Yoga at your kid school ..

I just started my new project ..very small..but i am very happy with it .
I decided that i cut out some work time and i will give once a week yoga in my son school.

Children in Holland go to school at age of 4, in the first two years they get quite a lot of breaks and some exercises ...in gr 3 , where sit my son they have gym lesson only once per week ...i think its not much ( i still didn't check it with other schools ) ..and its not that i want from everyone make an athlete .
I simply think that moving and learning how to control your body , mind and focus on the breath can give us   so many benefits .

People often say "oh children they are so flexible" ..yest they are ,but they  like us feel stress,struggle with problems from school to the social life,home etc
They develop coping mechanisms just like adults; overeating,closing themselves,using to much video games or tv, going in anger and aggression ..to avoid dealing with feelings .

For me a big problem with kids now a days is overeating, you see so many already very young children being to fat, children who after running 2 min sweat and have no breath..its very sad .We all want to be strong ,fast ,flexible, jump,run ,and have no health problems !

""Yoga is a great way to help kids stay active, gain strength and learn to balance. Yoga helps kids relax through deep breathing. Yoga gives kids tools that they can use to process uncomfortable feelings and decrease stress. Yoga increases their awareness of how they feel; something that many adults should develop as a skill""



 After first lesson of yoga you can see very fast the state of human body, you can listen and see how people are breathing and guess in a way what kind of life adults of children have ...by looking how we move , what kind of control and relation with our body we have you can say as well a lot about psychical state of a human .

The joy of doing yoga with kids is big ..to see them discover their bodies ..they imagination and other around..

On the last lesson i pay a lot of attention to a boy who didn't want to do a thing ..saying very quiet that he cant or simply turning his head around ..i made him my small help ..and very gentle i was helping him to go to positions , making fun of myself encouraging him to make sounds ..and move ..after some time he was doing things with a smile ..and in the end he told me ..thank you i didn't know that i cud ...and i guess that i don't have to write more .


Through yoga you can help  children gain confidence and acceptance with who they are. We can  help them focus the mind, strengthen the body and expand the heart.

Yoga is learning children to help each other to be self- aware, to build self -esteem and self- respect ,self -control and self -confidence.
Children can learn how to focus and get connection with their environment , become more creative (if they can more ;)) open and peaceful.
And not to forget about learning appreciations for others and oneself .


I cud write and write about my lessons with kids and why i think yoga is great for children, now i want to see how are working projects in other countries ..projects who bring yoga to schools , if somebody know more pleas let me know..be free to write in comments or write to me a mail.

Yoga is a nice way of spending free hours with your kids, you don't have to be a yoga guru to make some nice exercises which will give benefits not only to your kid but as well to you , they are a lot of nice books , videos ..you can ask your yoga teacher for nice exercises or write to me ..i will be more than happy to help .


nice books

The ABCs of Yoga for Kids
Teresa Powers
Yoga Games for Children: Fun and Fitness with Postures, Movements and Breath (SmartFun Activity Books) by Danielle Bersma 
 The Yoga Zoo Adventure: Animal Poses and Games for Little Kids (SmartFun Activity Books) by Helen Purperhart


karolina


नमस्कार

Avocado Beauty

I  wrote so much about avocado food tips..and what we can do with avocado pit (if you have some toy-play ideas for kids to use avocado pit....write!!)......but i forgot to mention how great this fruit is for our beauty ...who dont like to make home made masks ?

I love to experiment....must be honest that not always the result is giving me satisfaction, but i am not so good with proportions....so we can guess that baking is not my strong part ;)



Lovely site with avocado beauty ideas

Lovely site with avocado beauty ideas ;

http://www.natural-homeremedies-for-life.com/avocado-mask.html


Take care x





नमस्कार

Power Foods : Avocado

Avocado is one of my favourite fruit, you have for sure some smells, taste and memories of your young days....when i eat or smell avocado i see my mother and father..i see small and bigger me....this fruit was always in my life ...and for sure will stay.
My son was very early eating fruits and vegetables....avocado with milk,yogurt,pap of avocado....avocado with brown sugar, bread with avocado.....and so on and on.
Jona says that avocado is funny and have a surprise in......the pit .....me and jona collect them and than paint like Easter egss.....or we put them in the water to grow  

                                                           ....but u must have a lot of patience to see the results,but children love to make their own gardens..
and the pits are looking so funny and sweet  when the green leaf is coming.
We use avocado pits as well to make dolls....using paint, dough, material glue..whatever u want.
My son loves avocado with light yogurt-mayo  dressing  and tuna, he can make it himself(always putting to much of the dressing)
I love mixing avocado with yogurt and orange, or with mint..this fruit have such a specific taste, its great with almost every food.
When i am very lazy and dont feel for cooking but i have feeling to eat,i take brown bread, salmon and avocado ..sometimes i add chili sous or other time bit of a white creamy cheese....mmmmm and it taste better than a lot of complicated dishes.

Here are some very yummie propositions what to do with avocado :


Lets Grill it!
 1/3 avocado, mashed
    vegan butter/butter
    1 roma tomato, sliced 1/4" thick
    2 pieces whole grain vegan bread
    fresh basil leaves, optional
    sprinkle red pepper, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat pan on stove over medium heat while preparing the sandwich.

2. Slather each bread piece with vegan butter. Spread mashed avocado on the inside of each bread piece. Arrange tomato to cover bread.

3. Add optional ingredients if desired and put together. Place in frying pan and grill until desired brownness on each side


 Rice and avocado !

2 oz or 1/4 cup French Dressing
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 lb or 2 2/3 cups long-grain brown rice, cooked and cooled
2 medium sized avocados, peeled, stoned and chopped
3 medium sized tomatoes, blanched, peeled, seeded and chopped
2 oz mushrooms, wiped clean and sliced

To begin, you will get out your cutting board and chop up your avocado, tomatoes and mushrooms as described above.  Pour the French dressing into a screw top jar and add the garlic clove. Set the dressing aside for 1 hour.

In a large salad bowl, combine the rice, avocados, tomatoes and mushrooms together.

Remove the garlic clove from the dressing and discard it. Pour the dressing over the rice mixture. Stir well to blend. Chill the salad in the refrigerator for 1 hour, stirring occasionally, before serving.



 Yumieee !

2 ripe avocados
100g of strawberries
1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon of olive oil
A few crushed black peppercorns
A pinch of salt
Some lettuce or other salad leaves

Wash the strawberries and cut off the green stalky bits. Mash with a fork and add the vinegar, oil, pepper and salt and mix well.

Prepare the avocados by slicing through the skin from end to end in four or five places around the fruit, then pulling the skin off in strips. Next, slice the fruit from end to end all the way into the stone and continue all the way round until the fruit is cut in half. Gently twist the two halves in opposite directions to separate them and remove the stone.

Lay an avocado half, cut side down, on a chopping board. Starting from the thick end, make cuts, at 5mm intervals, two thirds of the length of the fruit segment. Carefully lift the avocado half and spread it into a fan. Lay it on a small plate with a few salad leaves and top with some strawberry sauce.


Simple and great !!

1 avocado
1 grapefruit
A bunch of mixed leaves (roccola, lettuce, spinach and stuff)
About 40g of blue Stilton cheese (or any other blue cheese)
A handful of croutons
A splash of olive oil
Salt

The first thing to do, is put the cheese in a cup with a splash of olive oil and mash it up a bit. Leave the mixture to soak while you do the rest of the salad. Wash and drain the leaves and arrange them on a salad plate. Cut the grapefruit in half and peel and chop one half (peel all the white stuff right off - it has a bitter taste and unpleasant texture). Save the pieces on a plate until the avocado is ready. Peel the avocado by cutting through the skin from end to end six times and then pulling the strips off. Halve the fruit, de seed it, then cut it into chunks. Sprinkle the croutons over the leaves, then lay the avocado in a layer over the top, then layer the grapefruit over the avocado.

Squeeze some of the grapefruit juice into the cheese and oil mix and beat well with a fork. Add more juice a little at a time until you have a sauce with a thick creamy texture. Season the sauce with salt and pour over the salad.





Enjoy !!

http://www.pyroenergen.com/articles07/avocado-health-benefits.htm

http://ashy-macbean.com/avocado-recipes.htm
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/orange_avocado_salad.html
http://www.healthyveganrecipes.net/video/tomato-cucumber-avocado-salad
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/03/weekday-vegetarian-avocado-salad-ginger-peanuts.php
http://jobryantnz.wordpress.com/2011/05/07/tuna-cannellini-bean-and-red-onion-salad/
http://www.yummly.com/recipes/tuna-salad-avocado
नमस्कार

Sleeping problems

 A lot of my students and friends have sleeping problems.

I am lucky..i can sleep everywhere and in every position,but this is not so much connected with yoga practice i think.
I simply have a child who dont need to sleep long, Jona restores himself so fast ..and he wakes up if i am lucky at 6....if i am less lucky at 4 ! or 5.30... unfortunately i am less lucky in majority of the days .
So in the morning i am looking jealous at  my  neighbours dark windows...and till my first yoga lesson i feel quite terrible, i am getting better when i am bringing Jona to school...on the bike..and fully restored when my first student comes and we start our sessions ...yoga its giving me all back..the power to go on for the rest of the day and smile and shine.

But for all of you who have problem with sleeping here are some nice tips :



http://www.lexiyoga.com/sleep

http://www.askyogimarlon.com/sleep.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZxXyIHdBS4

http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/workout/yoga/poses/yoga-routine-before-sleep/

http://blog.gaiam.com/blog/6-yoga-poses-for-insomnia/

http://healthy-ojas.com/sleep/insomnia-sleep-yoga-therapy.html


नमस्कार

SMALL YOGIS

http://alternative-medicine.beautyhill.com/yoga-for-kids.html

" Babies are born little yogis and yogis. At every stage in development, babies naturally curl and rest into a variety of asanas (poses) that would make a yoga student green with envy"Susie Arnett, Doug Kim

I agree, if you see how the small bodies are flexible..how easy is for them to roll,put toes in the mouth(so cute), pull the weight of the body into natural cobra..i still think that the AH-doh MOO-kah shvah-NAHS-anna(adho = downward,mukha = face,svana = dog) is the best done by kids ! I cud go one and one..a body of the child is a body of a yogi.
I remember spending once 30 min sitting still and looking and the back of my son, he was sitting and playing with his blocks,building tower to destroy it in the minute, and his spine was simply a perfection..his back a wonder.
I think that every parent is laying close to his baby and listen to his breath ..slow,deep ..the full small body move with the peace of breathing .Hahaha and when they start to walk ,running into your arms with their hands stretch high ...Victory!

Yoga for kids..or yoga with kids,for me is a way to keep them in this pure yogi state, school,stress,social life,responsibilities,wrong sitting,wrong food, anger,frustrations,fears.......this and much more make our body to change, to close,the breathing is getting faster and shorter..and people are forgetting about not only inhalation but as well about importance of exhalation.

And you dont have to be a yoga teacher to do with your child yoga, its fun!Tv ? When you are five and full of energy ..for what ..go and move, keep the balance with your kid together.Jona loves to do "His yoga" (yes u can adjust it ) paint,sing,play zoo(yoga animal poses),give me tasks and ask for challenges,play with card poses deck and so and so.

He is 5 but he understand the importance of the breathing, when somebody is getting angry close to him,or bit stressed..he is saying in his sweet child voice....relax.....stay calm....breath.....oh and i want to eat him in this moments!

I sometimes see him sitting quiet, with his eyes closed..and fingers together..trying to flay in his mind, or see something....honestly i dont know where he is,or where he want to go , he dont want to say ;)

Few days ago, Jona was laying on his back..his hands around his cavia, eyes closed...later when i asked him what he was doing ..he sad "i was taking and giving "..what i can say more ?

Yoga for kids encourage awareness of self and others, with storytelling to stretch the imagination and to bring alive the magic of nature and the beautiful world we live in....try it (and if you need help..write )

 http://www.yogaindiaonline.com/yogaforchildren.aspx

नमस्कार

We are laying on the mattresses and  pillows, hiding in blankets....eating nice things....drinking,talking,playing,laughing .
The place is a chaos , but the vibe is great.
Today we are all children, today we want to do what we feel for ...my kid loves such a energy.
We still will go for a walk is a must do after such a lazy hours.
And how is looking your Sunday ?


नमस्कार

Good Morning

Long time ago i was starting my days ..opening my eyes..shutting them again ..slowly standing up and  greeting the sun . I cudnt imagine the day without Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutation)  in the morning.

 Some Benefits Of Sun Salutation

   1. Sun Salutation gives Soul power to our body.
   2. In it the energy level is balanced mentally as well as physically.
   3. While practicing the Sun Salutation whole body goes through physical exercise.
   4. Sun Salutation provides us mental peace. Improves our memory power. Strength, courage and glory are also increased.
   5. It keeps ageing far from us.
   6. Females can get an attractive .beautiful and shaped body by doing Sun Salutation.
   7. Who do Sun Salutation stays away from diseases.
   8. Almost fight with each type of diseases.
   9. If you want to glow like sun then go for Sun Salutation.
  10. It is helpful in toning up of digestive system by the alternate stretching and compression of abdominal organs. Our digestive is improved and we get rid of constipation.
  11. Gives strength to abdominal muscles.
  12. Deeply ventilates the lungs and provides the oxygen to the blood.
  13. Reduces the extra fat and gives a slim body.
  14. Stops the menstrual irregularity and helps in easy child birth.
  15. Reduces hair fall and graying.

(For learning about  Benefits of Sun Salutation Posture http://www.yogathepower.com/benefits-of-sun-salutation/)

The feeling of being fresh and stretch in the morning is great, and you start your day with so much power and happiness!

But this was long time ago, before i had my son, cat and two cavia's.
Now i am awake by my smiling son very early , sometimes its even 5.30..you cant be angry with him..my son wakes up and he shines ..he is always happy and very sweet, but he wants attention, so my cat and my cavias...so in working-school days..we go downstairs..and there its start Normal life greeting .

Food ..they all want food..cat cant wait , he crays and crays..so here its food for him, than cavia's..than fruit for my son (every day he starts a day with two different kind of fruit and zero % sugar yogurt)..but that's not the end, looking nervous at the watch i start to prepare Jona food for school.

People laugh of me when they see what i am preparing for my small one, but i am not changing it and trying to not care.

Two boxes for two brakes.

-yogurt, two kind of fruit
-sandwich,two kind of vegetable,yogurt,nuts of rozijnen
-two bottles of drink

Ufff

Than cavia's go back to their house,cat happy goes out for a hunt and we are putting our clothes on, looking (every day i dont know where are my keys) for bike keys ..taking bikes...and going to school.
Way to school is in general fight with rain or wind..I am awake and i feel stretchy ..and fresh .

But their are times when i miss my old easy,calm,self focused way of waking up...i guess that this will come back in some years .

And how you start your day ..if you can.... try to greet the sun !





नमस्कार