Yoga and meditation for morning

[lulalu]

I need rec. for a yoga and meditation program to use with early elementary age that I could do as well.

 

Not necessarily needing to be together. Even could be a guide to follow for meditation instead of cds.

 

Looking for something Christian or at least neutral.

 

Just feeling our day would be best started with some focus and stretching.

[Slache]

Praise Moves was recommended to me as a Christian alternative to yoga. It looks good and is available in several levels but I haven't used it. If you have a Great Courses membership they have a good one for getting your feet wet but I wouldn't pay for it.

[hornblower]

doyogawithme.com has several kid's meditation tracks - they're really more self-awareness. Very nice. 

https://www.doyogawithme.com/content/awareness-games-kids


this is a nice morning routine https://www.doyogawithme.com/content/morning-hatha-yoga

You can also search the site for shorter sessions if you just want a quicker wake up. 

[Runningmom80]

sitting still like a frog is a nice meditation practice for kids.

 

For yoga, I love the kids yoga deck. The back of the cards even spell out how to teach the pose.

 

(I just did kids Yoga teacher training, so if you have other questions I'm happy to help.)

[lulalu]

Runningmom80- awesome! I have just a one question- how long of a sessions should I aim for with a wiggly 5 year old boy? He is active and healthy.

[Slache]

sitting still like a frog is a nice meditation practice for kids.

 

For yoga, I love the kids yoga deck. The back of the cards even spell out how to teach the pose.

 

(I just did kids Yoga teacher training, so if you have other questions I'm happy to help.)

What are the benefits of teaching kids yoga? What age would you begin? Is there such a thing as too young?

 

This one? https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0811836983/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1468256098&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=kids+yoga+deck&dpPl=1&dpID=41eDOdIc5pL&ref=plSrch

Edited July 11, 2016 by Slache

[dragonflyer]

My 6 year old is currently loving the DDP (Diamond Dallas Page is a retired wrestler) Yoga for kids program.  Very non-meditation, non-spiritual based.

 

I like yoga for young kids because it promotes coordination, strength, balance, and body awareness.  For example, it still requires a lot of focus for my kid to bend the front knee and keep the back leg straight.  Then he has to pay attention to which leg was in front so that he can use the opposite leg next time.

[Chelli]

Cosmic Kids Yoga on YouTube is a favorite of all my kids.

 

They do it for fun and for exercise.

[Runningmom80]

Runningmom80- awesome! I have just a one question- how long of a sessions should I aim for with a wiggly 5 year old boy? He is active and healthy.

 

For yoga, I'd start with 30 minutes or less.  Only a couple of poses and maybe a game.  For 6-10 year olds I was taught to do sun salutations, 4-6 poses and a game for an hour class.  They can't do 20 poses like adults do, and the lose interest.

 

For meditation, just a couple of minutes.  The sitting still like a frog book has a CD with guided meditations.  I'm not sure if there are samples online for you to listen to to make sure they jive with your beliefs.  I'm a Christian in the loosest sense of the word, so I'm not a great judge of that stuff!

 

From my perspective, anything remotely spiritual works well with my kind of Christianity which is just kindness to one's self and others. There aren't any deities discussed.

Edited July 11, 2016 by Runningmom80

[Runningmom80]

What are the benefits of teaching kids yoga? What age would you begin? Is there such a thing as too young?

 

This one? https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0811836983/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1468256098&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=kids+yoga+deck&dpPl=1&dpID=41eDOdIc5pL&ref=plSrch

 

Yes, that's the deck.

 

Yoga helps with focus, body awareness, self-esteem and mindfulness. It's a great tool to use if you are the kind of parent who values teaching emotional awareness and emotional sensitivity to others.  I often use the breathing exercises with my kids when they are flying off the handle. 

[lulalu]

Thanks! I have to look at all these options.