your shoulders, hug your knees, roll your body to sit right up”

Deep breathing, we count the breath on fingers: “Smell one flower, blow one candle... smell two.....”

Gratitude. “Thank you Yoga for helping me feel good today.” “Thank you Earth, Thank you Sky, Thank you Heart and Thank you Friends.” “Thank you mat. I will take good care of you.” Thank yous are a chance to repeat and reinforce the kindness themes. Then there is time to put on shoes and roll up mats. I share a scent as they line up. “Goodbye Children. I say goodbye with my hands to you.” This encourages silent communication, much appreciated by teachers, and helps children be ready to go.