Lisa A. Workman M.A.
  • Home
  • Services
    • Take Your Walking to the Next Level
    • Everyday Yoga Group Class
    • Movement Rx
    • Movement Momentum
    • Professional Educational Services >
      • AFLCA Cycle Designation Course
      • AFLCA Cycle Level 2 Workshop
    • Free Online Course
    • Speaking Opportunities
  • About
  • High Fives
  • Blog
    • Letters From Lisa
    • Cycle Drills & Skills Blog >
      • Cycle Drills & Skills Glossary
    • The Journey of an Aspiring Yoga Teacher Blog
    • The Why I Move Project
  • Media & Publications
    • Media >
      • As Seen on TV
      • Web
      • Print
    • Publications
  • FREE Online Course
  • Contact

The Journey of an Aspiring Yoga Teacher

Week 154: Yoga Flora and Fauna

7/30/2015

0 Comments

 
Fun yoga adventures this week led me to a parent and tot yoga session hosted by our local Mommy Connections group, Nirvana Hot Yoga and West Edmonton Mall.

I’m not going to lie. I wasn’t sure how it was going to go.

Recall, I’ve done yoga with both of my sons up until they were mobile. After that, well, it wasn’t really feasible. It wasn’t easy for me and it wasn’t fun for them.

But this session was different.

Maybe because we were on Centre Stage at the West Edmonton Mall. Or maybe because we were under a huge sky light. Or maybe because the teacher did an excellent job engaging with the kids. Or maybe because my three and a half year old has matured and can have an attention span for 20 minutes! Or maybe it was just all things combined!

Note: My youngest was happily leading his grandma around the mall so I wasn’t trying to practice AND contain a toddler!

As I said, the teacher did a wonderful job of taking common poses and turning them into animals and flowers and all sorts of things. 

Okay - let’s be honest - some yoga poses already have animal names (dog, anyone?) so it was a natural fit.

Here are some of the offerings…

Breath work
We were bumble bees…breath in…exhale and buzz! In cross legged position we brought our pointer fingers to our ears and made circles with our torsos while buzzing!

Cobbler’s Pose (Baddha Konasana)
We were butterflies! First moving our wings slowly then picking up the pace to fly higher in the sky.

Cat-Cow Pose(Marjaryasana-Bitilasana)
Need I say more? We meowed with our mad cats and mooed with our cows. Funny enough…I joke with adults to add the sounds to this pose. It’s not just for adults. The funny thing with kids though (who are not afraid to speak their minds) was one kid shouted out “let’s be wolves instead of cows”. Needless to say, we were howling on our next cows!

Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana)
Again, a no-brainer. We were slithering snakes who hissed in the upright position.

Child’s Pose (Balasana)
Making our bodies as tiny as possible, we morphed into tiny bugs…I was a lady bug by choice!

And finally,

Tree Pose (Vrksasana)
We moved from a crouched position into growing flowers (I was surprised we weren’t trees). But flowers were a nice option too!

To be honest, the teacher did such a great job with so many “kid-friendly" poses, I’ve forgotten them all. There was an airplane in there and a bridge too!

It just goes to show that yoga is for all ages! The kids had a blast. We even played a game “Yogi Says” and finished with namaste.

It was refreshing to share my yoga practice this week with my son. He knows I creep away to the basement or to the odd class to practice, so it was nice to share some yoga with him. He likely has no memory of the earlier classes we did and I would like him to consider yoga as something he can try and participate in. It is all about giving him options and seeing if he wants to try. He has no preconceived ideas about yoga either.

Teaching kids yoga in the future. Yes - I think I’d like that! The class was full of smiles, jumps, wiggles and laughs. Who wouldn’t want to teach yoga that way anyhow. Something to keep in mind for the future.

And hey wait a minute - I’ve never got to play “Yogi Says” at a class before! To be continued...
LW

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Aspiring Yoga Teacher

    I've practiced yoga since I was a pre-teen and have always found it to keep me centered. I will be a teacher one day and this is my journey to discover teaching and practice.

    Archives

    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    September 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012

    Categories

    All
    Agni Sara
    Apana
    Ashwini Mudra
    Bhagavad Gita
    Bikram
    Bird Dog Pose
    Bird Of Paradise
    Boat Pose
    Bound Angle Pose
    Bow Pose
    Breathing
    Bridge
    Camel
    Cat Cow Pose
    Cat-cow Pose
    Centering
    Certification
    Chair Pose
    Chakra
    Chanting
    Child`s Pose
    Chopping Wood Pose
    Cobra Pose
    Communication
    Corpse Pose
    Cow Face Pose
    Crane Pose
    Dancers Pose
    Deep Squat Pose
    Downward Facing Dog
    Downward-facing Dog
    Dvd
    Eagle Pose
    Easy Pose
    Education
    Eight Limbs Of Yoga
    Extended Puppy Pose
    Extended Side Angle Pose
    Fish Pose
    Flow
    Forward Bend
    Four Limbed Staff Pose
    Garland Pose
    Gratitude
    Gunas
    Half Forward Bend
    Half Moon Pose
    Hand To Toe Pose
    Happy Baby Pose
    Headstand
    Hero Pose
    Hot Yoga
    Humble Warrior
    Jack Knife Pose
    King Pigeon Pose
    Kleshas
    Knees To Chest Pose
    Legs Up The Wall
    Lineage
    Lion Pose
    Lizard Pose
    Locust Pose
    Lotus Pose
    Moon Salutations
    Moon Sequence
    Mountain Pose
    Mudra
    Mula Bandha
    Music
    Namaste
    Nauli
    Niyamas
    Patanjali
    Pigeon Pose
    Plank
    Postnatal
    Prana
    Pranayama
    Prenatal
    Props
    Rajas
    Reclining Twist
    Research
    Restorative
    Reverse Tabletop
    Reverse Warrior
    Revolved Chair Pose
    Revolved Head To Knee Pose
    Revolved Standing Wide Leg Forward Bend
    Sage Pose
    Samskara
    Santosha
    Sattva
    Shooting Arrow
    Shoulder Stands
    Side Bends
    Staff Pose
    Stick Pose
    Sunbird Pose
    Sun Salutations
    Table Top
    Tamas
    Teaching
    Therapeutic
    Threading The Needle
    Tiger Pose
    Toe Squat
    Tortise Pose
    Tree Pose
    Triangle Pose
    Uddiyana Bandha
    Upward Facing Dog
    Warrior I
    Warrior II
    Warrior Ii
    Warrior Iii
    Wide Stance Forward Bend
    Yang
    Yin
    Yoga Anatomy
    Yoga Journal

    RSS Feed

  Lisa Workman, MA, BPE, CSEP-CEP, ​C-IAYT, AFLCA Instructor, RYT-200 Yoga Alliance, 500-hour Yoga Association of Alberta
​  Edmonton, Alberta
​|   Medical fitness consulting   |   Clinical exercise physiology   |   Yoga therapy   |

Privacy Policy
Photos from akunamatata, Antífama, Jinx!, PhotosByDarko, PineappleAndCoconut, jikatu, lululemon athletica, jikatu, Idhren, davewrightphotography, tracitodd, tokyosucks, amyjirsa_yogini, USAG-Humphreys, jetheriot, National Institutes of Health (NIH), distelfliege, abolotnov, wornlimtv, Courtney Dirks, allyaubry, davewrightphotography, janfredrikf, Real Cowboys Drive Cadillacs, quinn.anya, TinyTall, tillwe, Breville USA, F L I R S T - Palk Clap, lululemon athletica, quinn.anya, Inspiyr, fabola, Janitors, gabi_menashe, pbkwee, symphony of love, distelfliege, Teecycle Tim, Nicolas*, Iwan Gabovitch, mahmoud99725, KassandraBayResort, mark_donoher, jfirmenich, Yordanos Gebretatios, Robert Bejil Photography, a little tune, amyjirsa_yogini, crsan, m.gifford, amyjirsa_yogini, M.ADA, byzantiumbooks, Gamma Man, Ben Blash, RelaxingMusic, lambatofa, mikecogh, ideowl, Meredith Bell, IntangibleArts, SOMBILON ART, MEDIA and PHOTOGRAPHY, Anna Majkowska, cabancreative, Incase., alonis, torbakhopper, tiffany assman, Monkey Mash Button, Doug Waldron, J Rindrr, whgrad, Rebecca L. Daily, LoJoLu Photography, katerha, pulihora, Robert S. Donovan, torbakhopper, Mariana Heinz, Treefort Photo Dept, Free For Commercial Use (FFC), dennis, ShebleyCL, Kamala L, Hey Paul Studios, IceSabre, Andrea Castelletti
  • Home
  • Services
    • Take Your Walking to the Next Level
    • Everyday Yoga Group Class
    • Movement Rx
    • Movement Momentum
    • Professional Educational Services >
      • AFLCA Cycle Designation Course
      • AFLCA Cycle Level 2 Workshop
    • Free Online Course
    • Speaking Opportunities
  • About
  • High Fives
  • Blog
    • Letters From Lisa
    • Cycle Drills & Skills Blog >
      • Cycle Drills & Skills Glossary
    • The Journey of an Aspiring Yoga Teacher Blog
    • The Why I Move Project
  • Media & Publications
    • Media >
      • As Seen on TV
      • Web
      • Print
    • Publications
  • FREE Online Course
  • Contact