Four people sitting cross-legged on yoga mats with a hand on the chest in a gym

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On the Same Breath and On the Same Page

 

 

We celebrated City Schools of Decatur on the same breath, breathing together, and on the same page, reading together.

We celebrated the success of the first 40 days deep breath initiative in Georgia!

Here’s how we honored On the Same Breath and On the Same Page: A free, open to the public class taught by Carrie Beauchamp, myself and three Renfroe Middle Yoga students-Jillian, Kira and Olivia.

Kenny & the Dragon, by Tony DiTerlizzi is the heartwarming tale about a brave rabbit named Kenny and his literature-loving friend Graeme the dragon. Their friendship inspired us to breath deeper, to receive more clarity, to get better at seeing people for who they are, not what they appear to be.

 

 

The book Kenny & the Dragon by Tony DiTerlizzi standing on a table

Kenny is a little rabbit with a very big problem. His two best friends are heading into a battle of legendary proportions, with each other! In one corner there’s Graeme, a well-read and cultured dragon with sophisticated tastes. In the other there’s George, a retired knight and dragon slayer who would be content to spend the rest of his days in his bookshop. Neither really wants to fight, but the village townsfolk are set on it.

Adults and children on hands and knees on yoga mats in a school gym

Heart Action: Friendship, Leadership, Bravery . Alignment Action: Lift Chest, Open Heart

Teacher in a green robe and adults standing with hands at the heart in a school gym

 

Breath of Joy. Is there joy in tolerating differences, responsibility, honesty, pacifism and knowledge?

Families raising their arms overhead on yoga mats in a school gym

After washing away stains of preconceived differences, we woke up to any parts of us that aren’t aware of our core values.

Adults and children standing on yoga mats facing the front of a school gym

Wake Up Mountain. We woke up our hearts, our minds, our ears, our voice with strong, heavy golden positive power.

Young girl standing in Mountain Pose with hands at her heart among adults on mats

We connected our power.

Adults and children standing on yoga mats with arms stretched out to the sides in a school gym

Our regrets, our set-backs, whatever is holding us down from being brave got kicked out!

Adults and children balancing on one leg with arms raised overhead in a school gym

 

Smiling girl balancing on one leg with arms raised overhead beside adults

Warriors question what isn’t true. With strong stance and open hearts.
Kenny’s book, King’s Royal Bestiary stated all dragons are terrorists. Obviously, his warriorship found that untrue. He had to teach his village the truth.

Adults and children in Warrior II across a school gym, a teacher in a green robe among them

Tapped into intuition for guidance. Prepared to balance as warriors.

Teacher in a green robe and girls standing in a row with hands raised to their faces

 

Adults and children balancing on one leg and leaning forward in a school gym

We listened  – to our guts, our hearts, our imagination.

Adults and children on hands and knees reaching one arm and the opposite leg in a school gym

When we fell out, we LAUGHED!

Laughing boy on his mat while adults and children balance on hands and knees

ROCKED the Boat!

Adults and children laughing as they balance seated with legs lifted and one arm raised

 

Adults and children balancing seated on yoga mats with arms raised, smiling

Deep breathing teaches us to become friends with ourselves first so that we can be open to being friends with others.

Adults and children standing and talking on yoga mats in a school gym

Teacher in a green robe seated at the front of a school gym with children sitting facing her

Teacher in a green robe and a woman crouching beside a child on a mat while adults watch

Painted cardboard dragon propped against a chair in a school gym

Co-Created a Dragon Breath in a Dragon shape. A Bunny Breath in a Bunny shape. And shared!

Girls and a woman kneeling on yoga mats with arms raised overhead

Woman and children squatting together on yoga mats in a school gym

Woman, girl and child on yoga mats, the child on hands and knees reaching one leg back

Woman folding forward, girl raising her arms and child resting in child's pose on yoga mats

Teacher in a green robe kneeling at the front of a school gym as a child rests in child's pose

Teacher in a green robe leading women and a child standing on one leg in a school gym

Connected. Connected. Connected. Connected.

Adults and children holding hands in a circle, balancing on one leg in a school gym

 

Adults and children sitting cross-legged in a circle, holding hands on yoga mats

Large group of adults and children sitting in a circle on yoga mats in a school gym

Rested.  Rested Rested. Rested.

Adults and children lying on yoga mats resting in a school gym

Created a Coat of Arms to reflect our core values.

Child drawing a sword inside a shield outline for a coat of arms

Child drawing a coat of arms with the words Joy, Love and kindness

Child pointing to her coat of arms reading I love you

Girl standing on a yoga mat with one hand on her heart beside a woman

Child coloring a coat of arms with a book, a heart and a butterfly on a purple mat

 

Hand-drawn coat of arms with a friendship tree holding a heart

Thank you Little Shop of Stories for your partnership.

Thank you to all who showed up and celebrated being on the same breath and on the same page. And bunnies. And dragons. And friendships. Thank you to all of you who made new friends. We noticed!

Thank you Kelley Sue for capturing the joy, the friendship, the laughter of the celebration.

More to Explore

  • Zip the Lip…Potato Chip!

    Often people tend to pull us into their drama. Our awareness can get overwhelmed. What if we allow them time for self-correction? What if we don’t always comment about what we are critical of? What if we focus in a positive way and offer love with enthusiasm?
    I invite you to practice the zip mantra (influenced by the brilliant Paul Muller-Ortega ) on your mat space as well as in your life space. Do tell us how it goes!

  • Mini Pose Card Icebreaker – Get To Know You Game

    Last month I finally broke open my Mini Pose Cards from Grounded Yoga. Okay, now how to use them, I thought. It just so happened that I was launching a new class that night called, “Girls Night Out” (8 – 12 years) and that I had a full house of 18 (some of which Iʼd never met). One of the main intentions for this new class was to create a space for girls to come together and connect. So, what a perfect opportunity to use the Mini Pose Cards as a tool to do so. As the girls were arriving, I came around and placed a mini pose card on their mat. I asked them to keep it safe for the whole night. Once everyone arrived, I introduced the “Mini Pose Card Icebreaker – Get To Know You Game” and hereʼs how it works:

  • Certified to Teach Kids Yoga in Middle School

    Last night felt surreal. I was standing in my kitchen with Lee, Amy & Cheryl when they handed me a single piece of cardstock with the words ‘Certified Grounded Teacher.’ I felt my throat clench and my heart skip a beat. Though I have been teaching Grounded Yoga for over a year, it was this small piece of recognition that let me know that I am now officially recognized as part of one of the greatest movements of my lifetime.
    Once I received my 200hr teacher training in 2012, I had begun leading my daughter’s classes at school once a week and eventually took over the Tween class at my studio. I pulled resources from all around- other teachers, online sites, books, games…everything I could find to help create a well-rounded class. It was a year of growth and some things worked and some failed miserably. What I did know was that I loved teaching children- their honesty in their bodies and mouths and they way it was starting to create a shift in their perspective. My dear friend and teacher, Lee introduced me to Grounded in early 2013 when she came home lit UP from Level 1 training. I watched her do Go To Your Room and that’s literally ALL it took! I knew that something special was going on with Grounded…something that hadn’t been done before…something that was about to change how the world looks at kid’s yoga. We put a plan together to “sell” our yoga program to our school as a full-time yoga curriculum. And it WORKED! I decided to take the Level 1 training just after school started so we could teach the same material and use each other to bounce ideas and begin to try to understand the huge undertaking we’d just landed.

  • Go Ahead – Push My Buttons

    push (one’s) buttons verb •    Make one react, or react unfavorably; to aggravate; to show off another’s character faults; to taunt. She knows how to push all his buttons. Unfortunately, most “button pushers” get a bad rap.  They’re considered rude and inconsiderate. They are the difficult people in life.  Teachers send them to the principals…

  • Unlieable

    Unlieable – To be filled with ones own truth, to the extent that no lies can enter ones being, either form within or without
    Meet Ben. While working on an exercise to illustrate what we stand for, Ben introduced me to a new word… unlieable.
    When I asked Ben what this word meant, he said, with complete assurance, that to be unlieable is to not lie…. Duh