Thank you Eight year old Marlie for presenting me with this yoga book you wrote and taught to classes in your school. I appreciate your interesting chapters~ Yoga that keeps me calm Yoga that keeps me Grounded Yoga with more than two people Yoga with two people Yoga that keeps me happy and your very helpful notes~ Remember you will not get it the first time Breathe slowly Remember to lean your beautifully detailed art~ and your permission to share your work on our blog~ I am grateful that you have been a grounded student for three years and you continue to serve your school with yoga. With love, Cheryl Crawford
Oh Ethiopia, how quickly you stole my heart! I originally set off on the journey to Africa to provide art therapy based art classes through a local non-profit in Atlanta called drawchange. The goal was to expose a group of impoverished children to art and allow them to express themselves through a variety of art…
Part of my practice is to create sacred spaces where I honor my guides, my teachers, a theme, what I am manifesting, what I am inspired by, and what I am teaching. This ritual helps me remember my intention, connect to the deeper teachings which I take quite seriously, and to myself {which I…
We teach kids and teens how to find humor in every day life and how awareness leads to amusement in even the most mundane places. This event took place this morning and it’s what I taught in my Grounded class this afternoon. I shared the story, taught the poses and we had an awesome, authentic experience. The kids were inspired to write down their own personal stories and the poses that prepared them to handle real life with ease. They loved using the pose stickers to illustrate their writing. Find all the details about these poses and more in our box of 84 Grounded Elevator Series Pose Cards. Enjoy!
Said my young friend who wants a connection: “I wave. I shake hands, with no objection. No pain, no remorse, no one intervening a choice I make without much thought or meaning~”
“…Is there a gesture that honors each other? That celebrates greeting sisters and brothers? Can you show me HOW to express happiness with social and spiritual significance?”
YES, my dear friend, I can show you a mudra~ a gesture of sorts, for kings, friends and sudras. Place hands together from fingers to wrists~ like a knife, cut through difference that may exist.
This immediately gets you to the shared ground~ of ALL people, of all cultures, of all sound. It’s a recognition, a united force~ that honors equality of all from the Source.
Close your eyes and tune into your own inner light; your divine spark that forever burns bright. That’s the key, my dear friend, you must see your OWN in order to recognize others’ light shown.
BLEND your five fingers of action on the left~ with five fingers of knowledge on the right~ to achieve the symbol of perfection the union of opposites; interconnection. FInd the Connection of your brain and your heart; your sun and your moon; your stop and your start. Marry together reason and emotion~ unite thoughts and feelings, stillness and motion.
Join positive and negative; hot and cold~ theory with practice, silver with gold~ Wisdom with Method, intellect with instinct~ talent with genius, and feelings with think!
Exhalation and inhalation, ,brain and heart~ Align in harmony, right from the start! There is indeed no sphere of our existence untouched by the symbolic significance~
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!
{Tada drastuh svarupe vasthanam} Patanjali’s Sutra Chapter 1, verse 3 Then the SEER abides in it own NATURE Surely, it’s meant to BE~
To ABIDE in our own SPLENDOR~ The mind must get real quiet; it needs to uncover the truth and go on a Cloud free Diet.
No need to grasp for light For it is already here and there. Let’s thin out the distorted clouds Of ignorance and despair.
Let’s work with the muddled mind, Accept that clouds are blocking, Train to be more observant Of thoughts that keep on talking.
Just like the sun up above Our LIGHT never dims to slur. It does get covered up. And distortion may occur.
Dwarfs mine for diamonds In the classic tale SNOW WHITE. We mine for JOY It’s our undivided RIGHT.
SNOW WHITE sings joyfully, As she tidies up the cottage. Birds and animals dance along And MiIRROR her BLISSFUL wattage.
SNOW WHITE glistens KINDNESS, and undisturbed PURENESS, That exists at the core of her being Her true SELF, that’s for sureness.
In yoga, we use our practice To support the removal of clouds~ To ground into our inner brilliance And shine out free from the shrouds.
“Just whistle while you work And cheerfully together we can tidy up the place So hum a merry tune It won’t take long when there’s a song to help you set the pace “
Keep your ankles in line with your knees And your knees in line with your hips. Clasp your elbows behind your back And rise up high on your toe-tips. Bend steady your knees. Stay high up on tiptoes. Whistle or hum a tune While you work to hold this pose!
“And as you sweep the room Imagine that the broom is someone that you love And soon you’ll find you’re dancing to the tune
When hearts are high the time will fly So whistle while you work”
Clean the sand trap of cluttered thoughts With camel pose in a chair. Sit on the edge of your seat Place your hands behind you with care. Lift the sides of your heart up And the back of your heart high. Pull your head of the arm bones back. Soften both sides of your throat and sigh.
Sigh your throat back, And LIFT YOUR HEART HIGH. WHISTLE WHILE YOU WORK And allow time to fly.
Place hands on your lap Lift your head back over your heart Ground your thighs and feet, And Feel the clouds depart.
May we whistle while we work. May we notice our inner states. May our inner states be bright. And lighten our outer updates.
May the sound that whistles tunes from within our deep heart’s abyss Ring loud and ring clear~ OUR OWN TRUE NATURE IS BLISS!
Grounded Kids Yoga 115 Milton Park Court, Alpharetta, GA 30022
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.
Thank you Eight year old Marlie for presenting me with this yoga book you wrote and taught to classes in your school. I appreciate your interesting chapters~ Yoga that keeps me calm Yoga that keeps me Grounded Yoga with more than two people Yoga with two people Yoga that keeps me happy and your very helpful notes~ Remember you will not get it the first time Breathe slowly Remember to lean your beautifully detailed art~ and your permission to share your work on our blog~ I am grateful that you have been a grounded student for three years and you continue to serve your school with yoga. With love, Cheryl Crawford
{Tada drastuh svarupe vasthanam}
