Teens and Yoga

Last week Lori and I were thrilled to offer our first tween/teen class at Yoga Oasis.  We had 14 bright and amazing yogis come to practice.  These kids were great!  They were so willing to participate and share with each other.  Our word of the day was "determination", and not only did we see kids who are quite determined, we were totally convinced that our determination to teach this class paid off.

We think this age group is among the most important to introduce to yoga.  They know what stress is, they know what it means to worry and they are feeling tension in their bodies already.  This is the perfect age to introduce a life long practice that can help with their stress, worry and anxiety.  It also helps them remember that their bodies are just right as they are right now.  We teach an energetic class that moves through several poses and strives to stretch and strengthen all of the major muscle groups.  We also play fun music, ask for our yogis to participate in a short discussion based on our word of the day, and we end with a meditation and savasana.  

We all had a great time!  Lori and I hope to expand this class and bring yoga to as many kids as possible.  The truth of the matter is, that we learn so much from these kids.  We feel very blessed to have them as our students and teachers.

See you there,
nancy and lori

A new year, new yogis

We sure did begin our year right!  We had 16 yogis last week at Yoga Oasis.  These kids were incredibly excited to begin their year with yoga.  We talked about why we want to do yoga and what it means to be a yogi.  They had great insights, as usual, and we created a posted with all of their definitions of a yogi.

Today at class, we'll be looking over a poster with over 250 yoga poses.  The kids will get to choose which poses they'd like to focus on for the next few weeks.  I'll be posting photos of their list after class today.

If you'd like for your child to participate in yoga, please bring them to our class at Yoga Oasis, or contact us about bringing Yoga 4 Youth to your school!  We are happy to bring a program that's appropriate for public school to all ages.

Look for more pictures later today!

Namaste,

Nancy and Lori

All you need is love...

Hello Everyone!

We had such a great time this morning at International School of Tucson.  We talked to the kids about a beautiful wedding that Lori and I went to over the weekend.  The wedding was beautiful because you could see and feel the love for the couple.  We reminded the kids that our yoga practice helps us open our hearts so that we can feel love for the people around us.  The kids began the class by thinking about someone that they love.

After our usual beginning of class, we told the kids a great story about a mother eagle helping her baby eagles to fly.  Within the story we incorporated yoga poses to help tell the story.  Lori made up this great story and the kids loved acting it out with our poses.  When the story was over we asked the kids which characters were showing love and how.  Practically every had in the room was raised and they couldn't wait to tell us about the love they heard in the story.

We closed our class with a heart meditation where the kids made hearts with their hands and we all said the word "heart" together.  After, we asked how they show love to the special people in their lives.  Again, all hands were raised and they were very excited to share with the group.

Needless to say, we sent the kids back to their classrooms with open hearts and calm minds.  We're hearing from parents that the kids are reminding them at home to breathe!  We love it!  

Here are some pictures from today's class.

heart meditation

rock pose

eagle pose

Can't wait for our new classes to begin!

Hi Everyone,

Lori and I just got back from Pasadena, CA where we were working towards our Registered Children's Yoga Teacher certification.  It was an intense course, but we learned so much!

We can't wait to begin our classes again.  We'll be teaching at Yoga Oasis again on Wednesdays at 4:14 for kids 5-11.  We are getting a new teen class together too that we are very excited about!  And, we'll even have pre-school classes on Mondays and Fridays on the east side of town.

Please feel free to call or email us with any questions.  We'll be sending out emails and facebook posts with all of the details soon.

blessings,

nancy and lori

New Session

Hello Yogis,

Well, Lori and I were thrilled to have 15 yogis at our latest session of Yoga 4 Youth at Yoga Oasis!  These kids were a happy and fun bunch!  We spoke about how yoga helps us learn that we are more than we think.  We are more than our personality or emotions.  We did some fun poses, learned our Sun Salutation Poem and played a "Who Are You" game.

Lori and I are very excited to be offering a summer camp this summer at Yoga Oasis!  We are calling it The Namaste Project.  We can't wait to spend 5 days in a row of diving into great poses, breathing techniques, art work and meditations.  We'll be talking a lot about how to recognize our own "bright light" within and seeing that same light in others. That is the spirit of "Namaste".

We are also looking forward to being at Fenster Ranch Summer Camp the week of June 4.  We'll be helping all of the campers stretch and strengthen through yoga.  I've been at the camp for a few years and it is always a fun time.

If you haven't checked out our new website, please do.  It's at:
www.yoga4youth.net!!

blessings,
nancy and lori

making connections

Hello Yogis,

Yesterday in Yoga4Youth we were talking about connections.  We asked the kids to tell us how they feel connected to nature, to people in their families, and to people they don't know.  We did all of our poses in a circle in order to feel our connection to each other even more.

The kids all enjoyed the different room set up.  The younger group thought it was a crack up when we did a group utkatasana (chair pose) and all sat on each other's laps in a circle.  As they laughed, some of us hit the floor!

The older group was much more contemplative about connections.  In a teachable moment, we took time to stop and ask the girls (middle schoolers) how their connection to their own yoga practice has made a difference in their lives.  Lori and I were almost in tears by the end of our discussion.  They talked about how they know how to let go of their anxiety now.  They can take a deep breath rather than act out when someone is unkind to them.  Another girl said that she is better able to stay in the present moment and appreciate who she is right now rather than live in the past and hold onto what she used to be able to do.  It was profound.  These girls were so willing to open up to us and the group and share how their practice has improved their lives.

I shared that I wished I had been able to learn those lessons at their age.  Maybe it would have saved me from many migraines and stomach aches throughout school.  The best part is, that now that they have a practice, it's theirs forever!  I love that even though we are their teachers of the actual poses, they are their own teachers.  They will further their connection to themselves from now on.  It's truly amazing and makes Lori and I realize what a gift it is to share our love of yoga with these girls, and to learn from their journey.

many blessings,
nancy

New Offerings

Hello Yogis,

We have 2 new offerings coming up to share with you.

We will be doing a short session of Yoga 4 Youth at Yoga Oasis.
Wednesday, April 25 - Wednesday, May 16  from 4:15-5:15pm
The cost is only $45 for the session.

We are offering a SUMMER CAMP the week of June 18.
We will meet from 2-4 each day.  The cost is only $110 for the week.  Please go to
www.yogaoasis.com for more details!

We love teaching your kids!

Nancy and Lori