January’s Taste of YogaKids Workshop February 22, 2008

Last month, I held a Taste of YogaKids Workshop at San Diego State University. There were a variety of people there including yoga teachers, nutritionists, therapists, and school teachers. It was such a great group of people with diverse experiences, but the thing we all had in common was the joy in sharing yoga with children.

The day started off with covering calming, quieting poses and breathing, and then moved into some more dynamic, energizing poses. We also talked about the YogaKids Elements, the part of the YogaKids program that truly sets it apart from other children’s yoga programs. After a lunch break we covered ways to integrate music, language arts, science, visual arts, storytelling, and affirmations into a yoga session. Throughout the day we covered more than fifty yoga poses specifically geared for kids!

After a guided visualization, participants were sent off relaxed and empowered to share yoga with children.

I’m always so excited to teach these workshops and share all that I have learned since I began teaching yoga to kids in 2002. What is also so inspiring, is that I always learn from the participants as well. I love the idea sharing that happens!

If you are interested in attending a future workshop, let me know at carolyn@suntomoonyoga.com or keep checking www.sdyogakids.com for updates.

Namaste,

Carolyn Clarke
www.sdyogakids.com

The Simple Things July 12, 2007

The other day I was in a hurry and didn’t have time to plan out a full, creative, and exciting lesson plan. As I ran out the door, I grabbed a bag of multi-colored pom-poms that I recently bought at the craft store.  I pulled them out at class- and they created quite a hit! I had so many of them that each child got to pick out their favorite color (they don’t usually get to do this if I don’t have enough to make everyone happy, so getting to make this choice alone was quite a hit!).  Then we put our pom-poms on the ground and blew on them to make them roll on the floor. They were so excited at how they could get their pom-pom to move.  I sometimes get so wrapped up in lesson planning, that I forget how much kids enjoy the simple things: a $2 bag of pom poms!