Happy Independence Day!

Celebrate Independence Day with this OHMazing® class from Yogiños: Yoga for Youth® instructor, Emily Aven!

Yogiños: Yoga for Youth® + Wanderlust Wanderkind Kids Program = OHMazing Summer Fun!

 Yogiños: Yoga for Youth® will provide kids programs at Wanderlust Colorado July 5-8!

The Wanderlust Wanderkind Kids Program is the number one spot on-site for kids ages 4-10 to have a safe and exceptionally cool Wanderlust experience all of their own. Custom tailored to the interests of Wanderlust families, the Wanderkind kids program, is held on-site at each festival location and runs from 9:30 am to 4 pm Friday through Sunday. All activities, like kid's yoga, music, hula-hooping, and arts and crafts, are included in the program. Kids and parents will be responsible for their own lunches, but can enjoy samples from kid-friendly snack sponsors. Tickets are $50 per day. Want more info on the daily activities? Scroll down below!

Tree Toss is one of the many games
 we play to practice balance,
sharing and team-work.

 

 

CLASS INFO:

Yogiños: Yoga for Youth® is an OHMazing™ interdisciplinary kids yoga curriculum in English, Spanish, and Sanskrit. Our yoga for kids program weaves together wellness and the 8 Limbs of yoga with original art, music, games, stories, and other mindful, sensory-integrated activities to promote flexibility, strength, balance, collaboration, civic and social responsibility, mindfulness, and nutrition on and off the yoga mat. www.yoginos.com and info@yoginos.com

We look forward to meeting you and your kids and posing, playing and learning about ourselves, others and the Earth! Each day we will weave works of art and music with activities touching on all aspects of yoga including pranayama, individual and partner yoga poses, cardiovascular and relaxation exercises.

THURSDAY, JULY 5: The Story of Ganesha
How did Ganesha become known as the elephant-headed prince? Spend the day on an adventure of self-reflection and empowerment through the story of Ganesha, a beloved Hindi elephant prince.

FRIDAY, JULY 6: The Hero in Me
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, no... it’s EACH OF US! Join us as we play and pose learning how each one of us is a hero and heroine.

Vishnu

Cambodia, Khmer culture
Sandstone

1999.30

Crow Collection of Asian Art


SATURDAY, JULY 7: Vishnu's OHMazing Journeys
Vishnu's OHMazing™ Journeys weaves together ancient narratives of the hero Vishnu and the heroine Lakshmi through yoga, art, music, and dance. We will celebrate our own journeys and the choices we make as we build relationships and extend love to ourselves, to others, and to the universe.

SUNDAY, JULY 8: Lean on Me
Learn to lean and be leaned on both on and off the mat! We will pose and play games that offer opportunities to practice communication skills in various ways. “Just call on me brother, when you need a hand, we all need somebody to lean on!” (Lean on Me lyrics by Bill Withers)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

originally posted:
5/4/12

Wanderkind Colorado: Class Info + Day By Day Activities

Tags: Colorado

Yamas, You's & Yoga for Youth

Photo credit: David Perrone

by Elizabeth Reese, PhD, E-RYT, RCYT

              

Sometimes, when I share with people that I weave Pantajali’s Eight Limbs or paths of yoga into Yogiños: Yoga for Youth classes, I get “the brow.”

You know “the brow.” And you know the variation accompanied with a strained ardha lipasana: the half-lip smirk.

My response is that while I may not read to kids excerpts from the Yoga Sutra’s, I do nurture opportunities for us to discuss ways to make mindful—or OHMazing—choices for the self, others and the earth. Here is one way I present Yamas to youth.

First, I reveal that Yamas are ways we can take care of the you’s and others in the world.

I purposefully selected this connection of Yama and you. Even for kids as young as three years old, I further explain that sometimes “even I” have a hard time remembering new information, and Yamas and “you” both begin with “Y”. This mnemonic tool assists learning acquisition. Moreover, for young readers it provides opportunities to play with language and alliteration.

There are numerous ways we can embrace the Yamas. One way is to to show compassion and kindness to all living things, including the “you’s” in our lives, ourselves and the earth. Pantajali calls this constant employment of empathy and care—or nonviolence—Ahimsa.

Elena Brower, Yoga Journal Conference,
New York, April 2012

In a recent class with Elena Brower, she invited us to bring the “you” in our lives who offers us the most contraction. She asked us to see that person, as well as ourselves, with compassion. Elena mindfully threaded this theme throughout the class occasionally highlighting—or knotting, if you will—that when we see all others with kindness, we allow ourselves to live and grow more fully into a place of constant grace.

For example, in an extended pose like utkatasana or chair, and of course while we felt that fantastic contraction in our whole bodies, Elena asked us to breathe through the sensation of tightness and strain. Here she skillfully connected this physical sensation to ones we feel when we are confronted with someone for whom we have ill feelings.

While Elena’s eloquent language may be high-level for a kindergartner, the message that we can have Ahimsa for the you’s or others in our lives—and simultaneously invite grace into our own lives—is worth attending to at every age.

To provide a physical embodiment of the Yama Ahimsa to kids and families, one of the many asanas I offer is what Yogiños: Yoga for Youth calls in its trilingual approach, Tierra/Dwi Apanasana/Earth.

Instructions:

1. Lie on back in Savasana (Zzzzzzz)
2. Pull knees into chest and wrap hands or arms around knees for a full squeeze.
3. Rock back and forth if it is comfortable.

Opportunities for Discussion:

• Invite your yogis to do this asana thinking about how much they love the earth for giving us so much.
• “As you hug and love yourself that is an important step to love and honor others and the earth.”
• Or “Remember that loving yourself is one of the best ways you can love others and the environment.”
• Next, ask your participants to think of someone with whom they struggle. Encourage them to hug, rock, and love this person as they want to be loved and held.
• If we can show compassion for others, it often enables us to treat ourselves with more kindness or Ahimsa. Afterwards, discuss how they felt in the pose showing kindness to the earth, others, and themselves.

Read more: Yoga in Schools Aligns Body, Mind & Heart

Photo credit: David Perrone

Elizabeth “Beth” Reese, Ph.D., E-RYT, RCYT, is the founder and executive director of Yogiños: Yoga for Youth®. A yoga practitioner for over 13 years, Beth is the mother of three OHMazing yogis under the age of 13. Her oldest daughter, Jordan, is part of the inspiration for Yogiños: Yoga for Youth® as she learned to navigate challenges associated with Sensory-Integration “Disorder” through practicing all 8 Limbs of yoga.Yogiños: Yoga for Youth offers classes for children and families as well as trainings for classroom teachers, yoga instructors, parents, and others interested in bringing yoga and healthy choices to all ages.elizabeth@yoginos.com

Via elephantjournal.com

on Apr 19, 2012

3 Breaths for the 3-Year-Old in Each of Us

By Elizabeth Reese

Learning how to mindfully breathe was tough for me as an adult. My mind tugged on the rest of me to knock-this-off and return to old habits of reacting rapidly rather than responding responsibly. The key that unlocked my paths to pranayama first and foremost was counting.

One, two, three.

Three, two, one.

One, two, three.

Three, two, one.

I admit it. It felt a bit silly for my adult mind—accompanied by its childlike or untrained response system—to count silently. Yet this simplicity is perhaps why counting was one of the best tools for me to step onto the paths of pranayama, or the art of how to breathe mindfully.

Uno, dos, tres.

Tres, dos, uno.

Uno, dos, tres.

Tres, dos, uno.

After years of experimenting, counting breath is a form of pranayama I teach to yogis of all ages, including kids, teens and adults. While evoking counting may seem overly-simple, in my experiences that is precisely why it works: a familiar, safe element is offered in tandem with something new. This is part of an educational theory known as constructivism and is one of the foundational educational philosophies we use in Yogiños: Yoga for Youth classes.

We also use different languages, specifically, Spanish, English and Sanskrit. While a book could be inserted here providing research and data as to why we weave different languages, one reason is based on constructivism. 

Many youth today join our classes with ranges of familiarity or full comprehension of another or various languages. Accordingly, we use a trilingual yoga approach to simultaneously provide opportunities for yogis of all ages to physically, mentally and emotionally draw from their core knowledge and they expand outward into new experiences and understandings. 

Uno, Dos, Tres/Eka, Dwi, Trik/One, Two, Three

Instructions and discussions: 

•  Inhale through your nose for count of 3
•  Exhale out of your mouth for count of 3
•  Repeat several times.
•  What feels easy? What feels more challenging?
•  Notice how it may be hard at first to exhale slowly, then how good it feels to develop control.
•  Where can we use this breath when we feel out of control?

Try counting in different languages: 

• English: one, two, three
• Spanish: uno, dos, tres
• Sanskrit: eka, dwi, trk
• French: un, deux, trois
• German: eins, zwei, drei
• Japanese: ichi, ni, san

What languages can you share to help us expand more fully into new experiences and understandings?

 

About Elizabeth Reese

Elizabeth "Beth" Reese, Ph.D., E-RYT, RCYT is the founder and CEO of  Yogiños: Yoga for Youth, an OHMazing interdisciplinary yoga for kids program in English, Spanish, and Sanskrit. Yogiños: Yoga for Youth weaves together the 8 Limbs of yoga and wellness with original art, music, games, stories, and other sensory-integrated activities to promote flexibility, strength, balance, collaboration, civic and social responsibility, mindfulness, and nutrition on and off the yoga mat. Yogiños: Yoga for Youth offers classes for children and families as well as trainings for classroom teachers, yoga instructors, parents, and others interested in bringing yoga and healthy choices to all ages. 

Website: yoginos.com

Facebook: facebook.com/yoginos

Twitter: @Yoginos

 

Originally Published on MindBodyGreen April 24, 2012 at 9:40 AM

 

 

OHMazing A-Z Kids' Yoga Coloring Book press release and book signing!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS NOW for the formal release and book signing of OHMazing A-Z Kids' Yoga Coloring Book:

Saturday, May 12, 10am-3pm, 
Art Center of Corpus Christi
100 N. Shoreline Blvd.
Corpus Christi, Texas 78401

Families and yogis of all ages: come pose and play to bilingual music and check out the *NEW* bilingual wellness book, OHMazing A-Z Kids' Yoga Coloring Book! Enter a drawing to win a Yogiños: Yoga for Youth® educational package featuring our bilingual products including award-winning yoga for kids DVDs, music CD, posters, and new book.

Yogiños: Yoga for Youth® is a locally-founded, internationally-expanding OHMazing™ interdisciplinary kids yoga curriculum in English, Spanish, and Sanskrit. Our yoga for kids program weaves together wellness with original art, music, games, stories, and other mindful, sensory-integrated activities to promote flexibility, strength, balance, collaboration, civic and social responsibility, mindfulness, and nutrition on and off the yoga mat. We offer bilingual yoga DVDs, kids yoga music CDs, and other bilngual educational products for schools, studios and homes.

Our award-winning DVD, The Story of Ganesha, was filmed locally at the Art Museum of South Texas, the Yoga Studio of Corpus Christi, near Cole Park, and other locations.

Yogiños: Yoga for Youth® is endorsed by Andrew Weil, M.D., Christina Sell, Yoga in My School, and others. We are in partnership with the Crow Collection of Asian Art in Dallas, Read to Lead, and YogaVibes, as well as in cooperation with prAna. Our DVDs are available here and also distributed by Lotus Shop at the Crow Collection of Asian Art, White Swan Music, AVCafe, and numerous private yoga studios.

Don't miss out on this OHMazing event!

Yoga in Schools Aligns Body, Mind & Heart.

by Elizabeth Reese, Ph.D., E-RYT, RCYT

             

 

 

Photo credit: Elizabeth Reese

It brought tears to my eyes. And when I say tears, I mean the streaming ones with trembling, smiling lips.

In a PE class at a Corpus Christi elementary school last spring, about 40 kids took their new journey to begin PE class. Singing and practicing the Yogiños: Yoga for Youth® sun salutation, Toco el Sol, it looked and sounded like they had been doing this all year. When the music player stopped suddenly, it didn’t stop them; with only four days of this vinyasa shining in their lives, they kept the light flowing.

This team of PE teachers, faculty, administration and students were part of a three-school Pilot Program implementing a sample, five-week Yogiños: Yoga for Youth® curriculum based on the story of Ganesha into their existing program.

The teachers first attended a workshop. Here they received a curriculum including five weeks of daily lessons featuring our version of The Story of Ganesha, a poster of a work of art of the “hero” Ganesha from the Crow Collection of Asian Art, our bilingual music, custom latex-free mats, and our award-winning DVD. These materials empowered teachers to weave original art, music, games, stories, and other sensory-integrated activities into their existing curricula. This Pilot Program reached over 600 elementary students and about 275 middle schoolers.

The pilot program of integrating yoga into schools was needed.

In the 2010-2011 academic year, test results indicate that Corpus Christi Independent School District (CCISD) 3rd-5th graders averaged between overweight and obese, and that 48% fall below the National Fitness Zone. To investigate physical benefits, we used existing State of Texas Fitnessgrams as pre- and post-tests to measure physical changes encouraged by the addition of yoga. We also taught pranayama, like Flower Power.
Across the board there was an increase in physical flexibility. And some youth reported additional ranges of flexibility as well.

“What I like best about Yogiños is that I feel more flexible….and not just here in PE, but everywhere,” shared one 5th grader in an exit-interview.

Many yoga for kids programs—International Association of School Yoga and Mindfulness, ChildLight Yoga, Yoga in My Schools, Little Flower Yoga and Shanti Generation, to name but only a few—provide support, training and techniques for teachers, faculty, staff and administrators of schools and organizations to integrate aerobic, strength, flexibility and rejuvenation activities into the daily lives of students and families in safe, healthy, engaged, supported and OHMazing™ ways.

Bringing yoga into schools is important for the integration of body, mind and heart.

Scott Eliff, Superintendent of Corpus Christi Independent School District says that many schools have focused only on academics and the mind for too long. “We are now learning we need alignment of the whole body, heart and mind for optimal learning,” Eliff said when we met to discuss bringing Yogiños: Yoga for Youth into the district.
Indeed, current brain, academic and cardiovascular research provide scientific evidence that practices related specifically to yoga and breathing techniques offer:
~ 27% increase in GABA levels (calmness, anti-anxiety);
~ Improved academic achievement through learning how to improve focus and handle stress;
~ Increased academic interest through providing integrated movement in traditionally sedentary, academic settings;
~ Interactive experiences with team-building, cooperation and tolerance.

Since the completion of the Pilot Program last spring, Yogiños: Yoga for Youth® facilitated our basic two and half days training with 80 PE teachers from CCISD last summer. We also provided this training to all faculty and staff at Corpus Christi Montessori School where we currently are in a full-school integration. Here we are conducting scientific-based research investigating the various impacts and benefits of weaving the program into the school’s curriculum. This study includes research with both students and teachers.

Elizabeth “Beth” Reese, Ph.D., E-RYT, RCYT, is the founder and executive director of Yogiños: Yoga for Youth®. A yoga practitioner for over 13 years, Beth is the mother of three OHMazing yogis under the age of 13. Her oldest daughter, Jordan, is part of the inspiration for Yogiños: Yoga for Youth® as she learned to navigate challenges associated with Sensory-Integration “Disorder” through practicing all 8 Limbs of yoga.Yogiños: Yoga for Youth offers classes for children and families as well as trainings for classroom teachers, yoga instructors, parents, and others interested in bringing yoga and healthy choices to all ages. elizabeth@yoginos.com and here.

Via elephantjournal.com

on Apr 13, 2012

Eating Close to the Earth

By Elizabeth Reese, PhD, E-RYT, RYT

 

During our kids yoga classes at Yogiños, we talk about making good, or "OHMazing" choices for ourselves, others and the earth. Often this includes discussing food because making healthy choices for our whole bodies on and off the mat is definitely part of yoga. For simplification, I invite kids to choose and eat foods that are “close to the earth.”

One day a group of 3-6 year olds were snacking on popcorn and I asked, what’s healthier: popcorn or potato chips? A 4 year old excitedly raised his hand and with great passion and the inability to wait another second he exclaimed, “POTATOES! Because they grow IN the Earth and popcorn comes from corn stalks which grow ABOVE the Earth.”

(Ahhhhh the things kids say..... and they call this work!?!?)

Clearly he had taken my suggestion of “eating close to the Earth” to a literal extreme, yet the offering is a positive guideline to help form how and why we choose certain foods.

Integrative health expert, Andrew Weil, MD, advises that people of all ages seek and crave sugar for several reasons. As children, we are often rewarded with sweets like candy and cookies. This sets us up for a lifetime of connecting good behavior with sugary processed foods. Sugar also increases serotonin—a natural chemical our bodies produce—which helps us feel good and relax. This is why we often turn to sweets when we feel stressed or anxious.

While we all want to feel good, more relaxed, and less stressed, we can make the more OHMazing choice and select sweets that comes from the earth: fruit.

When I talk to youth about choosing fruit, I call it “candy from the Earth,” beautiful, colorful, natural sweets. While we should practice moderation of our intake of these sweets, too, fruit is a better choice than processed sweets and snacks for many reasons. Weil recommends berries, cherries, apples, and pears as the best fruit choices as they have a low glycemic index.

Low glycemic index is a carbohydrate ranking that means a food will not spike our blood sugar levels as much as other foods. High glycemic index foods, like candy and processed sweets, are associated with obesity, high blood pressure, elevated blood fats, and an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.

Why and how is fruit OHMazing?

Ourselves: Whole fruit is good for our bodies because the sugar is natural and paired with fiber. The fiber slows down how our bodies absorb sugar and helps us digest all of our foods more efficiently.

Others: Choosing candy from the earth is good for others because it supports our farmers, especially when we choose locally grown fruits.

Earth: Selecting fruit over processed foods is good for the environment because there is no extra processing or energy spent to make it. Fruit also has no waste! Even if we do not eat all of it, the core, peels, and rinds can be composted. Composting allows natural leftovers to return to feed the earth. It's also a lot of fun and community-building to start and maintain a garden.

A fun way to teach this idea is to discuss which is the more OHMazing choice and why:

• orange soda, orange juice or whole oranges
• apple juice, apple sauce, whole apples
• potato chips (fried and baked), french fries, baked potatoes

Talk about other groupings and ask children to come up with their own groups of three to compare and contrast. I find that kids are never too young to start talking about nutrition. As my yoga teacher, Christina Sell, once asked, don’t we deserve to only consume the very best?

 

Originally Published on MindBodyGreen April 4, 2012 at 10:00 AM

 

About Elizabeth Reese

Elizabeth "Beth" Reese, Ph.D., E-RYT, RCYT is the founder and CEO of  Yogiños: Yoga for Youth, an OHMazing interdisciplinary yoga for kids program in English, Spanish, and Sanskrit. Yogiños: Yoga for Youth weaves together the 8 Limbs of yoga and wellness with original art, music, games, stories, and other sensory-integrated activities to promote flexibility, strength, balance, collaboration, civic and social responsibility, mindfulness, and nutrition on and off the yoga mat. Yogiños: Yoga for Youth offers classes for children and families as well as trainings for classroom teachers, yoga instructors, parents, and others interested in bringing yoga and healthy choices to all ages. 

Website: yoginos.com

Facebook: facebook.com/yoginos

Twitter: @Yoginos