45 Minute Lesson Plan - Introducing Yoga to 6-9 Year Olds

Yoga for Children 45 minute lesson plan - introducing yoga to 6-9 year olds

Overarching themes  Yoga is a non competitive form of exercise which contributes to general health, fitness and well being.  It is an activity which is both enjoyable and sustainable and can be practiced at home, in school and in the community. (KS2 PE Curriculum)  Yoga helps them to take increasing responsibility for keeping their mind and body safe and healthy. It helps them to feel positive about themselves and be sensitive towards the feelings of others. It can help them understand and accept the range of their own, and others feelings and emotions. (KS2 PSE Curriculum)  Yoga is an opportunity for children to develop gross and fine motor skills. It provides an opportunity to help them develop inner rest and calm through relaxation and creative visualization. It offers a physical activity that offers developmentally appropriate learning. (Physical Movement, Foundation Phase)  Yoga provides opportunities to experience and respond to quiet and still times, closing their eyes and listening or feeling. It can be used to help them develop self awareness, self knowledge and confidence, relating to others and working with them. (PSE, Foundation Phase)

Pose Story line Teaching Examples of points Curriculum links & yoga benefits Yoga sitting intro Yoga sitting – legs Curriculum links crossed, back Stillness, express and straight. How does describe how they feel, it feel to have your develop awareness. back straight and how does it feel to be slumped? Yoga benefits Flexibility, strength in spine. Concentration, awareness. Circle – intro song Intro song Song which Curriculum links introduces Builds self esteem, everyone who is confidence, relaxation (singing there relaxes). Communicate ideas You can ask them and emotions using gestures to do an action to and non verbal signals. show how they feel when their name is Yoga benefits mentioned…. Relaxation, self esteem, Looks sad, happy, exhale tired…..

Bell Say hello to the Ring singing bell (if Curriculum links bell you have one) Concentration, stillness, excellent way to experience quiet, develop get the children to awareness be quiet. As the bell has a long Yoga benefits diminishing ring. Concentration, stillness Runner beans Warm up session Runner beans, Curriculum links string beans – stop Balance, stillness, learn to do when the bell rings warm ups, develops creativity/ and become a imagination frozen bean Yoga benefits Warm up, balance, strength, cardio vascular, releases pent up tension/energy Lion Pose Where does yoga Child sits back on come from? heels hands in Curriculum links India, where they front of knees and Imaginative play, creative, fun based a lot of at the command activities their poses on makes a deep roar animals from the from the back of Yoga benefits jungle, for their throat whilst Clears back of throat, helps example the lion. putting their tongue immune system, relaxes This lion has a right out and children, releases tension, toothache so he opening their eyes stretches whole of face. is particularly wide. loud with his roars today…. Cat pose So he goes and On all fours – Curriculum links asks some of the make sure their Show that they can move other animals if hands (paws!) are named body parts (some of they can help him stretched wide and them find this difficult, moving – first he goes to legs hip width the back/spine). Warm up the cat. apart, hands under exercise. Learning to make shoulders or shapes. slightly ahead. Round back and Yoga benefits then lengthen Improves flexibility in spine back. and awareness of spine. Game – sleeping cat Ask the children to become sleeping cats and when you say the word mouse they have to jump up and become a cat (as in pose above). Take your time relaxing them when they are ‘sleeping’….. eg: the cat was on the lounge floor, in front of a nice warm fire, feeling very floppy etc etc until it saw out of the corner of its eye a small, brown, furry…..cute….big eyed…. MOUSE

Game – cat game With this game you get them to move about the room as cats, letting their spines move, stretch and relax and then when you say HIDE they all curl up into little balls and with one or two blankets you hide one or two of them. The others have to guess which ones you have hidden. Curriculum benefits – transferring weight hands to feet, basic action of traveling, imaginative/creative movement Dog pose Next they went to From all fours, take Curriculum links talk to the jungle knees off floor and Teach balance and dog stretch bum up into transferring weight – try lifting air making a one foot off floor. Imaginative ‘triangle’ type play – wag your tail… what shape. noise does a dog make? Helps with sequencing you can move from a Cat to a dog, to a snake and work on improving and adding to the sequence..

Yoga benefits Stretches whole of the back of the body, strengthens arms. Prep for handstand and headstands.

Snake pose Next they went to Lying on your Curriculum links talk to the snake tummy take hands Creative movement, develops to side of chest imagination. Encourage and push upper children to feel what a snake body up, feels like – backbends usually encourage them make you feel more not to push energized. Develop shoulders up to awareness of emotions. Can ears. you be a silly snake? A serious snake?

Yoga benefits Strengthens arms and keeps back flexible, opens chest

Frog pose Next they go to Squatting position Curriculum links visit the frog – practice making Teaching jumping and landing, little jumps and big balance, strength. Emotional jumps, then trying awareness – energizing move. to balance, by taking hands away. Yoga benefits Try singing frog Teaching flexibility in hips, songs! ankles Tree pose The frog was From standing, Curriculum links sitting spread toes (to Teaching balance, stillness, underneath a make good roots) concentration, improves co- tree then lift one leg up, ordination. Can work on put one foot on top improving position ‘improving of the other or put tension and creating a clearer foot on shin, knee shape’ (attainment target level out to side. 3)

Yoga benefits Balance, focus, awareness, strengthening standing leg. Helps with calming the mind (you can’t think too much and balance!).

Tree Game Some people know this game as grandmother’s footsteps. One person (pretending to be grandma) stands at one end of the room and the others all stand at the other end of the room. Grandma turns her back to the others and they SLOWLY walk towards her. When she wants to, she turns around and then everyone who is walking towards her need to turn into a yoga tree. If they wobble or one foot touches the floor, then they are out. The idea is that the best trees win (not the first one to get to the end). They then can be the next grandma. Curriculum benefits: Co-ordination and balance, action of traveling and moving from traveling to stillness

Boat Pose The tree was Sitting on bum, hug Curriculum links next to a lake knees into chest Teaching balance, creating and on the lake is and try and take shape, concentration a boat. The frog feet of floor and suggested that balance on sit there were many bones. Next stage unusual animals is to let go of legs Yoga benefits on the island in and use tummy Core strength, balance, the middle of the muscles to hold quietens mind (you can’t think lake, so they got you up. Trying too much and balance!) in the boat to go singing row, row , and find out…. row your boat….

Double boat Because there Sit with legs out Curriculum links were so many and feet touching Co-operative working, animals they partners, hold balance, they can work alone, needed to make hands, press feet with a partner or in small a bigger boat into each other and groups. try and lift up. Yoga benefits Flexibility in hips, stretches back of legs, balance.

On the lake that Standing, take legs Curriculum links Warrior pose was a warrior – wide, turn right foot Builds strength, flexibility and protecting the out – bend knee physical and mental small island that and make sure it is confidence and self esteem. lay in the middle in line with ankle. Follow rules and safety of the lake Take arms up and procedures (don’t over extend feel strong – surf! knee). Find out how exercise affects the body – they can feel a warrior makes you stronger, feels stronger.

Yoga benefits Strength, flexibility, stamina, grounding (after lots of mental work, brings them back into their legs and feet) Stick pose On the island Sit with legs out in Curriculum links there were lots of front – if difficult, Warm up exercise, stretches stick insects. bend knees. back of legs. Describe how They tied Stretch arms up. exercise affects the body (feel themselves To pull tooth stretch at back of legs, bend together making forward, bend knees if appropriate). a long rope and forward toward Emotional awareness – tied one end toes and grab calming move. around the lions (imaginary) rope tooth and pulled and then gently Yoga benefits and pulled and pull back – rpt until Flexibility in their hips, legs pulled it out! sufficient to pull and this sitting, flowing tooth out! movement will begin to calm them down. Sun breath The lion is so Sit in cross legged Curriculum links relieved he takes pose and take Helps develop awareness, and a deep long arms up as you concentration. Learning to breath breathe in and move body parts according to then slowly bring instructions. arms down to Yoga benefits sides, encouraging Always starts to calm them a long deep out down, ready for relaxation. If breath that will help they bring arms down slowly them relax. that will extend their exhalation. Savasana – lying down Curriculum links Everyone is so Yawn, stretch and By helping them rest it helps tired they decide lie down, with legs develop self awareness, it is time for a lie uncrossed and concentration and creative down. hands out to sides. thinking. ‘Increasing learners Blankets are great ability to cope with conflict, to put over them as stress, loss and change’ (PSE, are eye pads. Put KS2).’ An opportunity to relaxing music on experience and respond to and encourage quiet times’ (foundation them to feel soft phase). and floppy. Can Yoga benefits also use Relaxation is one of the key visualization, benefits of yoga. Most children imagining they are (and most adults!) are over in a safe place, a stimulated and do not and place they find cannot relax. Learning how to beautiful….. switch off in body and mind will help them properly rest and, in turn, help them in all aspects of their learning and lives.

Sitting Slowly encourage Curriculum links Then it was time them to come up to Stillness, awareness to wake up and sitting. Finish with Use different equipment and everyone slowly everyone sitting apparatus and take got up…… cross legged and responsibility for putting it perhaps bowing to away. They can begin to use each other to say key words to describe ho thank you for the exercise affects the body session. (calming). Develops sense of group and co-operation as they all bow to say thank you to each other. Yoga benefits Slowly brings them back and ready to move on to the next part of the day.