Spring Yoga Asana Set- Have fun in the garden!

Here is an easy yoga flow to do:

1. Baby pose- the fairy waking up in the garden.  Sit on your heals in a soft garden spot and bring your forehead to the ground and arms by your side. Relax in this position and breathe in and out deeply.  Continue for 3 minutes and feel like a dandelion fairy gradually waking up and looking around the garden.

2. Fairy moves through the garden- Walk in place, lifting your knees as high as you can and then move hips side to side in a fairy dance.

3.Fairy sits below a tree- Do tree pose with your Mom and don’t worry if you move a bit as trees dance in the wind.  Trees are the lungs of the earth so take a deep breath, hold and release and repeat on other leg.  Stand straight like a Mountain and bring your right foot up and place it inside your left thigh and breath deeply (older children).looking softly at one point in front of you.  Your left foot stands strong with roots going into the ground. Now bring your arms above your head like tree branches.  Repeat the pose with the right leg.  Tree pose improves balance, coordination and mental focus.Younger children- Do Tiptoe Tree by having your child breathes in deeply stretching arms up high and pushing up onto tiptoes.  Have your child breathe bringing hands back to the top of the head and lower heals to the floor.

4. A butterfly lands on a small plant.  Sit and do butterfly pose with your Mom and imagine what color you are. Kids love this pose and it keeps the hips open and flexible and the whole pelvis and abdomen healthy.  Sitting on the floor draw the soles of your feet together and bring heals as close to your body as possible. Hold onto your feet or ankles and bounce your knees up and down for about a minute. Imagine what color your butterfly wings are and sing – “Fly Like A Buttefly.”  (Song section to come soon).

5. You see a snake moving in the grass so join in and become a hissing cobra.  Cobra pose is good to strengthen and align the spine and opens out the chest area fully, encouraging free, deep breathing in the lungs.  It makes us brave as the chest is opened and lifted so we can breathe without fear.  Lie face down on the grass, forehead resting on the ground to relax the neck.  press your hands into the grass with your waist, fingers forward.  Hold your legs together and point your toes.  Inhale and push down through your hands into the ground and think of a snake and look upand lift your torso and hold your breath. Then exhale, bend your elbows to bring your head an torso out of the arch and lower yourself unto the grass.  Relax for three deep breaths with forehead touching the ground.

6. Now it is time to move some earth – Wheelbarrow pose, so in cobra pose, let your Mom lift your legs so you are balancing on your arms.  Let your Mom walk you backwards and forwards and then change positions.

7. Move that soil near your tree and plant and water your seed that will soon begin to sprout.