Glenmore Yoga and Wellness Center

Summer Camp 2006 – PARENTS HANDOUT
Today at Glenmore Yoga and Wellness Karma Kidz camp…
Here are just a few of the things we learned today at Glenmore  - try these at home for fun.
Hatha Yoga balances breathing, physical poses (called asanas), and concentration.  Remember them like this:  The A, B, C's of yoga are:  A - Asana, B-Breathing, C - concentration.
Healthy breathing – Have you ever seen how a baby breathes with his tummy?  He is taking a full breath.  Soon after babyhood, we get lazy and start to breathe shallowly from our chests instead of deeply from our diaphragm.   This increases our stress level and does not provide our body with all the oxygen it needs.  Here’s a way to remember your healthy yogic breathing:

First breathe like Pooh Bear, fill up your whole tummy;    (Breathe through your nose not your mouth).   Next breathe air into your whole chest like a superhero…Then breathe all the way out, like emptying a balloon.  Feel a little more alert and calm?   A bit more able to concentrate? 

 

 

Todays Featured Asana – Tree Pose 

 

Tree pose helps build physical and mental balance.   To practice it, start out standing alongside a wall.  Take a small object, like a stuffed animal, and place it about 3 feet in front of you.  For beginners, it is good to place one hand on the wall for support, as you bring your foot up and place it on your leg, above or below your knee.  Concentrate on the stuffed animal, and it will be much easier not to fall over!  Once you get good at this, try it without holding the wall, but instead place your palms together.  Tip:  the harder you press your hands together, the easier it is not to fall over!!!   Don’t forget to keep breathing while you do your tree pose!  Imagine that your toes are the ‘roots’, going deep into the ground, and the rest of your body is the branches, reaching up toward the warm sun.    This gives your spine a nice stretch.  AAahhhhh.

 

 

  

Namaste – At the end of a yoga practice we give each other a little bow and say ‘Namaste’.  What does this mean?  ‘Namaste’ is an ancient greeting of respect.   We know that who we are on the inside is way more important than what we look like on the outside.  'Namaste' means 'the person I am on the inside greets the person you are on the inside'.

 Thanks for coming to do yoga with us today!!! 

Cindy Szymonik, Glenmore Yoga kids teacher.   cszymonik@comcast.net