“Tall Ones & Small Ones” is designed for “Small Ones”, children ages three through eight and an accompanying “Tall One”, mother, father, grandparent or caregiver.
This class is a one of a kind way for parents to bond and interact with their children while getting a work out too.
Each yoga routine incorporates children’s literature, music, singing, games or rhymes, creating an atmosphere for imagination and learning while promoting a healthy body!
Yoga helps children and adults alike calm their mind and stretch their bodies. It also increases the ability to concentrate and focus, as well as deal with stress. The younger we can teach our children this the better able they will be to handle the fast paced, high pressure society they are growing up in. And what better place to teach them this, than in a safe environment with their “Tall One” by their side!
Every participant has their own mat, but because adults are right beside their small ones, they are able to support them in “tricky” balancing poses, give encouragement and confidence to otherwise shy participants and help keep the class manageable behavior wise. Most of my routines incorporate partner poses to engender trust and love between tall ones and small ones. (It is such a sweet sight to see a small one snuggle up to their tall one or hold their hand during shavasna at the end of class.)
Conversely, being with their small ones gives tall ones “permission” to be silly and child like again! In this way, both benefit from the interaction during class.
Each one of my routines is designed to literally exercise both body and mind. For example, one week, children develop phonemic awareness through memorizing nursery rhymes reinforced by coordinating asanas. And another week we talk about symbiotic relationships between crocodiles and plover birds on our virtual tour of the African Savannah's.
Each routine is theme tailored and complete with an intention for the practice, appropriate asanas and shavasana ("be still" time in corpse pose at the end of class).
See other "Tall Ones & Small Ones" post for a list of possible themes...and the list just keeps getting longer! If you have a specific theme or book you would like to see done for your event or school-let me know and I'll see what I can create!!