by sara | Dec 4, 2017 | Yoga at School
Opening Minds USA: Early Education, Childcare and School Age
Conference and Exp0
I am honored to be selected as a presenter at the Opening Minds: Early Education, Childcare, and School Age Conference in Chicago, IL February 7-10, 2018.
This is the biggest early childhood event of the year and I can’t wait to be a part of it.
I will be presenting on How to Easily Incorporate Yoga in Your Preschool Classroom with Poses, Games, and Mindfulness Within Your Existing Curriculum.
Get ready to learn how to effectively use yoga with young children through a variety of methods in an early childhood session. This engaging and interactive session is designed for teachers, child care providers, counselors, and those who want to learn the best strategies to get young children involved with yoga in kid-friendly ways.
You will
learn characteristics of this 2-6 year old age group and why now is the best time to introduce them to yoga. This session will include breathing and calming exercises that really work with these young children to help them focus and ease anxiety, stress or nervousness. These exercises can be used at school or home.
Discover which yoga poses work best for this young age group. Learn how to easily incorporate these poses into your regular classroom schedule. Get proven classroom transition tips to help children move easily and quietly from one activity to another.
Learn cooperative games that allow children to practice yoga poses, build strength, flexibility, and practice self-control while having fun. These games are perfect to play with any size space and require few props or materials.
Handouts will be given including an illustrated yoga pose guide, lesson plans, and resources.
I can’t wait. It promises to be an amazing event. I would love to see you there.
Find out more information or see ticket prices see here. Take advantage of a discount by ordering 5 or more.
by sara | Nov 13, 2017 | Kids Yoga Lesson Plan, Mindfulness, Presenting, Yoga at School, Yoga Poses
Affirmations and mantras can be an important tool to help children develop positive foundations on which to grow. A positive self-belief system built in childhood will hopefully stay with a person throughout their life. While attending the National Kids Yoga Conference, I got the pleasure of meeting Erin Hurley, an elementary school guidance counselor from Virginia. Erin was also named “School Counselor of the Year” for her school district.
She is the kind of guidance counselor that any of you would love to have your children work with and learn from. Erin has a kind and creative spirit and truly cares about children. Plus she definitely understands the importance of introducing yoga and mindfulness to children so they will have these skills for life.
Erin shared with me how she uses the Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards when she works with students in her elementary classrooms. She has loved using these pose cards with her students as they are visual, age-appropriate, and include simple yet memorable mantras.
Each yoga pose card has a corresponding empowering mantras for success such as “I am strong” or “I am fair and equal.” This ensures that the students are not only receiving the health benefits of each pose, but also the mental and mindfulness benefits as well.
Erin shared with me one incredible activity and lesson plan that she did with her students that I wanted to pass along. This lesson could be done anytime throughout the school year, but would tie in nicely with the beginning of the school year, Thanksgiving or a kindness theme.
Mantras and Mindfulness Kids Yoga Lesson Plan
This lesson would work well with children 
ages 5-11.
First, brainstorm with the students about positive qualities that they see in themselves. For example being kind, honest, hardworking, caring, strong, etc. Write these qualities on the board.
Next, the students took the “hand template” and wrote qualities that described themselves. They did this by writing around the hand template. 
Finally, the students were able to put the yoga poses and mantras for success together to practice and perform. This absolutely made the lesson even more memorable as it ties together so many different types of student learning such as visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning. 
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Want more kids yoga lesson plans?
by sara | Nov 1, 2017 | Kids Yoga Lesson Plan, Teacher Training, Yoga Poses
I love the the anticipation of the Black Friday frenzy. I am not one of those people that is up all night or out all day, but I enjoy the thrill of seeing what is out there and definitely snagging a good deal.
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Find Out More
by sara | Oct 20, 2017 | Mindfulness
The fall season means getting back into a schedule and creating new routines for you and your family. No matter where you are in your day, these mindfulness tips will help parents and kids feel calmer and better able to handle whatever comes your way.
Begin the Day with Calm
Starting a brand new day at a frenzied pace is not an ideal way for anyone, adults or children, to begin the morning. Instead, spend a few moments doing some Sun Salutations and mindful breathing.
Begin by standing tall with your arms at your side. On your inhale, reach your arms up to the sky. On the exhale, relax and bring your arms back down to your sides. This simple movement along with deep, cleansing breaths gently awakens your body and calms your mind. Notice how you feel calmer and more prepared to embrace the day.
Take a Mindful Break
By the end of a school or work day, your mind can reach information overload. Instead of rushing immediately into the next thing you have to do, recognize this transition time between your day’s activities and home by taking a mindful break. This will help you set a more mindful tone before you begin your after-school activities, dinner preparations or other endeavors.
We are honored to be featured in Yoga Iowa’s latest issue. Get Your Yoga and Mindfulness Tips for the Whole Family. Continue reading the full article here.
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by sara | Oct 16, 2017 | Presenting
Go Go Yoga for Kids was thrilled to be a part of of the 4th annual National Kids Yoga Conference (NKYC) which is held in the Washington DC area each Fall. This year the conference was held in Alexandria, VA, which is a quick 15-minute metro 
ride or car ride from Reagan National Airport.
This conference is designed for adults to bring yoga and mindfulness to our next generation. This is done through sponsors, keynote speakers, breakout sessions, and vendors.
This year was a bit different for me for a couple of reasons compared to last 
year’s NKYC conference. First I was a sponsor and vendor which allowed me to have a different experience and perspective.
I also traveled completely on my own from Des Moines, Iowa, by plane, train (metro), and automobile (Uber). This truly allowed me to have an appreciation for different opportunities to try new things.
I am so thankful for the opportunity to meet and connect with so many different people from all over the US, Canada, 
and beyond. It made my weekend to hear the positive comments from others who have used our resources with the Go Go Yoga for Kids Guide, the Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards or had taken one of our Kids Yoga 101 online courses.
It was an incredible feeling to be able to put real faces with names and hear about how they were using it with children. Hearing their stories really made all of the time, effort, and energy all worthwhile.
Teresa Power, the brain and energy behind International Kids Yoga Day is just as amazing and kind in person.
I loved meeting with the founder of International Kids Yoga Day, Teresa Power. I have been a yoga ambassador with this incredible event for the past two years. She amazes me with how much she has done to introduce yoga to children all over the year. She has also been a big supporter of Go Go Yoga for Kids so it was wonderful to actually meet in person.
Susan Verde and I agreed that we are definitely fans of one another’s work.
Susan Verde, bestselling author of I am Yoga, was also there with her beautiful new book, I am Peace. She is the true example of bringing yoga and mindfulness to children in kid-friendly ways. Susan has also so kind to appreciate Go Go Yoga for Kids from our very beginning.
The people at the National Kids Yoga Conference are the real deal as they are kind, caring and inspiring. The breakout sessions are amazing, but it is truly about connecting with one another.
It made my heart happy to be surrounded by so many individuals that truly care about children and strive to give them the tools and techniques to be calm, mindful, and healthy leaders for our future.
My friend, Kerry Wekelo, founder of Zendoway and her amazing daughter, Aubrey showing off some partner poses.
You might also like: Quick Takeaways from the National Kids Yoga Conference.
