As I sit to write this I am grinning ear to ear because my heart could not be more full of love, joy, pride and awe. This morning, I was honored to have two of MY girls (and when I say My I mean students of mine) for over four years teach a full on yoga class to a group of 14 students at the Ivivva Store In Dunwoody Village.
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.
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.
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.
Written by Lee Darling In 2006 I arrived on my first yoga mat during my pregnancy of my daughter. A year later I was teaching preschool and fitness classes to children as way to continue to be with her on a daily basis. Last January I showed up to my first Grounded Yoga experience with…
This activity came out of a need to define shinning inner light. The
concept seems vague to some kids so I wanted to find a way to connect
emotions with yoga movements in a concrete way. Doing this activity is a
way for kids to verbalize their good qualities. Some kids are very familiar
with their dark sides, and they only hear adults point out what they do
wrong. They have to be able to identify their light sides and what they do
right before they can shine their inner lights. Once they have a few
concrete images to focus on, I think they can shine these attributes as they
do the yoga poses.
Say Yes to Brightness,
To Certainty, To Health
Say no to dullness,
To doubt, to filth.
Say Yes to Careful,
To Enthusiasm, to Aim
Say no to Careless,
To Backsliding, to Lame.
Say yes to activity,
To Attention, To humility.
Say no to Heedless,
Inertia, Instability.
How to say NO
To such 9 Disturbances?
Create a “no” prop
To play interference.
A block will work wonders
To impede interruptions.
Place between your hands
To help with deductions.
Press your hands in
To fire your inner shoulders.
Breathe your arms up
And become a beholder.
Keep pressing in
To activate what’s dull.
Reach the block up high
As well as your skull.
Hold a block in one hand
Lift up your opposite knee
Tilt to block side
Finding freedom is key.
Place the “no” block
Right between your thighs.
I know it is awkward
May your enthusiasm rise!
Press your thighs back
Keep your shins fixed.
Fold Forward, touch the floor
Breathe steady while betwixt.
Step back into Downward Dog,
Bend your knees a lot.
Press your block up and back
Notice your train of thought!
Shift forward into plank
Lower down flat like a pancake.
Keep shins pressing down
Lift thighs up with a mandate.
Stretch your belly and heart forward,
Hips back toward your toes
Open your shoulders
Like a polyphonic prose.
Press back to Down Dog
Come down to table.
Remove your block
Keep hands and shins stable.
Prepare to find freedom
With boundaries no less.
In this grounded pose
We call “No Table Yes”.
As you stretch right leg back
Exhale Yes to Higher Aim.
As you bring knee to forehead
Inhale No to Lame.
Your spine arches and curves
As you continue 5 times
Try it fast, Try it slow
Switch sides
Cause it’s prime.
Sit is easy pose
Tune into your frame.
Each inhale in
Think Yes to high aim.
Each exhale out
Think No to Lame
May this help you
Up your game.
Grounded Kids Yoga | Based in Atlanta, GA
Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Grounded Kids Yoga provides in-person and online training, professional development workshops, and ongoing support for educators, parents, and clinicians. We specialize in kids yoga, mindfulness, social-emotional learning (SEL), trauma and pain management, emotional regulation, and impulse control for preschool through high school students. Each year, we serve thousands of children and teens through school programs, after-school enrichment yoga clubs, summer camps, Girl Scouts, 4-H conferences, and yoga studios across Atlanta, the Southeast, and nationwide.
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