Okay so Christmas is over, the New Years celebrations have worn off and you have January ahead of you. Maybe there's plans to travel, play dates, visit family or perhaps some downtime. No matter what your January holds there will inevitably be times where you and the family need a break. A pause. A moment.
Here are some simple, easy things you can do when that time comes.
SHAPE BREATHING ~
What's your favourite shape today?
This can be done with any shape at all.
Hold your imaginary paintbrush in front of you. Breathe in as you draw one side of your shape, breathe out as you draw the next side. Keep going until you finish the shape or draw your shape as many times as you like.
But a circle only has one side!! Breathe in as you go up and out as you go down. Want to make it trickier? Breathe out as you draw one whole circle and breathe out as you draw another circle. You can make your circle bigger and bigger to make your breath longer and longer!
POSE OF THE DAY ~
Every night before bed, select which family member is going to choose the Yoga Pose of the Day for tomorrow. They are going to be the Yoga Queen/King/Princess/Prince (anything you like!)
In the morning they tell the family what the pose is. They can even draw it and post it somewhere. It can be a pose that already exists or one they've just invented. Why did they choose it? How do you do it? Do some research to find out its name in "Yoga Language" (Sanskrit). Every family member can do the pose whenever they need to throughout the day. The Yoga Queen/King etc can also shout out YOGA POSE and everyone must pause, become present and do the pose for a set time.
TEAPOT POSE ~ great for releasing big emotions
This is a take on the traditional Triangle Pose (Trikonasana) catered to moving through some of the trickier feelings and emotions. A quick and simple tool that kids can draw upon in the moment.
When you feel a big feeling in your body, imagine yourself as a teapot. Stand with your feet wide and arms stretched out. Feel the emotion filling you up, take a big breath and then tip over to one side and imagine the emotion being "tipped" out of your body as you take a long, slow breath out. If you want to sing the Little Teapot song you can, but you don't have to.
"I'm a little teapot, short and stout.
Here is my handle, here is my spout.
When I feel all [insert emotion here] eg. angry, nervous etc
And want to shout!
I tip over and pour it out."
I hope these provide opportunities for mindfulness and connection during these school holidays. Happy 2023!!
Nat
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