pose_chips-ks

A Zensational Memory Game

pose_chips-ksYoga has become a great way for children of ALL abilities to become aware of their body, in line with their breath, and connected to the beautiful truth and peace within them.  As an occupational therapist and devoted yogi, Allison Morgan of Zensational Kids (see www.zensationalkids.com) offers up a joyful and mindful way to facilatate learning yoga with pose chips.

The Elevator Series Pose Chips help provide a fun, interactive game atmosphere that facilitates learning in a natural and enriching way. Here are a few ideas of how to use these chips in a group or individually to help develop visual and motor skills, motor planning, body awareness and most importantly, laughter.

MEMORY for you and a child

  1. Start with 3 chips, face up. Have the child look at all the chips and go over what each pose is. This can be done either verbally (saying the name of each pose), or motorically (making your body into each pose).
  2. Turn the chips face down. You can test your memory now, or do something else for a few minutes and come back to the chips.
  3. OK, do you remember what poses were on the chips? If you can’t say them, do them. As the child remembers the chips, turn them over to reveal the pictures. If they can’t remember the poses, you do one of them, and see if they remember the name of the pose.
  4. Do you remember the order the chips were in?
  5. OK, once you master 3 chips, try some more.

MEMORY for a group of children

  1. Start with one chip per student. All the children see the chips, say the names of the poses, or do the poses. You will see that their memory is enhanced if they can say them and do them. This demonstrates the power of our body and how important it is in our learning process.
  2. Now count to 5. Everyone STRIKE A POSE. This allows the children to do anything that they remember.
  3. As a group, can they decide what pose is missing? Can they remember any of the missing poses that no one in the group formed? Can they put the poses in the same order that the chips were in?
  4. This is also fun to play with a big group, with a little challenge. Divide the students up into groups of 3, 4, or 5. Every group gets the same number of chips. If each group has 3 students, they get 3 chips, 4 students, 4 chips, etc…. See which TEAM can remember all of their chips and form the sequence with their bodies.

More to Explore

  • The Royal Mind

    Monkey Mind

    Hmmm, Our Monkey Mind
    Our Mind Monkey~
    Is restless, and random,
    Rebellious, and junky?

    Silly, and scattered
    Like a toddler in its movement~
    Won’t settle down,
    And needs vast improvement?

    The mind is a problem,
    That we need to control.
    It’s random, and restless
    And a bit of a troll?

    That’s nonsense, we say!
    And quite derogatory!
    The nature of the mind
    Is going for glory!

    The mind is evolutionary,
    progressive, dynamic.
    Always seeking and moving
    toward that which is magic.

    holographic-mind-300x225

    So, think NOT monkey mind
    More like, mind is royalty~
    A King to Serve
    With Love and Loyalty.

    But, how can we Serve,
    The Great Intelligence of our minds?
    By meditation and mantras
    And movement refined.

    IMG 7136

    By exceptional quality
    Of the company we keep,
    What we see, what we hear,
    How well we do sleep.

    By lavish feasts of sutras,
    Of songs, and of silence,
    Of settling, and stillness
    And speech for your Highness.

    Much of your activity
    Will settle in bliss~
    Yet portions of Royal Mind
    Will continue to hiss.

    And that, my dear friend~
    Is the Great Intelligence~
    It wants more and more
    Of higher elegance.

    The Discipline of yoga,
    Now, you see,
    Is in permitting and inviting
    This process~ to BE.

  • Salutations

    TerrificCharlotte’s Web is a celebration of the quiet virtues. It reminds us to keep a soft tender heart, accept our true nature, and value the unique gifts of our friends. The two main characters of Charlotte’s Web, Charlotte and Wibur, highlight the awareness of our own unique inner story.

    Charlotte, the spider, represents our highest self who provides wisdom and help from above. She reminds us that we are never alone. She provides a higher, bigger perspective from her vantage point high up in the rafters. She brings a calm wisdom into an anxious situation, bolstering Wilbur’s self image by spelling out his best aspects. She represents our INHALE.

    Become sensitive and aware of your breath.

    Wibur, the pig, represents our vulnerable self that is at the center of our awareness. Wilbur is consistently caring and engaging. He forms a bond with Charlotte because he sees her beauty. He is accepting and compassionate and joyfully celebrates life. He represents our EXHALE.

  • Principal’s Office

    principal_doorWant to be a risk taker?

    Feel more alive?

    Go one foot past scary?

    and deep into the dive?

    We have a suggestion;

    a type of advice.

    Report to the principal’s office

    not once….but twice!

    Once as invited,

    the other time sent.

    Once in your school years,

    with our consent.

    It may seem unusual

    coming from us.

    Report to the office

    Nevertheless.

  • Inspiration

    GROUNDED. (ADJ.)

    IMG_07761. HAVING A SECURE FEELING OF BEING IN TOUCH WITH REALITY AND YOUR PERSONAL FEELINGS.

    2. A FIRM FOUNDATION TO BE INSPIRED AND INSPIRE OTHERS.

    Two weeks ago my Grounded class wrote letters of congratulations to Emily, who had just earned her White Bandana. She’s nine years old and lives in Atlanta. The kids in my class were amazed that at just nine she had achieved this. They were inspired. The letters they wrote were thoughtful, complementary and from the heart.