1 - Yoga-based Programs For KIDS
Yoga in Sansrit means to "yoke" or "unite" the body, mind, and spirit. The Yoga-based programs for kids are designed with the sense of the "whole" child, to ensure children's positive development by applying the basic universal principles of the mind, body, and spirit unity in a non-competitive and fun environment. The programs' intention is to making Yoga practice and guided meditation and relaxation a way of life rather than a once a week activity. Children will be able to relax and find their quiet place within in any situation.
Programs Goal
The goal of the programs is a happy, confident, and compassioned child. Through the use of easy scientific techniques, the development of a healthy body and sound mind, by which a spiritual awakening is made possible.
- To establish healthy habits
- To promote children's positive development with a strong value system
- To cultivate a happy, confident, and compassionate child
- To foster a strong foundation for lifelong well-being
- To apply an easy-to-use scientific techniques to foster development of a healthy body and a sound mind, by which a spiritual awakening is made possible.
Programs Outline
The programs are divided into either ten, eight or four specific segments. Every segment ties Hatha Yoga, modified for young children, to the specific components of positive development supported by developmentally appropriate activities. Individual segments are theme oriented as outlined below.
Ten-Segment Course of Study
(1) Introduction to Yoga Unity
(2) Individuality / Self
(3) Sharing
(4) Manifestation
(5) Self-Study: Strength & Flexibility
(6) Principles of Effective Communication
(7) Vision & Percpective
(8) Universe
(9) Rules, Rights, Responxibility
(10) Play Yoga / Pantomime
Yoga sessions are comprehensive, creative, playful, and alternate beautifully between activity and passivity. Each Yoga segment includes pranayama (breathing) exercises, eye exercises, Yoga asanas (poses) guided meditation, mandala coloring, and a deep relaxation period. Asanas included in the programs are gentle, yet challenging to both, the body and the mind. Daily Yoga practice allows children to experience the flow of inner energy, energizing their mind and body. The gained self-awareness makes them feel secure and at peace with themselves. A medley of exercises is interlaid with storytelling, games, music and creative arts to awaken children’s multiple intelligences. This system engages the child in learning and skill development, enhances alertness, focus, concentration, self-esteem, confidence, imagination, creative expression, coordination, and physical and spiritual health.
2 - yOGA-BASED PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS & EDUCATORS
The hands-on Yoga-based program, seminar or workshop for teachers and educators allows the participants to experience the benefits of Body-Mind-Spirit unity, while gaining self-confidence to integrate ca 10-20 minute Yoga sessions into their daily curriculum. These short segments won’t take too much of the required academic time hence will enhance energy, focus, and concentration, which are necessary for effective learning as well as for establishing a life-long healthy habits in young children. These hands-on programs provide an excellent comfort and support for teachers and educators.
What is Included ?
2 Ten-session curriculum
3 Standard daily lesson plan
4 Weekly lesson plans with reproducible activity handouts & glossary
5 Instructions for asana practice with warm up and cool down series
6 Instruction for guided meditation
7 Brief introduction to physiology and body mechanics
8 Suggestions for age specific journal writing and/or drawing
9 Healthy diet, nutrition, and eating guidelines
10 Songs - Stories - Dances – Games
What are the Benefits for Educators?
Yoga-based programs, seminars, or workshops offer an easy to learn skills that teachers can pass onto their students with strong confidence. Through Yoga and meditation teachers will be able to easier guide children in the fast-paced world of today, offering them effective way to cope with their daily problems and pressures.
- Learn how to foster components of positive development
- Identify the areas in children's lives they are most motivated to enhance
- Create a personalized class-specific action and lesson plan
- Access tools and resources to reach specific goals
- Assess and make appropriate changes in children's lives
- Track children's progress in reaching a higher level of achievement
- Achieve a higher level of class management, children's health, well-being and aliveness
3 - PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SEMINARS & WORKSHOPS
The Yoga-based programs offer a holistic approach toward “Positive Development." All Yoga-based, topic-specific programs foster experience in components of positive development while awakening the multiple intelligences involved in learning. Through daily Yoga practice one will be able to gain personal insight, physical, emotional, and spiritual wellness, as well as equanimity through relaxation while finding one's own quiet place within. Yoga practice will become a time period in which one can set the course of change that will make a real difference in one's level of health, vitality, well-being as well as in personal achievement. These programs offer tools necessary to transform one’s awareness into a personal compass necessary in times of need as well as in decision-making processes throughout one’s life.
Open yourself up to infinite possibilities
WORKSHOP SERIES
1 Introduction to Yoga
2 Introduction to Positive Development
4 Unity
Experience practical solutions to managing a multi-cultural class environment. The existence of polarities offers to view opposites as unified whole or complete. One doesn’t exist without the other.
5 Iivdividuality
Offers an experience in understanding that individuality refers to everybody’s right to be oneself, to express one’s ideas, as well as to respect individual differences.
Introduces practical solutions to fostering compassioned attitude among students. Understanding that sharing connects us to others through feelings, desires, sensations, and movements. Thus gaining fluidity, grace, and depth of feeling, emotional identity oriented to self-gratification, and the ability to accept change. Experience in sharing emotions while taking responsibility for one’s action.
7 Self-Study and Self-Knowledge
Looks into the key elements in Self-concept development. Experience personal power, will, autonomy, and metabolism. A healthy self-perception brings energy, effectiveness, spontaneity, and non- dominating power as well as ego identity oriented to self-definition.
8 Love and Compassion
Explores the area of self-respect and respect of others. Love as the integrator of opposites in the psyche: mind and body, mail and female, persona and shadow, ego and unity. Such understanding allows us to love deeply, feel compassion, and have a deep sense of peace and centeredness as well as social identity, oriented to self-acceptance and acceptance of others.
9 Effective Communication
Lies in honoring and respecting communication. Experience a word though vibration. Every thought can be communicated positively and in a loving way. Practice simple techniques to become a good listener and to say always something good. If there is nothing nice to say, be quiet. Do not say anything you don’t want to hear.
10 Vision and Perspective
Offers practical solutions to self-doubt, helplessness, and passivity. The activities provide an encouragement and support for (1) trusting one’s knowledge and intuition, while allowing one’s mind to relax; (2) questioning everything and everyone; (3) looking for the good in everyone and every situation; (4) stopping comparing oneself with others; (5) finding what’s one’s uniqueness.
11 Univers
Focus of this workshop lies in developing a strong connection to the most powerful energy source of the universe. Experience the true Self will allow an expansion of limited personality vision to a higher dimension of awareness. Surrendering to the Self will open the doors to fulfillment of the higher purpose in life and thus to celebrate life. There is a joy and lightness that come when one develops a strong and resilient connection to the Self.
12 Rules, Rights, Responsibility
Expolores the key elements in one’s value system such as respect for rules, honor rights, and taking responsibility for one’s actions.
The Body - Mind - Spirit Unity plays an essential part in positive development. Through Yoga and relaxation practice, one becomes more knowledgeable, strong, focused, and centered to face the fast-paced and ever changing social life-style.
It is always more difficult to control, change, or influence the external circumstances than to be in control of one's own inner Self. To learn how to establish healthy habits through self-control and discipline, as well as how to honor one's unique talents and skills it's essential to develop positive attitude toward a happy and healthy self-guided life. Through well defined self-knowledge, children become accountable for their own actions, make honest decisions not being swayed by external circumstances or pressures, and thus setting a strong foundation for enjoyment in life, while being solely responsible for their life course.
The Best Learning Comes from Experience. As children get involved in executing Yoga asanas (postures) more properly, with each practice focusing on breathing and balancing their bodies, their minds become clearer, more focused, and calm. At the same time, their bodies gain strength, flexibility, and agility. Their redeemed lightness of being enhances their overall life style. They become more conscious, more aware, and more mindful. In addition regular Yoga practice with its nutrition guidelines will naturally establish healthy eating habits, thus obesity and other by-products of unhealthy lifestyle will gradually subside.
4 - Yoga-based Workshops For Parents
Parents are the first and most important teachers in children’s lives. Parental support, encouragement, and participation in children’s lives play a very important part in their positive development. Children’s engagements in the Yoga-based programs awake all their intelligences and nourish their natural abilities and talents. The integration of the scientific findings into daily Yoga practice creates an excellent union that makes it easy and natural for parents to implement Yoga in their children’s daily routine. Yoga becomes not only fun and a rewarding family activity but also a wonderful way for creating family togetherness.
The hands-on Yoga-based program, seminar, or workshop offers easy to learn Yoga-based skills that parents can pass onto their children with confidence. Through Yoga and meditation parents are better equipped to guide their children in today’s fast paced society, offering them an effective way to cope with daily problems and pressures.
What is Included?
2 Daily asanas and breathing exercises
3 Reproducible activity handouts and glossary
4 Yoga practice instructions - with warm up and cool down series
5 Brief introduction to physiology and body mechanics
6 Suggestions for age-specific journal writing/drawing for personal reflection
7 Healthy diet, nutrition, and eating guidelines
8 Songs - Stories- Dances - Games
What are the Benefits for Parents?
- Learn how to use Yoga to guide children toward healthy positive development
- Enhance parenting skills
- Gain confidence to create daily Yoga practice to establish and enhance child's daily life
- Develop a playful family togetherness
- Learn about and how to apply healthy food choices and understand portions
- Learn positive self-expression
- Learn how to foster positive self-talk development in children
PRAISE FOR THE CHILDREN'S POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Anybody at any level can practice and benefit from Yoga-based programs. The variety of levels in each exercise challenges every stage of physical development and prepares the body for the next stage. Concentration and focus develops along with physical and mental strength, flexibility, and balance.
The Yoga for Happy Kids programs give children a strong sense of the Self through the dimensions of physical, mental, and spiritual equanimity and provide tools toward positive development as a foundation of a balanced lifestyle. They are an invaluable resource for children, as well as for parents and teachers.
It is hoped that you recognize the multifaceted benefits in implementing Yoga for Happy Kids programs into your children's daily life. Yoga for Happy Kids program experience is not just an one-time event, but rather an opportunity to building a relationship with you in which we can play a valuable part in children's personal growth. This is an opportunity you will definitely want to take advantage of for the sake of your children's prosperity, health, and well-being.