Yoga for Youngsters

So, in an effort to revive my blog, I’m planning to focus more on library programming, services and advocacy…so without further ado, here’s my first post…Yoga for Youngsters!

In early 2013 I came across a very brief article in a professional journal I was reading about resources for a yoga program in the library, and I was ready! I love yoga anyway – I’ve attended classes, done videos at home, etc. and it’s something that’s always resonated with me. When I thought about sharing yoga with the little ones at the library, I was excited. It was just what I needed to mix things up a little bit. I planned and delivered the first Yoga for Youngsters in March of 2013, and now offer the program on a monthly basis. It is well attended, and participants (parents and children alike) love it!

Here’s a little run down on what we do:

Program Name: Yoga for Youngsters
Intended Audience: Children Ages Birth to Five Years and their Parents or Caregivers – We host this program as a drop-in program and hand out passes for each person (child and adult) that is coming into the room. We can comfortably fit about 30 people with the yoga mats/towels.
Length of Program: 30 Minutes

Introduction: I first ask participants to show by a raise of hands how many have ever done yoga before. I take a minute to explain that in our yoga class (I co-lead it with another librarian and yoga enthusiast, Miss Catherine) we like to have fun. I tell them that I’ve been to yoga classes that are very serious before, but that we don’t get too serious here. I encourage parents to use yoga at home – that it’s a great thing to use for relaxing, redirection, etc. I let folks know that they can practice on a yoga mat, a towel, or straight on the floor. I tell them to have fun with it.

Tips: I steal most of my tips from the book Little Yoga by Rebecca Whitford. There’s a great section at the end of the book that gives really great information – some tips I always make sure to mention: Make sure your kiddos are breathing, we all have a tendency to hold our breath when we’re concentrating, but we shouldn’t; and don’t let the little, little ones (under 2 years) put their weight on their head.

Namaste: At this point, I tell everyone that we’re ready to get started! I tell the kids to imagine that their hands are covered in glue, then clap them together and let them get stuck. Then we bring our hands in front of our chest and practice saying “Namaste.” I break it down by syllable first, then we say it all together.

Book: We usually start with a book – I’ve used a few that I like, they’re listed at the end. This is a good way to do a variety of poses and talk the kids and parents through the motions.

Songs: From here we move into the songs. We usually do 4-5 songs, always starting with Dance for the Sun and ending with Namaste Song. Both are from Dance for the Sun by Kira Willey. She’s great! She has a nice voice, and her songs have great melodies. She has another CD that we use as well called Kings & Queens of the Forest. Both of her CDs have two sets of tracks, the first is the track with music and song, and the second set has the track with music and song, but she voices instructions over it. They are a fantastic resource, because, while I love yoga, I am not a yoga instructor. We can all just follow along with her directions.

Namaste: After we finish the Namaste Song I tell everyone to stay put and take a couple more deep breaths. Then I tell them to very, very slowly open their eyes and take a few more deep breaths, then I tell them when they’re ready to very, very slowly sit up. Then I repeat the hands stuck like glue/Namaste exercise from the beginning. It’s so much fun to see everyone so calm and relaxed at the end!

 A couple of my favorite songs from Kira Willey: The Shimmy, Dancing Mountain, The Sound I Found, Tap My Drum. But really, they’re all great!

Books that work well:
Little Yoga by Rebecca Whitman
You are a Lion, and Other Fun Yoga Poses by Taeeun Yoo
Walk Like a Bear, Stand Like a Tree, Run Like the Wind by Carol Bassett (we just pick some poses from this one and share them)

I love, love, love doing this program. If you have any interest in it all, I encourage you to give it a try! You don’t have to be an expert – just share with joy what you love to do!

Namaste.