Yoga Surprise

This week one of our yoga experiences was inspired by our Trees inquiry and the A Tree is a Plant book. After a picture walk and a visit to our "wonder window", there was a discussion about the movement of trees and what causes them to move. The wind, rain and other elements of weather were mentioned, as well as, different animals. I thought it would be fun to connect their thoughts with creative movement to keep the momentum going, so an impromptu yoga session was born!

We begin our yoga experiences on small cushioned squares to encourage the use of individual space (the children often associate the mats with tumbling). Body length mats will be used once the children are familiar with more yoga concepts, spatial awareness and self-control. Although the peaceful and meditative aspect of yoga has not been fully embraced by our "gifted minds", the energy and physical exertion involved inadvertently encourages them to relax and unwind afterwards. So it works!

We always begin yoga by "catching the sun."

The "tree" pose was a lot harder to do than it looked. I especially liked this one because it strengthens their balancing skills and ability to stand on one leg. It was fun to watch them figure out that their arms could be used to balance their bodies. 

The "cat" was really exciting to watch as the boys took the more aggressive approach. They weren't as enthused about the "kitty cat", they wanted to be ferocious lions.

The "monkey" position was also fun to watch as they re-enacted the arm movements and pretended to climb trees.

The boys were inspired to create their own yoga position. They named it the "tree ball".