Sunday, October 2, 2011

Relaxing Family Yoga.... Well....Not Really

For those who are up for considering something new and relaxing with your kids...something like say, yoga...well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I feel I should warn you- yoga with children may not turn out to be relaxing in the least. Amusing probably, but relaxing....well not so much.

I've done yoga myself on and off for years, and I always feel great afterward, especially when I practice regularly. My body feels all stretchy and relaxed and my mind feels clear and peaceful- these are great things to share with kids right? That's what I thought when I had my harebrained idea of the week- to implement a regular yoga time with my kids.

One of my offspring in particular is a bundle of energy and could occasionally use some help in the focus department, so I especially looked forward to introducing him to yoga. The other is pretty mellow on her own, but when exposed to Crazy Child, it rubs off slightly.

Anyway, I found the most wonderful yoga instructor on You Tube- a woman named Esther. I first came across her "Happy Morning Yoga" and loved it. I am still not sure if it's the actual yoga, or just her calming voice, but I was smiling in no time.



Esther has yoga for just about any occasion too- Feeling sluggish? Have a headache or cramps? Insomnia? Are you a runner? Want to lose weight? Whatever your issue you want to deal with, she has a handy little search tab, and I've been able to find videos for just about any occasion (although sometimes you have to phrase it more than one way to find what you want and make sure you're searching her Yogatic channel to get her videos, not all of You Tube, or you might end up with some random bikini clad bouncy person)
 
Anyway, I'm attempting to implement Relaxing Family Yoga, although so far, it hasn't been all that relaxing...ok, not at all. Perhaps eventually, Mr. Wiggle Kid will actually listen to what Esther is saying and not just flail himself into some crazy pretzel position. Perhaps someday they won't both randomly burst into giggles when we are supposed to be focusing on our breath. Yeah....maybe. In the meantime, I am getting two kinds of yoga- relaxing on my own, and entertaining with my kids. And, I'm convincing myself that they are somehow organically absorbing something valuable and learning by osmosis.

Another bonus- not that we're ever short of things that count as PE in our happy little homeschool, but this does add some variety to the mix. So, if you're looking for something lovely to try for yourself, or something fun to do with your family, I would highly recommend Esther. Her free videos are awesome! But if your kids are anything like mine, it might not be very peaceful.

4 comments:

  1. Oh I love it! What a great idea. I am always looking for great ideas for PE. Might need to pull this one out during a rainy day to see if they like them.

    Lil Momma
    Working hard at improving my son’s reading fluency.

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  2. Yes- give it a try! We're having lots of fun with it.
    I'm actually thinking of trying it with the Junior High and High School youth group that I work with too. I can't wait to see the looks they give me when I tell them we're doing yoga- especially the teenage boys. It should be amusing if nothing else, but hopefully they'll gain some bit of relaxation skills in the midst of the laughter.

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  3. Get this - my two sons both do yoga moves at their sports practices! One does mixed martial arts and the other does gymnastics. Each takes his sport very seriously, sooooo . . . although they USED to laugh at my yoga moves, they actually respect it now and even sometimes do it beside me. Fantastic!

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  4. That's great Tatiana! I think my son was surprised at how difficult many of the poses were. He thought it would be easy until he tried it.

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