Going with the Flow

I went into a classroom the other day with my own lesson plan in mind and I noticed they were studying boats. They even drew plans for their boats before building them with recycled materials. Immediately I was inspired to teach a boat themed class. I ditched my plans and decided to go with the flow instead. Integrating yoga into the themes of a classroom is what I love to do. It is one of the reasons I do this work and I think it's so much fun to tap into that kind of spontaneous creativity. 

1) Self Care: The first thing we did was cover ourselves with sunscreen. We made sure to get every body part starting with our toes. 


2) Butterfly pose: We needed to think of all the things we would pack to go on a boat trip. We packed our bags with hats, bathing suits, snacks, games and of course binoculars! 



3) Sandwich pose: Of course we had to make a lunch for our boat trip. Everyone got to decide a topping for our sandwich. We sat with our legs straight out in front of us and spread all the yummy toppings onto our bread. We packed up our sandwich into our bags. 

4) We took a little jog to get to our boats. We needed to get our bodies warmed up for our fun boat ride!

5) Boat pose: We took a rowboat, canoe, kayak and the Titanic. We sat in boat pose but used our arms in the different ways it takes to row these different styles. 

6) Triangle pose: What better way to create a sailboat out of our bodies then with a little triangle pose! 

7) Eagle pose: We got out our binoculars and spotted some eagles in a tree! 






8) Swimming pose: We jumped out of the boat and started to swim!

9) Shark pose: Oh No! a shark!

10) Relaxation: We decided to lie on our backs and float on the water. Thinking about what it could feel like to move up and 
down with the waves. 

11) Candle pose: We lifted our legs into candle pose, but pretended we were a lighthouse, shining our bright lights so the boats can see us in the dark. We moved our legs side to side. 

12) Relaxation: It was time to really relax. We imagined we were back on the boat, listening to the sounds around us of the waves, the birds and the sea creatures we saw. We felt the warm sun on our bodies, we imagined what it would feel like to move with the waves. We listened to some ocean sounds from my ipod. 

It was a great little journey that was so much fun! I loved how spontaneous it was and how creative the kids were in creating our journey and in the poses we decided to do. Of course there are so many more things you can add to a lesson like this for example: sun salutations, tree pose and all the different sea creatures. We only had 30 minutes so I had to pick and choose what we decided to do.  

What are some classroom themes you like to incorporate in to your classes? Have you made up any fun poses based on a theme your child/ren are studying?