How can Yoga help? 

​Yoga can help with anxiety as it really allows us to be in the present moment. By focusing on moving the body with the breath and how each pose feels we are staying in the moment and quietening busy minds. It can be challenging to go straight into a mediation so yoga can be a really good tool to prepare ourselves for stillness. Yoga can also help to release built up tension from our bodies and align us energetically.


Cat / Cow

Start in a tabletop position (knees below hips, wrists below shoulders). Inhale and drop the belly down towards the mat as you look forward. Exhale round your spine, arching your back like a spooky Halloween cat and relax your head, looking towards your belly button. Inhale, move through back to your cow pose, lifting your heart, dropping the belly. Exhale back to your cat. Move with the breath here, repeating at least three to five times.

Childs Pose

Start on all fours and then bring your hips back so that your arms are stretched out in front of you. Bring your forehead to rest on the mat or on a yoga block or bolster. Having the legs together will help to support your spine. This may not feel like a resting posture for everyone, so another option is to bring your big toes together and knees as wide as the mat and then fold forward, bringing the forehead towards the mat.
 
Forward Fold

Begin standing with your feet together or hip width apart. On an exhale, bend your knees and fold forward bringing your belly against your thighs. Bring your hands to the ground and let your head hang heavy. You may like to work on straightening the legs in time.  You can stay here for three to five breaths or for just one exhale as part of a flow.
 
Puppy Dog Pose

Begin on all fours, knees above hips. As you breath in walk your arms out in front of you and bring your chest towards the mat. You may like to have a yoga block underneath each forearm if that feels better. Rest your forehead on the mat keeping your legs exactly where they started. Breath here for three to five breaths.
 
Legs up the wall

This is a wonderful restorative pose that helps your body to relax and restore. Start by sitting sideways against a wall and then swing your legs around so that you are laying on your back with your legs up the wall. Doing it this way will help you to get your bottom as close to the wall as you can. Straighten your legs, resting your heels on the wall. Your arms can rest beside you or bring them to your belly. Anytime you need a break during this pose you can bring your legs into a butterfly position by bending your knees and bringing the soles of your feet together. The more you practice this pose the longer you will be able to stay in it for. Try staying in this pose for at least two minutes or longer if you feel you need to.


How is your child feeling about going back to school? Do they have at least one thing they are really looking forward to?  These poses can be used before school, after school or any time you and your child has time. You could practice them all or just choose one or two for that day. Legs up the wall is one of our favorites before bed! 
 

This is a beautiful meditation for children and teenagers that can be done at home. Adults can benefit just as much from this practice so feel free to set a timer and join in. So often people think the idea of meditation is to have no thoughts but actually trying to quieten the mind so that we can allow ourselves to hear our unheard thoughts can be very empowering. 

To be able to direct these thoughts, we must first be aware of them. Bring an awareness to these thoughts without judgement, without labeling them good or bad. Each time a thought comes to your head return back to the number one so that you are not 'running away with the story'. One to two minutes is a good time frame for this exercise. You may choose to journal after or to talk to someone you trust about what came up for you. 



Did you make it to ten? 

When the clouds bring us rain, it can leave us pretty limited as to what to do at the moment. Sure we can still get out and enjoy nature but what if we feel like hiding out at home for some of it? How can we still stay active and avoid boredom? 
With yoga of course!
Here are three games that we love to play at home rain or shine!

Sometimes the simplest games are the best one! If there are 2 people playing, stand to face each other. If there are three or more, stand in a circle or pair up. 
You can include some yoga poses, some funny dances, jumping over things and so much more. Be sure to go first so that you can show them a few possibilities and then let everyone have a turn to be the leader.

Start by asking the child / children what they think ‘rock’ would look like. We usually go for a pose that looks most like child’s pose or knees to chest. Then do the same for paper and scissors.
Get into partners if there are more than two of you. If there is an odd number, someone can play on the next round. Once in a partnership, stand back to back with one another. As you count one, take one step forward. Two, take another. Three, and another. Say ‘Draw’ and quickly get into your poses, either rock, paper, or scissors.
As we do not have winners and losers in our yoga practice instead, we focus on how we can join these poses together. We sometimes stack the rocks, scissor massage the rocks (chopping hand motion), join the scissors together by coming into a double boat kind of posture and so on. The possibilities are limited only to the imagination. Then we go again.

​

Another resource you may find useful is my free ABC Yoga Card deck download with pose guide and game ideas. You can find that here.

There! Three great yoga games that you can play at home! Will you be trying any of these games? Would you like to see more game ideas or have you got any that you would like to share with others? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

What is on our minds? Often a whole bunch of things. It can get very overwhelming. In this practice we look at slowing down. Letting go of our thoughts, even just for this moment, to come back to ourselves. We begin to notice feeling emotions, questions, sensations, worries and thoughts. Taking the time to do this can allow you to release nervous energy and of what is troubling you and allows you just to take the time to breath. This exercise is great for teenagers and adults. It can be practiced together or alone.

It can help to have someone guide you through this or you may like read this in full and then set yourself a timer of 10 to 15 minutes to practice this activity. 

Take a cross legged position on the ground or sit up nice and tall on a chair. You may like to close your eyes, or take a soft gaze in front of you. As we start to still ourselves, we may notice a lot of thoughts running through our minds. Notice this, and then bring your attention to your breath. 

Take five long, deep breaths to help calm and settle you into this moment. 

Now imagine yourself sitting on a grassy hill, Maybe you are sat up against a tree or on a nice blanket. Feel the warmth of the sun shining down on you as you breath in that nice fresh air. Next to you is a stream. Notice how the water is flowing. Is it flowing quickly or slowly? Does it seem calm or hurried? 

As you sit here, bring your awareness back to your thoughts. As a thought pops into your head, notice it. Notice if your body reacted to it in anyway. Notice if your breath changed at all. Now take this thought and place it on the stream. Watch as the flowing water takes it away, Do this as many times as you need to do. Some thoughts may be harder to let go, they may find their way back but just repeat the process. 

Now bring your focus back to your breath. Can you keep it here or is there a thought that keeps popping up? Acknowledge it and send it down the stream. 

When your timer goes off, take a few deep breaths, wiggle your fingers and your toes a few times and gently come back to the room. 

You may choose to journal after your experience. Did any thoughts keep coming up? Had you been aware of them before? Is this something that you can ask for help with? 

You can repeat this process as often as needed. Practicing regularly will help you to calm your mind for longer periods. It will also help you to check in with your body and mind and tap into the parasympathetic nervous system (a rest and digest state). We switch from worrying to nurturing our bodies systems for long term health including digestion, repair and immunity. 

You may like to visit this blog on Self love, that inner critic and breaking out of comfort zones: Click Here 

I love downward facing dog especially in kids yoga. The amount of times I see one and two years old children just naturally taking on this pose is amazing. In this post we look at the benefits of this pose, how to do it and how to make it fun!

Sanskrit is the language of yoga and is the language in which many historic yoga texts were written. We don't usually go into this in children's yoga but it is always nice to connect back to it's roots and learn about the history of a pose/practice. 

Start in a table top positions, on your hands and knees. Knees should be below hips and hands in line with shoulders. Walk the hands forward slightly, turn elbow creases towards the front of your mat and press into all 10 fingertips. Curl your toes in under and gently lift your hips up. Your knees can stay bent or work to straighten them bringing your heel to the ground or towards the ground. Relax your head and neck and be sure to hyperextend the arms, so that you are creating a downward V shape. 

This pose doesn't have to be a Dog, it could be a tent, a unicorn or a tunnel! It can be anything you imagine it to be! It is also fun to pair it with other poses like:
Dog to Frog or Downdog to Updog.

It can also be fun to partner up and take turns in taking the dog for a walk or creating fun ways to do a Downward Dog as a partner pose!
If you would like to see a post on doing that, let me know! 

Enjoy!

3 ways you can connect with Nature this week with your children.
"Many studies show the positive links between direct experiences in nature and children's mental, emotional and physical health and well-being. The studies show that regular direct access to nature can: increase self esteem and resilience against stress and adversity" (Quote found here)
Taking the time to connect to nature has a huge range of benefits. It allows us to really get back to our selves and find a sense of calm. Here are three ways you can connect with nature this week.

1. Plant something
You don't have to be an amazing gardener, you can keep it really simple. You could plant some basil seeds in a pot on your window, or perhaps plant some flowers that the bees will love in your garden. Whatever you choose to plant, take the time to care for it and watch it grow. I always find watching something grow from 'nothing' so satisfying.

2. Feed the birds
We made some really cool DIY bird houses/feeders last week.
(This one is really cool).
Check out what foods are good for the local birds here.
​
3. Cloud watch
I love laying in the sun and cloud watching but with the unpredictable weather that may not be happening this week. However, cloud watching can be enjoyed whatever the weather and from almost anywhere. It can be really calming but also allow for creativity. I am sure we have all played the game at one point where we try to see animals and different shapes in the clouds.
This is a great activity with the kids, especially if they do enjoy their screen time as it allows for long distance eye practice.
It is also fun to talk about your different perspectives and if you can see anything the same way as each other. For example, when doing this activity once with my daughter we could both see one cloud as a duck but another cloud we could see completely different things; I could see a unicorn and she could see a dolphin.



Nature is not a place to visit...
...it is home.

How do you like to connect back to nature?
Do you already do some of these activities? Let me know in the comments ♥️

This is a running theme in so many of my blog posts, lesson plans and general day to day living. We like to include some form of gratitude into our day whether it is writing it down before we go to sleep, talking about it, playing gratitude themed games or using it as a theme for our art. 

Gratitude can make you happier and healthier, physically and mentally. I write about the benefits of gratitude more in this blog post : Have an attitude of Gratitude.

Gratitude is a mindset and not something we can hold in our hands or point to so we have to get creative in the way we teach it to our children. Instead of focusing on getting children to see it, we should bring focus on getting children to feel it. A great way to do this is through art. Children have such beautiful imaginations and it is wonderful to see their creativity flourish. This can also be a really fun opportunity for adults to get creative. 

Start by setting up a clear space, without distractions of television. You could even take this activity outside if it is a nice day! Get pens, crayons, glitter, paint or anything you feel like getting arty with today and your paper ready. 
Choose from the following prompts to help your child (and yourself if joining in) feel the gratitude in what they have at this very moment. 

1. Draw something that makes you happy.

2. Draw someone you love.

3. Draw something that makes you feel good.

4. Draw someone who helps you.

5. Draw something that makes you feel thankful everyday. 


I would love to see some of your drawings! Feel free to share with me by emailing me at tashabryant@hotmail.com or tag me on social media www.facebook.com/amazingmekidsyoga  www.instagram.com/amazing_me_yoga  or right here in the comments! Enjoy!

Positive affirmations can help change your whole day. They can ease stress, build confidence and help you to take control of your thoughts. Being in control of your mind is a huge deal. When we let our minds wonder untrained they can go all over the place but by bringing an awareness to our thoughts we can begin to ask ourselves - is this true? Is this my opinion? Have I inherited this view from someone else? Then we can add in our affirmation. A positive phase we have chosen to help focus our mind where we want it to go and focus on what we want it to believe. 

You can start using affirmations by writing them down and putting them on your mirror/ some place you'll see often, using them as passwords, using them in meditations or simply just repeat to yourself when needed. 

Examples of Affirmations you may choose to use:

I Choose to be Happy

I will be present with each moment

I am enough 

I can do hard things

I am loved

I know my worth

I am capable 

My heart is open, love pours in and out freely 

​
If you are having trouble with believing the affirmation this can be damaging so I would suggest you re-word it in a way that can feel comfortable to you.
For example - I am beautiful. This could be a really difficult one for someone to repeat in front of a mirror or to themselves if they were having real body image issues. By repeating it to themselves over and over it could get very upsetting. Instead this person could say - 'I am learning to appreciate my beauty' or 'I am learning to love myself exactly how I am' or even 'My body is healthy and functions well.' 

Children mirror us! The easiest way to get your kids in on this is to practice it yourself. My six year old is a fantastic example of this. I have my positive affirmations on my mirror and will regularly read them out loud in front of the mirror when she is around. She stands in front of the mirror and says 'looking good!' and strikes a pose to herself or will say something equally cute and inspiring. She then wanted to write her own affirmations. She even wrote a couple for me including 'You are a great mum' and 'you're doing a great job' which just looking at makes me smile every time.

I have attached a fun print out for kids but they could all be used by adults too! 
It has space to create your own affirmation too. If you haven't got a printer, feel free to download and copy out the affirmations by hand. 

If you enjoyed this blog post please give it a thumbs up and share it with others. Have a wonderful day <3 

Gratitude creates an awareness of all the good things in our lives. The more you think about what you are thankful for, the more you will find you have to be thankful for. Having a gratitude practice has a huge range of benefits for both adults and children. It is something we practice a lot at home so it makes an appearance in my yoga lesson plans regularly!

I have created some fun worksheets we have been doing at home as part of our 'operation home school' so I thought I would share it with you guys too. Scroll down and below the picture of each worksheet is the pdf download.
If you enjoyed this you may also enjoy this daily planner sheet for health and fitness goals etc (opens in new window).

​ Let me know what you think in the comments below and If you would like to see more like this! Sign up to the email list to here about more mindfulness and yoga you can practice at home!

You may have had this in your classes as a kids yoga teacher or in any other class. The child is unresponsive and doesn't seem to what to take part in anything you have planned. Sometimes it is about changing our approach to teaching. Maybe they learn better through other methods or maybe they just aren't giving your approach any attention regardless. In this case we have to let go of ego, let go of expectations and just be there. Show that child that when they are ready, you are there. Keep the invite open and ask them now and again if they are ready.

It is not a rule that everyone has to join in. Sometimes even as adults we just don't feel like it. When a child is new to a group, it may be their first group class out of school or just their first yoga class, they may not be sure if they want to join in. They may have anxiety around it or their maybe something else holding them back. 
So how can we include a child that doesn't want to join in with the group?
A way I like to keep these kids engaged is to give them a very important job. A job they can do from the sidelines. I give them their own special yoga mat and assign them their role. These may include my special owl watcher. This owl perches on their mat and peeks out from his owl eyes (often using hands in a binocular shape) and just watches to make sure everything is going okay. If the owl feels we are too noisy he can give us a hoot. This allows the child to feel part of the group without expectations of leaving their comfort zone too much. Also if they choose to give a hooting noise, it is a great sign that they are slowly feeling more safe to get involved in the group. Observing the class allows the child to see that it is a fun, safe, supportive space to be in and actually it might not be the worse thing to join in. 
Another role I may give someone is as the Volume controller. The volume controller sits on the sidelines and has a magic switch, when they dial it up we can go louder and when they dial it down we go quieter. This is seen as a great game for all but also allows this child to observe what's going on and have a little bit of control over it which can be very empowering for a shy or nervous child. 

These are just two ways in which I aim to include someone who is not ready to join the circle. Then at the end I often move the circle to them so we can all end the class together. This lets them know that they were an equal part of our class and we saw and appreciated them. It is amazing how quickly they then come around to joining the circle and week by week become more and more comfortable with those around them and the structure of the class.

If these ideas don't work. We just keep showing up. We let them know that we are not giving up on them and they are important. 

"And if those children are unresponsive, maybe you can't teach them yet. But you can love them today, maybe you can teach them tomorrow" - Jeffrey R.Holland.


What ideas do you practice when you have a child that doesn't want to engage in the class? Please share your ideas in the comments or head to our brand new forum full of class ideas, themes and general support and inspiration! 
www.amazingmeyoga.forumotion.com