Yoga Calm Blog
Electronic Media and the Battle for Our Minds
When was the last time you had an hour – an hour without distractions – just to think about things? Or even a half hour? Fifteen minutes? As I write this blog, instant messages flash up on my second monitor while my printer churns out workshop handouts and my cell...
Emotional Learning and Growth
One of the things that makes Valentine's Day such a unique holiday is that it's the only one that doesn't commemorate an event or honor a person or the passage of time. It's about a feeling: love. hint of plum/Flickr And it can be a little emotionally...
The New Year, Chaos & Beauty
Update of post originally published January 12, 2009 As 2009 winds down, we look to the beginning of 2010. As with all transitions, the end of a cycle presents an interesting challenge. It’s a rich time for reflection but also a potential trap for...
School-Based Yoga & the Religion Issue
We recently ran across an interesting blog post by a mother who grew concerned when her daughter told of her class doing yoga at school - "not because I was opposed to the movement," she writes, but because the particular practice involved activities that she...
Money, Kids & Stress
Since the 2008 economic crisis, much has been discussed and written about how its effects are not just financial but psychological, as well. And as a recent New York Times article reminds us, they affect children just as much as adults. Children, especially, have...
5 Tips to Teach Kids with ADHD Better Focus & Self-Control
Recently, Good Morning America ran a segment on how - and why - more doctors are recommending yoga for young patients. One situation in which yoga is increasingly recommended is for children diagnosed with ADHD, as it is well recognized that yoga-based activities of...
Focusing that Wild Halloween Energy
Originally published October 31, 2008 Halloween can be a wonderful time for children to explore their imaginations. Or, as many teachers and parents can attest, it can be a nightmare of sugar-fueled over-excitement and big emotions. There's nothing wrong with...
Adaptations & Applications: Starting the School Day with Hoberman Breathing
Kathy Flaminio is one of our trainers and a social worker at a Minneapolis K-8 elementary school. Along with Julie Hurtubise, she has helped bring Yoga Calm to the Minneapolis Public Schools district-wide. (To learn more about their pilot program, click here. To see...
Adaptations & Applications: Volcano Breath En Masse!
Laura Barbour is a counselor at a suburban Oregon elementary school who uses Yoga Calm in her work with children and is now one of our newest Certified Instructors. Recently, she shared an experience with us which we think shows both a great adaptation of Yoga Calm...
Guided Relaxation with Yoga Jim
We've been talking a bit about stress lately and the need for quality sleep and other habits to counter it and make ourselves more stress-resilient. Yet another means of letting go of the tension is the kind of deep relaxation that ends every yoga practice. As B.K.S....
10 Tips for Better Sleep
sean dreilinger/Flickr In our book Yoga Calm for Children we write: When we rest, the body heals and the mind and body integrate experiences. Rest allows us to reflect on the day and notice the effects of our activities on our emotions, mind, and body. In rest,...
Bucking Back to School Stress
Children are so perceptive, so often aware of things that we "grownups" may not be tuned into. They know when something is wrong. They may not be able to say what it is or why it is, but they pick up on our attitudes, feelings and values. It’s one of the ways they...