I can remember being a kid and thinking that the time from Halloween to Christmas seemed to take years! And now I'm realizing that I haven't made a single post since before Halloween and now it is almost Christmas, and the time seemed like a few days! So here are some holiday things that I've taught for the last few months...

Halloween- Spooky Yoga

I love Halloween yoga! Here are some things we did:

We talked about bones and skeletons
Made scary faces while stretching the muscles in our faces
Black cats- Meow!
Pumpkin squats (Sit in squat and make a Jack o Lantern face)
Gate pose- with lots of Squeaks
Work as partners back to back and move arms and legs to become spiders

Thanksgiving- Thankful Yoga

There are so many wonderful things to do for Thanksgiving because being grateful for what you have in the present moment is such a huge part of yoga. I always start off a Thanksgiving class with going around the circle to ask what the kids are thankful for ("my parents", "my cat", "trains", "chairs" and lots more things). Here are some other things we do:

Strut around like Turkeys
Make apple pies to Kira Willey's Making Pie
Table Pose
Chair Pose

This year I also read I wonderful book recommended to me by another YogaKids teacher, Heather Wurtzle. The book was Thank You World by Alice McGinty.

December Holidays- Peace on Earth Yoga

I love December and the holidays during the month. I celebrate Christmas, so many of the things that I include in the class are Christmas inspired, but we always do candle pose for the lighting of the menorah. Here are some other things we do:

Christmas tree decorating- Kids work with partners. One stands in tree while the other decorates the "tree" with tinsel or garlands

Pass the present- Similar to hot potato, but when the music stops, the person holding the present comes up with a yoga pose for us all to do
Star Pose
Acting out carols- Like 12 Days of Christmas!

I also always talk lots about peace- we send out peace to the whole world during December. Did you feel it?

So, I know that it is probably too late to use most of these ideas, but save them for next year!

With love and light,

Happy Holidays,

Carolyn