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Radiant Yoga for all Kids
Preschool to Teens
Susan
Helene Kramer
Text and Illustrations copyright 2000-2011 Susan Kramer
Santa Barbara, California USA
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Published by Creations
in Consciousness
susan@susankramer.com
Link
to child series index
Link to more translations
Radiant
Yoga for Teens and Adults
Translations
Dutch | French | German | Greek | Spanish
Books or EBooks
Yoga for all Kids Meditation for all Kids, Meditation and Spirituality for
Teens
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'Here are hints that teach and show
How in life we all should go
Whether we're young or very old
Yoga's lessons can be told'
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Contents |
Moving Poses
15 Poses;
moving one to the next in sequence
Meditations
3 Meditations: Sitting; Walking;
Lying Down
Yoga Dictionary
40 Definitions of Happiness
Virtues
25 Essays
Links
Stretching,
bending, moving, resting
Child's play
Learning
their way
- Presented are
15 poses that stretch and strengthen while promoting balance, coordination,
the ability to concentrate and an increase in vitality through energetic
practice.
- The axial
movements (moves with the body in place) include forward bending, backward
bending, twisting and sitting erect, all of which should be done gently without
straining.
- Practiced in
order, each one leads smoothly into the next.
- All poses and
meditations can be done on carpet. Alternately, practice outdoors on a
grassy spot on a blanket or mat. It is best to exercise before, rather than
right after eating.
- Breathe in to
begin the pose, and breathe out to finish the pose. In between, breathe
evenly.
- Children should
remain quiet during practice to maintain personal concentration.
Note:
Yoga
practices are non-competitive.
Each
person begins at their current level of fitness and ability,
and
progresses at their own rate.
This
makes these gentle yoga poses and exercises,
with adaptations as needed,
appropriate
for those challenged.
A note about the illustrations:
The faint vertical
line shows the approximate center of balance.
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1. The Leaf |
1. The
Leaf; beginning position with straight spine and then with gently rounded
spine.
Sit with spine straight, soles of
feet together, hands on ankles.
Gently round spine and then return to
sitting straight.
Repeat several times.
Sit with spine straight, soles of
feet together, hands on ankles.
Gently round spine and then return to
sitting straight.
Repeat several times.
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2. The Flower |
2. The
Flower; make little bounces with knees toward floor.
Sit with spine straight, soles of
feet together, hands on ankles.
Gently bounce knees toward floor 10
to 20 times.
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3. The Cricket |
3. The
Cricket; head leaning.
Sit with spine straight, soles of feet
together,
or sit cross-legged, hands on ankles.
Head and eyes look forward, then up, then forward.
Next, lean right ear to right
shoulder.
Straighten head and lean left ear to
left shoulder, then straighten head.
Repeat several times.
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4. The Owl |
4. The
Owl; head turning.
Sit cross-legged, hands at sides,
palms on floor.
Turn head to look to one side over
shoulder,
then over the other shoulder.
If sitting on a firm enough surface,
spin body around once using hands to
help propel spin.
Repeat several times.
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5. The Bird |
5. The
Bird; hands clasped behind back, looking up, shoulder blades pulled together.
Sit with spine straight, soles of
feet together.
Clasp hands behind lower back
and pull shoulder blades together
slowly,
head tilted back, eyes looking up.
Hold, then release,
relaxing shoulders, back, body.
Head bent forward.
Repeat several times.
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6. The Squirrel |
6. The
Squirrel; alternately stretch arms to ceiling, then one side and the other.
Sit cross-legged, spine straight.
Raise both arms overhead and stretch
one at a time slowly
towards the ceiling, looking up.
Then stretch arms to side,
making forward and backward arm
circles,
large and small, looking forward.
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7. The Chipmunk |
7. The
Chipmunk; keep twists mostly above waist, shoulders remain relaxed.
Sit cross-legged with arms out to
sides.
Gently and slowly twist upper body
from side to side.
Head looks at back arm.
Come back to center position.
Now, stretch arms overhead.
Bend to side one way, then the other.
Front of body and eyes remain looking
forward.
Repeat several times.
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8. The Rocker |
8. The
Rocker; rock gently side to side, but not so far as to fall over.
Sit cross-legged with hands placed
on floor at sides of body.
Later place hands on tops of
shoulders.
Proceed to rock so balance transfers
side to side
or forward and backward.
Back remains relaxed.
Child should not rock so far as to
fall over.
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9. The Seal |
9. The
Seal; gentle stretch with body turned toward one leg,
then
the other, then forward; alternate pointing and flexing feet as in
illustration.
Sit with legs stretched wide
apart, spine straight.
Turn body to face one leg.
Reach down to hold onto leg with both
hands
and gently lean towards the leg.
Hold for 4 slow counts.
Repeat to other
leg.
Next, sit up facing forward, hold
onto both legs,
round back, and gently lean forward
between legs,
while looking toward the floor.
Next, sit straight and place palms of
hands on floor alongside body for support.
Point and flex feet and ankles in
unison,
then try to point one foot while
flexing the other foot.
Repeat rhythmically.
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10. Salutation Pose |
10.
Salutation Pose; press palms together, back straight.
Sit with legs apart, spine
straight.
Legs are stretched but not tightened,
toes pointed.
Press palms of hands together
salutation fashion.
Lower arms should be parallel with
the floor.
Release tension; press again,
Extend hands and arms upward then
outward to the side.
Stretch arms up again.
Bring hands back to prayer position.
Relax and repeat several times.
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11. Snake Pose |
11.
Snake Pose position.
Lie on back, legs touching, knees
bent,
bottom of feet on floor, arms along side of body on floor.
Lower spine below waist presses to
floor, upper back is relaxed.
Breathe in lung area.
Contract abdominal muscles, hold
counts 1, 2, 3.
Relax and repeat.
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12. The Turtle |
12.
The Turtle position of legs half lowered, arms overhead.
Lie on back, legs touching, knees
flexed up toward the chest,
arms resting on floor above head.
Keeping lower back pressed to floor
throughout
extend legs towards sky while
pointing toes, knees stretched.
Lower legs as far as possible without
releasing back from floor.
Raise legs, flex in and repeat.
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13. The Starfish |
13.
The Starfish; lift alternate arm and leg.
Lie on back, arms and legs
comfortably stretched.
Raise one arm at a time toward
ceiling and lower.
Next, lift one leg at a time toward
ceiling.
Later, try lifting one arm and the
opposite leg at the same time.
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14. Cat Stretch |
14.
Cat Stretch; kneeling with rounded spine.
On hands and knees, let back slope
toward floor.
Eyes look forward and slightly up.
Change position by rounding spine,
contracting abdominal and stomach
muscles
and looking down to front of thighs.
Repeat several times.
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15. The Swing |
15.
The Swing; upper body and arms stretch gently side to side while standing
balanced.
Part I. For
flexibility:
Stand with legs slightly apart.
Stretch arms overhead and let body
and arms bend forward,
knees bend slightly, and then come
back upright.
With arms still stretched overhead
bend to one side,
straighten up, then bend to the other
side and come back up,
lower arms to sides.
Part II. For
energizing the body:
Stand up straight and stretch arms to
side
making a fist with each hand.
Hold arms and hands tight counts 1,2,
and release fists and relax counts
3,4.
Repeat once.
Relax arms and bring them down to
sides.
Repeat Part I. and Part II. rhythmically several times.
Now it is time
to go on to one of the following meditations…
Quiet
Time
Feeling Fine
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1. Sitting
Meditation |
2 to 10 minutes
Sit cross-legged, with straight back as in The Leaf pose, and face forward. Clasp your hands and let them rest in your lap. Close your eyes.
Breathe easily and evenly, in and out. Silently count each breath in as one count, and each breath out as one count, till 50 counts, or another even number.
Example:
Count 1: breathe in
Count 2: breathe out
Count 3: breathe in
Continue…
To finish, take a final deep
breath in, slowly let it out, open your eyes, stand up, and stretch.
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2. Walking
Meditation |
At least 2 minutes
This meditation has 2 parts that
combine to energize the body and coordinate mind-body (thinking-moving)
functioning:
1. Even breathing.
2. Walking with arms and legs in opposition.
Walk briskly while swinging arms easily back and forth. When the left foot steps forward, the right arm swings forward. And, when the right foot steps forward the left arm swings forward.
While walking concentrate on breathing evenly in and out. This practice develops and teaches about concentration.
Example:
Count 1: breathe in
Count 2: breathe out
Count 3: breathe in
Continue…
To finish, stretch arms overhead;
bring arms down to sides; resume other activities.
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3. Lying Down
Meditation |
2 to 10 minutes
Lying on a piece of carpet, stretch out on your back as in the pose The Starfish. Close your eyes, let your body go limp as a starfish laying on a rock.
Lying so still and relaxed, keeping your eyes closed, visualize walking onto a playground on a warm sunny day.
In your mind, just feel yourself standing still for a moment looking around, then seeing a child on a swing going back and forth in a regular rhythm, over and over again.
Enjoy the relaxed feeling in your own body that is lying so limply and undisturbed. Feel whole and comfortable in your resting body.
After some time, begin to come
back to your everyday active self by taking a deep breathe, opening your eyes,
stretching out your arms and legs, sitting up.
Good
actions
Good reactions
Hints for Happiness
1. Acceptance—Being gracious when the outcome is different than expected.
2. Affirmation—Making firm.
3. Appreciation—Feeling thankful; saying thank you.
4. Attitude—Attitude influences our thoughts, words, actions.
5. Blame—Blame delays constructive action.
6. Body—Aligned with harmony and love; boundaries unlimited.
7. Caring—When we help out, we feel useful, we feel good.
8. Choice—Choices result in like for like outcomes.
9. Clarity—As we think clearly, the clearer our thinking becomes.
10. Compassion—Listening carefully then acting in a way that is helpful.
11. Congruency—Acting as we say we will; accurately describing our actions.
12. Conscience—Our inner guidance system.
13. Consciousness—Awareness that grows by Self awareness.
14. Devotion—Doing what we say we will do, with a good attitude.
15. Discernment—Determining what resolve is for the best.
16. Duty—Doing what is required.
17. Empathy—Feeling another's pain and acting as we would for ourselves.
18. Energy—The force that flows through us.
19. Faith—Knowing that right effort brings good results.
20. Friendship—To have a friend, be friendly.
21. Integrity—Living in our highest awareness of truth.
22. Intuition—Inside information brought out.
23. Kindness—Acting kind, we feel fine.
24. Love—Felt by loving.
25. Loving—Truly loving means giving from our heart.
26. Loyalty—Keeping a commitment when circumstances change.
27. Meditation—The medication healing ignorance of our joyful nature.
28. Oneness—Ever one of the parts, Part of the One.
29. Patience—We maintain our
peace by practicing patience.
30. Prayer—Communication back and forth with our
Source.
31. Relationships—Enjoy possessions; Love relationships.
32. Self-knowledge—Self-knowledge allows truthful, harmonious living.
33. Sensitivity—Listening and relating carefully.
34. Serenity—A calm interior, even with a busy exterior.
35. Sharing—Giving our best where there is need.
36. Time—We make time for what we really want to do.
37. Tolerance—Tolerating differences enriches life experiences.
38. Will Power—Concentrating, while taking the time and energy to achieve a goal.
39. Wisdom—Applied discrimination.
40. World
Peace—Personal peace
multiplied.
Click link to read more on 25 Virtues
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1. Caring |
14. Loyalty |
Susan Kramer, M.A., Ph.D. is an international author of more
than 50 collections and 150 articles on rhythmic movement, modern dance,
ballet, music, philosophy, social issues, relationships, yoga and practical
spirituality for children, teens, adults and those challenged, and with her
husband, Stan Schaap- http://www.powertoshare.com resides in
Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Home
page http://www.susankramer.com
Email susan@susankramer.com
Dance for Children http://www.susankramer.com/dance.html
site map
Links to translations and
related collections by Susan Kramer
Looking for a yoga teacher?
Recommended: Directory of
Integral Yoga Teachers Worldwide
Links to others'
sites for children, teens, adults
1. Autobiography
of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda;
book online
http://www.crystalclarity.com/yogananda/
2. Master Sivananda of Rishikesh; books online
http://www.SivanandaDlshq.org/download/download.htm
3. Satchidananda Ashram; classes and programs
http://yogaville.org
4. Self Realization Fellowship; programs
http://www.yogananda-srf.org/index.html
5. The
Path by J. Donald Walters, Swami Kriyananda; book online
http://crystalclarity.com/kriyananda/
6. Sri Ramana Maharshi; teachings online
http://www.ramana-maharshi.org
7. His Holiness The 14th Dalai Lama; writings online
http://www.dalailama.com/teachings
8. Abundant
Well-Being; teachings, workshops with Nischala Joy Devi and Bhaskar
Alan Deva
http://www.abundantwellbeing.com/index.html
9. Swami Ramananda; links to writings
http://www.susankramer.com/ramananda.html
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page first published 2000 | updated August 9, 2003 with
link to essays on 25 virtues | webmaster |