Are you looking for some yoga ideas for spring ?
Wondering what the best poses are for this time of year?
Here are my top five favourite yoga poses to practice at home with the kids, or to teach in your classes.
But before you teach the movements, it’s always a good idea to explain how the yoga asanas will help and what impact they have on the body.
Why?
Because by educating kids about the purpose and impact of yoga, it increases their interest, engagement and empowers kids with the knowledge of how to look after their own health.
Educate:
From a traditional Eastern medical perspective, the organs that become more predominant during springtime are the two organs that deal with detoxing the body and eliminating any excess from wintertime: namely, the liver and gallbladder.
So, the best asanas for spring, are those that help the functioning of the liver and gallbladder.
These two organs are also responsible for creating flexibility in the body. They govern the muscles, joints, tendons and ligaments throughout the whole body.
Empower:
This means that if the body is tight, achey, stiff or suffering from colds, coughs, sneezing, or hay-fever, the liver and gallbladder have been overloaded.
To ease all of these symptoms, simply practice the yoga poses for the liver and gallbladder everyday and watch aches disappear, muscle tension go, and colds clear up.
Physical, Mental, Emotional:
However, it’s not only the physical body that is impacted in spring, So are the mind and emotions.
Have you ever noticed yourself or child get more irritable in spring, or have angry-outbursts?
Again, from a traditional Eastern philosophy, this relates to an overactive or congested liver function. Usually caused by processed foods, bad quality oils and even too much meat or dairy.
In yoga, we know that the body has a direct impact on the mind.
So, once we help the liver to function well again, and gently detox the body, it will also regulate the mind and emotions, release pent up stress and tension and result in happier, calmer kids.
Just this week, I saw this in action with a 9 year old boy. His mum brought him to yoga because of behavioural problems (hitting, throwing things, rage).
We did the exact same movements that you will see below, added in a breathing exercise and deep relaxation and his mum said he went home a different child.
And you will see this too.
By the end of your spring yoga class, watch as tension disappears from faces, necks and shoulders relax. The kids and teens will tell you that they feel less stressed, calm and relieved.
Any irritability, anger or worry they walk in with, will have evaporated by the time they walk out.
Sound good?
Here are the Top Five Spring Exercises for the Liver & Gall Bladder.
1. Seated Side Stretch
Sit with your legs out wide and hands interlaced behind your head.
Breathe out, drop an elbow to the inside of one knee, then breathe in to sit back up.
Repeat on the other side, going side to side 10 times.
2. Rocket
Sitting with legs out wide.
Slide a hand down one leg until you can grab hold of an ankle or foot. Bringing the other arm overhead into a side stretch and count down from 10 to zero. The fun is blasting off to the other side.
3. Seated Twist
Staying in the same position and keeping the legs wide, exhale and twist around to the side and smell the flowers, grass or say hello to the insects.
4. Roly Poly
Lying on your back, with hands interlaced behind the head.
Exhale as you drop your knees to one side.
Inhale to the centre. Then exhale to the other side. 10 times.
5. Triangle Pose
Standing with feet apart, take arms wide at shoulder-height. Make sure the feet are wide enough that if you dropped a piece of string from your wrists, it would land on your feet.
Turn your right foot to face the side and your left foot also slightly to the right.
Take a breath in and exhale as you drop the right hand down to the right leg and the left arm straight up in the air. Hold and breathe.
Practise:
Practice these five exercises everyday for 21 days and watch your health, energy and vitality improve.
For kids with big emotions, anger and behavioural issues, include a calming breathing exercise.
Finally, if you want to eliminate the colds, coughs and hay fever that show up in spring, then these are the perfect ones to do.
To learn more about yoga therapy for seasons and to help with the Top 10 Issues Kids are Dealing with Today, click here: Yoga Therapy 4 Kids & Teens.
Enjoy,
Loraine x
