Teaching Kids the Power of Softness through Yoga

A Giant Oak stood near a brook in which grew some slender Reeds. When the wind blew, the great Oak stood proudly upright with its hundred arms uplifted to the sky. But the Reeds bowed low in the wind.

“You have reason to complain,” said the Oak. “The slightest breeze that ruffles the surface of the water makes you bow your heads, while I, the mighty Oak, stand upright and firm before the howling tempest.”

“Do not worry about us,” replied the Reeds. “The winds do not harm us. We bow before them and so we do not break. You, in all your pride and strength, have so far resisted their blows. But the end is coming.”

As the Reeds spoke a great hurricane rushed out of the north. The Oak stood proudly and fought against the storm, while the yielding Reeds bowed low. The wind redoubled in fury, and all at once the great tree fell, torn up by the roots, and lay among the pitying Reeds.

This is an old story, but the moral of it is still relevant today. 

Some things are worth standing up strong and fighting against even when there is a lot of resistance. This is true for principles and morals… Those should be uncompromising values.

But when it comes to the little things and stuff that will not matter tomorrow or in a week or a month or a year, it is better to be soft like a read and go with the flow. It makes life easier and smoother and leaves us more energy to the fights that count.

Learning to be soft and flexible like a reed, both in body and in mind is very yogic, let’s try it today!

Discussion

Tell the story above and ask each person to share how being soft and flexible worked for them recently.

Very young children can maybe share the softest thing they know… like clouds and fairy floss and ice cream…

5 Minutes

Spaghetti Test

Have you ever seen uncooked spaghetti? It is very stiff and inflexible. But what happens if you cook it? That’s right, it becomes soft and flexible. If you lift it, it will move in any direction you want it to. And that’s what you want your legs and arms to be able to do when you relax.

Divide the children into groups of two and have one partner be like a cooked spaghetti while the others will be the Italian chefs who will check if the spaghetti is done. The chef will lift one spaghetti arm or leg at a time, and will very gently check if the pasta is 'soft' by wiggling it a bit and even letting it drop; all to see if the spaghetti is really relaxed and does not resist. 

The spaghetti partner should just pretend to be asleep and not help the chef lift up his arms or legs nor resist. When they are sure that the spaghetti is ready, they can switch roles.

This exercise teaches us what is to be relaxed and soft; it is not just lying down doing nothing… You really have to let go completely and become soft.

5 Minutes

 

Exploring Soft Movement on Floor

On the floor, start lying down and slowly shift your weight from side to side. Be as soft and as close to the floor as possible surrendering to gravity.

Keep finding new ways to do this. Transition through the front/back. Then try standing, shifting your weight from side to side. All while being very soft.

Try shifting by putting your head on the floor… Make your head lose, look around, nod yes/no. Don’t get stuck on patterns. Keep shifting your bodyweight exploring movement like a baby would.

5 Minutes

 

Human Mandala

From the previous exercise, slowly make your way rolling and shifting your weight softly back to the circle.

Practice a Human Mandala sequence with lots of forward bends giving our weight to each other. Take a few deep breaths in the deeper poses instructing everyone to find some more weight to give to each other and making themselves softer and softer with each breath.

Try different poses moving through forward and backward bends, side bends and twists while crossed legged, in Butterfly Pose, Seated Forward Bend with legs together or apart, with one leg bent (Janushirshasana) and the straight leg over your friend’s thigh, and Standing Forward Bends facing the centre and facing away from the centre and more!

10-15 Minutes

 

When the Big Wind Blows

The teacher says “When the big wind blows, it blows away all the kids who ____ (like ice cream/wearing a tank top/have a dog/etc).”  

All of the children who fit this description fly like the wind softly swirling around to the centre of the circle, spinning and making wind sounds, and slowly returning to the mats standing in a different spot than before. 

While they wait to be blown into the circle, the children can stay in a yoga pose. E.g. Warrior, Tree, Lightning, Frog, etc... 

Repeat as many times as you wish.

5 Minutes

In the end, guide the children to blow with the big wind towards someone that likes the same vegan ice cream flavour like them…. Placing them in pairs for the next activity.


Yin Partner Sequence

Back to Back Breathing - Sitting tall, with their back resting against their partner’s back, encourage students to notice their partner’s breath.

  • Is it shallow or deep?

  • Fast or slow?

  • Can they feel their partner’s back moving as they breathe?

After a little while, students may find that their breath falls into sync with their partner.

Or it may not! These are all talking points for bringing awareness to the breath, in the present moment.

Crossed Legged Stretch - Seated back to back, stretch your arms up high and hold each other hands. One partner leans forward and pulls on the hands lengthening the partner who leans back over them. Be careful not to pull your friend’s arms down; rather try to pull them away making them longer. Switch after a minute or so. Switch a few times if you would like.

Sofa - Sitting back to back crossed legged, scootch your bums to the right so that only your left butt chicks are touching. Now touch your right foot with both your hands and start drawing a circle all the way to the left until you find yourself leaning backwards over your partner’s thigh. Stay here for a minute or so before lifting each other up by holding each others’ right hands in the centre and switching sides.


Massage Table - This is a great place to learn softness. One partner places their hands down on the mat and comes into a Cat Pose. The other partner comes to lie on top with their lower back on the cat’s bum and their head between the cat’s shoulder blades. The partner on to has their feet on the floor, knees bent, and they make themselves as heavy and soft as they can. Especially make your hips heavy. Melt into your friend. The more you make yourself heavy, the more you will feel the massage. The Cat Pose partner now moves their spine into Cat-Cow and even more creatively moving like a tiger or doing washing machine movements with their spine… Be creative! The more you move your spine the better the massage will be!


In the end, walk your hands back towards your knees and sit up, this will make the friend on top of you sit us as well. Switch roles.


Whirlpool - Twirl around to face each other, sit in a straddle with legs apart and straight, feet to feet with each other. Cross your hands and hold each others’ wrists. Start making big circles in one direction stretching each other and loosening the hips. Make yourself soft and lean back as much as you can to stretch your partner more. Switch sides after a minute or so.


Seated Forward Bend - Keeping your legs in the same position as above, inhale hands up and then exhale and forward bend towards each other. Hold each other wherever you reach ans slowly climb up with your hand to hold farther up each others’ arms or back. When you reach your limit, stop and take a few deep breaths making yourself softer before reaching a bit farther, Stay for as long as possible.


Butterfly vs. Forward Fold - One partner comes into a Butterfly Pose sitting with bent knees, feet to feet. The other partner have their legs straight in a Seated Forward Bend placing their feet on the Butterfly shins. We can stretch the Butterfly first by leaning backwards, keep your chest open though as you lean back from your shoulders, go slowly. Stay for a while, breath, soften… Then switch having the Butterfly stretch the Forward Bend Person. Switch roles and do again.

Add more yin poses if you have time...

15-20 Minutes

 

A Million Hands Massage

Mesure 1 minute or less if you have a big group, and have one person at a time lying down on their tummy while EVERYONE else massages them at the same time.

Switch when time is up.... I set a nice-sounding timer on my phone.

This feels so good!

Focus on making each other as soft as you can.

10 Minutes

 

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