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)
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
Sun Salutations – Halloween version from KidPowerment Yoga
Hello, bats. Flap, flap, flap
Hello, worms. Squirm, squirm, squirm.
Place your hands on the floor. 1,2
And step back. 3,4
Lower your belly to the leaves on the floor.
Aoooo. howl at the moon so pale
Lift up to shake your werewolf tail
Bend your knees. Jump your feet up please.
Take a deep breath in
And feel the magic deep within.
Check out our video!
Song: Wee Sing’s “The Bats are All Asleep”
cat – cat pose/marjariasana
ghosts – virabhadrasaba III/Warrior III
witches – warrior II/virabhadrasana II
skeleton – goddess/utkata konasana
goblin – malasana/garland
Crown, Heart, Tail. I saw this when I observed a Kids Crave Yoga class. Ask the kids where their head or crown is. Then where is their heart. Then tail (or where their tail would be). Repeat. Shake up the order: Heart, tail, crown. Tail, tail, crown, heart. Go faster and faster, and then slow it down. I love that these movements correspond to the 1st, 4th, and 7th chakras.
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 – Even Monsters Need to Sleep by Lisa Wheeler
Bigfoot – tree/vrkshasana
aliens – UFO= child’s pose/balasana
dragon – lion’s breath/simhasana – Not too many; lion’s breath is VERY energizing!
Frankenstein – soldier kicks
yeti – bear crawls
troll – bridge/setu bandha sarvangasana
Lochness monster – balancing table pose Long neck and tail like Nessie
giant – 5 pointed star
Forward folds
Forward folds are very calming and grounding. Here we moved from standing to sitting to folding in ourselves for even more of a centering effect.
– uttanasana
– paschimottanasana
– baddha konasana with fold
Savasana
Song: Kira Willey’s “When You Sleep”
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!
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