How to Teach Yoga to Children Through a Story
In her book, "Storytime Yoga: Teaching Yoga to Children," Sydney Solis states that storytelling gives children the basic tools to face the challenges of growing up. Combining the art of storytelling with that of yoga can promote literacy and oral and listening skills, help children understand archetypes like the mentor and hero, and promote "subtlety and complexity in a young mind."
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Things You'll Need
- Yoga teaching materials
- Story books
- Computer with internet access
- Pen
- Paper
- Yoga mat
- Music player
Instructions
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Choose a story to tell through yoga. Yoga incorporates archetypes and classic storytelling objects, characters and symbols, like the warrior, the tree and the bridge. Find appropriate stories through online yoga forums and resources, or you can thumb through a children's story book hunting for your own stories to tell.
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Read your story to yourself ahead of time. Locate points in the story where you'll be able to ask the children to perform a given pose. For example, if a cat enters the story, mark that point as an opportunity for the children to perform the cat pose. The more poses you can incorporate, the more interactive it will be for the children.
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Write down ideas for telling the story when the children aren't in a given pose. It's important to keep their attention throughout. Acting out the story with puppets and incorporating music, sound effects and visual aids work well. Look for ways to physicalize the story as much as possible, so kids can clap, stomp and move around with you.
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Rehearse the story beforehand until you're comfortable with it. The better you know the story and poses, the more enthusiastic you'll be, and the better able to concentrate on interacting with the children. Collect any props, instruments or books in one bag for easy access.
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Allow time for setting up. Make sure your music player is working, if you're using one. Mark out "spots" with tape or stickers for younger children, so they know where to stand and have plenty of room to move around. Set up puppets and props.
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Review the poses you'll use in the story with the children right before you begin the exercise. Even if they already know the poses they'll be using, it gives them a review and a heads-up for what they'll be doing.
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Perform the story with as much enthusiasm and animation as you can. The more fun you're having, the more fun the children will have.
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Sit the children down after the story and have them discuss which characters they related to and why. This encourages them to think critically about the story and relate it to their own lives. Perform any routine wrap-up that you usually do.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit Yoga image by Yvonne Bogdanski from Fotolia.com
