“In Every Moon there is a Face” pajama yoga

Opening – How I explain the rules of yoga storytime: stay on your mat, and keep your hands to yourself.
(Skip to my Lou –  from Jim Gill)
Stomping feet, one and two
Stomping feet, one and two
But if my feet were covered in glue
I’d stick to the glue, my darling.

Clapping hands, one and two
Clapping hands, one and two
But if my hands were covered in glue
I’d stick to the glue, my darling
(hands in Anjali mudra, or prayer position)

Extend and Stretch
Frere Jacques
Extend and stretch (sit in sukasana – easy seated pose, or crisscross applesauce- and do seated side bends)
Extend and stretch
Twist and turn (seated twists)
Twist and turn
This is yoga, (hands overhead on “this,” then bring to prayer position on “yoga”)
This is yoga
Om sweet om, (hands in prayer, bow forward)
Om sweet om
Source: I got this from Kids Yoga Guide teacher training, but here is another from Be Grace Yoga 

Song: Sarah Pirlte’s “My Roots Go Down” 
roots – hero/virasana,  leaning forward and tapping the floor
pinetree on a mountainside – mountain/tadasana
willow – tree/vrksasana
flower – flower pose
waterfall – seated forward fold/paschimottonasana Inhale arms up. Exhale and let the “water” cascade to the ground. Repeat 3 times.

Open the Book
Arms, legs, both
Close the book. Open the book. Turn the page.
Start seated with arms stretched out in front of you, palms touching. To “open the book,” stretch the arms wide. To close it, bring them back together. To “turn the page,” open just the right arm and close it, then the left arm and close it. Repeat “turning pages” until the kids giggle. Repeat the whole sequence using legs instead of arms. Then try arms and legs together. 

Book – In Every Moon There is a Face by Charles Mathes
moon – seated side stretch
tree – tree/vrksasana
lace – candlestick/ modified shoulderstand/sarvangasana
words – sphinx pose, bend and windshield wiper legs back and forth
angels–natarajasana/dancer pose
birds – eagle/garudasana
sea – boat/paripurna navasana See if they can hold boat while they sing “Row, Row, Row your Boat”
jar of flowers – flower pose
star – five pointed star
child – devotional pose/ bkaktasana
sky – warrior III/virabhadrasana III
butterfly – baddha konasana/ bound angle
moon – seated side stretch

Song: Kira Willey’s “When You Sleep” 

I did a modified version of these affirmations. 
squat to gather clouds – I am strong.
moon sidebends – I am peaceful.
garland pose/malasana – I am at ease.
butterfly – I am happy.
child’s pose – I am restful.

Savasana 

Peace begins with me
Hold both hands overhead. On the word “peace,” touch the thumbs and pinky fingers together. On the word “begins,” touch the thumbs and ring fingers. On the word “with,” touch the thumbs and middle fingers. On the word “me,” touch the thumbs and pointers. Repeat this four times, the first time loudly and hands overhead. The second time, bring the hands down a little and speak a little softer. The third time, bring hands lower and whisper. The last time, bring hands to knees and speak words silently to self.
Source: Kids Yoga Guide Teacher Training

Namaste!

Yogibrarian is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

“Fish” yoga storytime

Opening – How I explain the rules of yoga storytime: stay on your mat, and keep your hands to yourself.
(Skip to my Lou –  from Jim Gill)
Stomping feet, one and two
Stomping feet, one and two
But if my feet were covered in glue
I’d stick to the glue, my darling.

Clapping hands, one and two
Clapping hands, one and two
But if my hands were covered in glue
I’d stick to the glue, my darling
(hands in Anjali mudra, or prayer position)

Are you Ready for Yoga? 
Are you ready for yoga?
If you’re ready, then stomp your feet
Stomp your feet and make some noise.
Let’s stomp our feet and make some noise
And do it really fast
Then stop. Stretch your feet up, up, up
And down.
Repeat with arms then both. 
Source: Next Generation Yoga at the National Kids Yoga Conference

Sun Salutations

I used these sun salutations from Yoga Games for Children as posted by Breathe. Flow. Grow. Yoga. 

Open the Book
Arms, legs, both
Close the book. Open the book. Turn the page.
Start seated with arms stretched out in front of you, palms touching. To “open the book,” stretch the arms wide. To close it, bring them back together. To “turn the page,” open just the right arm and close it, then the left arm and close it. Repeat “turning pages” until the kids giggle. Repeat the whole sequence using legs instead of arms. Then try arms and legs together. 

Book – Swallow the Leader : a Counting Book by Danna Smith
1 fish – fish pose/matsyasana
2 fish – Lie in hollow body or banana. Splash arms and legs.
3 fish – Crab walk.
4 fish – rabbit pose/shasangasana. Rise when you blow like a whale.
5 fish – five pointed star for a ray
6 fish – blowfish – Take deep breaths in and out.
7 fish – shark – locust post, shalabasana with hands in prayer position overhead like a dorsal fin
 8 fish – seahorse – Sit in dandasana. Slowly move your legs to walk, then faster to trot, and faster to gallop. Roll back and then up to seated for “WHOA!” This is similar to “Walkin’ Ol’ Joe.”
9 fish – turtle pose
Repeat all the poses as you count back down.
On the burp, roll backwards and try to come to standing on your mat without using your hands.

Toe-ga
I tossed out “fish food” (a bag of pompoms) around the room and had the kids collect the pompoms with their toes and place them into bowls. Normally, this game is called “toe-ga.”

Song: Kidding Around Yoga’s “A Yogi Went to Sea“

Hoberman Sphere Breathing Ball

Savasana 

Peace begins with me
Hold both hands overhead. On the word “peace,” touch the thumbs and pinky fingers together. On the word “begins,” touch the thumbs and ring fingers. On the word “with,” touch the thumbs and middle fingers. On the word “me,” touch the thumbs and pointers. Repeat this four times, the first time loudly and hands overhead. The second time, bring the hands down a little and speak a little softer. The third time, bring hands lower and whisper. The last time, bring hands to knees and speak words silently to self.
Source: Kids Yoga Guide Teacher Training

I didn’t offer a craft this time, but I did give each participant a “yoga fish” (fortune teller fish). The fish “bend” into poses!

Namaste!

Yogibrarian is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

“Body Art” Little Ones event

No, we’re not tattooing small children; we used our bodies, mainly hands and feet, to make animals! We held this event at the library and at an outreach event in Severance Town Hall. I simply set out paints, markers, wiggly eyes, and glue, along with some examples from the internet, and then let the families go to town.

body-art-examples

Yogibrarian is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.