Yoga Spiders (Kid Yoga & Craft)

The Tiny Yoga Spider was on his yoga mat 

start on your hands and knees, ready to go like a tiny spider

First he stretched like a cow

cow pose, stretch your bellow down low and make some mooing noises

Then he stretched like a cat

kitty cat pose, arch your back up high, meowing

Then he moved an arm, an arm, an arm, an arm

each time we say arm, stretch one arm to the sky

And then he moved a leg, a leg, a leg, a leg

each time we say leg, stretch one leg up

Then the tiny yoga spider 

start to curl up very tiny

Was ready for his web/bed

rest in child's pose

Supplies:

• 2 (or more) stick-on googly eyes
• 1 small pompon
• 4 pipe cleaners
• 4" x 2" piece woven fabric (burlap or similar)

Directions

1. Center pompom on one pipe cleaner. Overlap ends like a giant twist tie, securing the pom. Three to four twists should do it.
2. One at a time, center another pipe cleaner around the center of the first and twist three to four time to secure.
3. Place the googly eyes on the pompon top.
4. Bend the eight "legs" about 1/2 way to make knees.
5. Bent each leg near the end to make a "foot."
6. Insert a few of the feet through the burlap to help the spider "stick" to the web/mat.

Give a Kid a Block...

Each time I teach yoga to the preschooler's it's a challenge to make sure I incorporate enough "old stuff" to reinforce memory, create consistency, and set the framework for the arc of class but also bring in enough "new stuff" to make the classes interesting, exciting, challenging, and unique.

The very young children (under 3) are quite content over the course of their school year to practice the yoga moves with my well-used songs by Karen K and the Jitterbugs, Laurie Berkner, Feist, and Elizabeth Mitchell to name a few. They are called to action by the music, the melodies, my (off key) singing - familiarity bring comfort and with comfort comes more exploration with how their bodies move in the space in which we do yoga.

But the children that are over 3, and up to 5, while they love the tried and true music and games, are open to using their yoga skills in new ways. Skills like balance, the ability to go from silly to calm, being creative, cooperating, and even teaching (each other).

Some days, offering them new tools like blocks or balls may prove to be too much so we simply continue to use our bodies (without any potential projectiles).

But some days, when the stars align and the mood is right, I can offer them one or two foam blocks each, and a yoga mat, and ask them "How can you do yoga with these?"

The results? See for yourself:

First we had a lot of just block stacking.

Then, the idea to stand on the blocks  trended.

Even on one foot.

Adding little arm and leg flair too.

Well, not just standing, kneeling too!

Then kneeling and leaning... 

And FLOATING. 

Floating on the belly was a big hit.

That idea proved quite popular

Group belly balancing

Superhero or Manta ray - awesome

And finally, on the back. 

Then truly restorative

Of course I had to set limits so that the blocks were used safely - no standing on blocks that were on end, no kicking/throwing, and no stealing other people's blocks. 

Sometimes, the Hoberman Sphere is a bigger draw. With absolutely no prompting from me, they find their own safe space inside it, using it to create a safe space for their mind and body, in true yogic style.

 

I can't wait to see what they will create with me next class.

How Family Yoga Changed my Day (week, year, life)

This morning I woke up grumpy. Those of you that have spent morning time with me know I actually LOVE mornings. But not today. Eli has me up three times last night, each time from a DEEP sleep, for things that I began to resent.

Mama?
Yes Eli.
MAAAAAAAAma!!!!
YEEEEEEEEEES Eli?
Please put the covers back on me!
Do it yourself Honey-Bun.
(whining, sleepily) NOOOOO you do it for me!!
(Of course, I get up and do it). I'm back in bed in 60 seconds. Phew.
MAMA!
(ignore)
MAAAAAMAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WHAT honey?
Please bring me some juice.
(I wait hoping he just goes back to sleep).
(now I have to go to the bathroom)
MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
I'm in the potty Eli.
(WHHHHHHHINE) I want some juiiiiiiiiiiice.
In a minute
WHIIIIIIIIIIIINE
WHIIIIIIIIIIIIINE
(I deliver said juice)
MAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaa
What's wrong Eli?
Please take my cup.
Just put it down.
I CAN'T.
Yes you can.
(clunk)
I DID IT.
Good job.
Night Night
night night Eli.
NIGHT NIGHT.
I said goodnight Eli.
NIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT NIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT.
Night night - go to bed Eli.

Repeat this sequence three times between midnight and six am.

Needless to say, at 7:47 this morning, even though that would put me at 8.5 hours "in bed" I was groggy, puffy-eyed and just plain ol' worn out.

I picked up my iPhone and checked e-mail - maybe something uplifting came in overnight?? Humor? Good News? A lottery win? Nope, just stores sales, political surveys and petitions, and the like.

I got out of bed to get food (I was so damn hungry...see side note) and the newspaper - ah, one of my Sunday simple pleasures!

Chowing on a banana back in warm cozy bed (overcast and threatening to rain outside), I read through the comics (first, of course), checked out the sales flyers, tore my coupons and reviewed the real estate listings (sigh). But I was STILL grumpy. And STILL hungry.

Side note: to update, I'm struggling with trying to solve some IBS issues. But it's not the dairy-free/gluten-free diet that's been difficult. It's the inulin-free (which is in Udi's bread BTW), apple-free, soy-free, watermelon-free, bean-free, onion and garlic-free conditions of FODMAP that are making it hard to have food handy. It's also the lower abdominal discomfort that arises when I digress EVEN A LITTLE BIT (like soy milk in my tea?) I'm just frustrated by having to "over" manage what I eat and still feel powerless to what works and what does not.

Then Eli woke up, groggier than ever, and amidst noising whining and fussing, he appeared in my doorway, sleepy-eyed and adorable. However but I was so set on being grumpy about my lack of sleep that I didn't even appreciate his sweetness.

I want to get in the big beg Mommy
Go around to Dad's side, I scowled, trying to keep my space protected.

Bless Dad's heart, he lifted the 33.8 pound pajama clad bundle between us, only to have Eli fuss about not having the covers on him. Ugh I thought... how many seconds until he utters his usual morning demands about using the phone? I cringed as he asked "Does the phone have batteries? Can I watch Thomas videos on the phone?" and handed it over just to keep the quiet, unwavering from my surly demeanor even when he snuggled in and said "Thank you Mommy."

Ok, I thought, I have to break out of this....breath and connect. So I hugged Eli close, placed one hand on his heart, and reached the other over to his Dad's chest. I easily felt Eli's hummingbird heartbeat high in his chest, and tuned in to his Dad's warmth while I connected our three hearts.

Alas, this sweet moment was short-lived as the days responsibilities gnawed at me until I fell out of bed (literally) and got on my chores.
-Untangle the mass of plastic-ware and lids that we have amassed. Check.
-Fold rest of weekly laundry. Ignore.
-Eat a healthy breakfast. Fail (macaroons and a pot of tea had to suffice)
-Check e-mail for news about yoga classes, meeting time and various and sundry communique. Check.
-Shower. Check
-While showering, try to figure out how to remodel the entire upstairs and kitchen and rearrange the entire house. AIGH!!!! I can't take it.

My brain just wouldn't let go of that cloud of grump it had latched onto with cynical vigor. What was I going to do when I go to yoga class? I can't teach like this!

My 15 minute ride to the studio was steeped in anxiety as I left late and ended up being five minutes late to prepare for class (I'm supposed to get there 15 minutes before class to prep). Earlier parts of my life were plagued with tardiness, and I now absolutely LOATHE when I put myself in that situation.

But once inside the studio...something was starting to shift... slowly, and gently....

One family showed up as I walked in - a lovely mom and sweet 3 year old daughter who were my only students last week (and we had a blast). And then, another family - with two children. Newcomers! And another new family with two children. And a dear friend of mine who came to observe! Another family I knew and suddenly, there we were, six moms, six kids, a sweet little circle of mats, and I began...

Pretzel legs...sit up tall...take a deep breath... OOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMM

Class I must share was a wonder of childhood joy, yoga poses, family appreciation, energetic movement and loving support. Laurie Berkner, Elizabeth Mitchell...these were my yoga muses and the children my mentors. We rubbed each other's backs, we made imaginary peanut-butter-ice-cream-olive-strawberry-and-Taquis sandwiches on raisin bread and shared them on our body picnic tables, we pranced around like dinosaurs and we enjoyed ourselves. I smiled broadly not out of obligation or habit, but from deep sense of gratitude for what these families were giving ME: A renewed appreciation for family, for friendship, for YOGA.

At savasana time, after 40 minutes of movement, I turned down the lights, had the families lay down, and handed out my homemade yoga eye pillows and stuffed animals. With utter pleasure and reverence I gave each person (even the four month old baby) a quick and ever-mindful foot massage. My heart was full, my mood altered, and my tiredness GONE.

Maybe you've experienced something like this - a huge shift in energy where you didn't expect it, or when you needed it most. Yes, I guide yoga to make an income, but so much more importantly, I do this because it makes my life better. The income is the (dairy free) frosting on the proverbial (gluten free) cake!

Kids Yoga Feedback - Leave Your Comments Here!

I am overjoyed when I get written or verbal feedback from parents/kids/educators about the classes that I have shared with them. But since I only have this free blog (for now) there hasn't been a really useful place to put these comments...until now! Please, if you have something to say about a class that you attended with your child, a class YOU attended, a class your CHILD attended or some feedback in general, I would very much appreciate your leaving your comments here.





AND if you have pictures of your child/family/self in one of my yoga classes, please submit it to me and you'll see it here soon. I'm going to set up a photostream so I can share the visual joy!

Best Regards
jackie

Yoga Wish Clouds - great inexpensive calming tool

I can thank my son for inspiring this texture based experiment - and resurrecting sweet memories of rubbing the fur of a stuffed animal to help sooth me as a child

My usual cuddle animals were on hiatus for preschool yoga this week (had to restuff a handful that I never finished) and so in order to create calming sensory attention focus, I came up with the idea of lavender scented cotton balls. A few drops of organic lavender essential oil into the bag and Voila - a "gift" for the little ones to keep.

During savasana with lullaby music playing, I placed into each child's hand one small "cloud."

I had them lay on their backs, sides or tummies (whatever was comfortable) and in a whispering voice I asked to just pay attention to the cloud, and see how it felt to hold it, maybe rub it on the face or belly, or even hold it to the nose to see what it smelled like.

I then went around and softly gave each child either a foot press, noodle leg treatment or back rub and relished their reactions.

I kid you not this was the quietest quiet time to date with all the children, ages two to five, in classes of seven to fourteen kids.

Once I had touched each child I talked them through a big body stretch and a slow recovery to sitting, still being veeeerrrry quiet.

Then I asked them to place the puff on their forehead and think a happy thought or wish or secret. After that, we placed the puff between our hands in cupped Anjali mudra (palms together) and presented our wishes to out hearts and wished one another namaste.

Final instruction was to take the wish cloud and place it in a pocket to keep and remember whenever they felt sad or mad-to use the soft puff on a hand or cheek to help be calm, or if it was hard to sleep at night.

This can be used as a go-to calming technique in any home at minimal expense - a parent can use a tiny drop of vanilla extract if lavender isn't available.

Note: I would avoid alcohol based perfumes - unless they are singular scents and used in minis Ike quantities. Scent should be very subtle. Also note that some people do not like the texture of "cotton wool" so gauge reactions and use a small piece of velour remnant or other lightweight dry soft fabric.

Experiment and enjoy!!!

Free Kids Yoga Information - poses and more!

Yoga Kids is a great outfit started by Marsha Wenig and then offer a number of great workshops, seminars, training materials and full kids yoga certifications. I have attended a few of their programs including Tools for School, a Taste of Yoga Kids and Yoga for Teens, plus had two seminars with Ms. Wenig herself at the Midwest YJ Conference in 2010.

If a seminar/conference isn't available in your area (or even if it is), they have a great free service accessible only via e-mail signup, called Pose of the Week.

If you're curious about how to break down yoga for kids, or just want to work with your little one on some poses and come from a place of child-centered understanding, this little e-mail list is more than worth the time to sign up (and would be worth money but they graciously offer it for free!)

http://yogakids.com/about-pose-of-the-week.htm

Hand Stuffed Kids Eye Pillow Pets just $15 each

These "pets" are great calm creators at the end just about every kids yoga class. These cuddly animals with chenille are made of cotton and have been (unstuffed with their original cotton batting and then) hand stuffed with a personal blend of rice, flax seed, chamomile and lavender flowers and some essential oils.

Place them over the eyes, on the belly or even just lovingly hugged while soft music plays, I find no child can resist the tactile joy of a warm furry friend.

Instead of just keeping them in my secret suitcase of tricks for just MY yoga classes, I decided to start crafting on a larger scale. I'd love to create one of these precious items for your favorite little (or not so little) one for just $15 each; leave me a comment or email jackie(dot)gadd(at)gmail(dot)com I'll contact you with ordering information.

Please note that some do have plastic eyes or buttons, so if these are for someone three or younger, let me know and I'll source one that just has fabric features. Also, though originally a stuffed plush, once they are stuffed with yummy eye pillow innards they are no longer machine washable (spot clean only). The scent from the organic herbs and oils is very mild, but if it dissipates too much over time, you can always refresh with a drop or two of your favorite scent.

Those without plastic parts can be placed in the microwave for a few seconds to warm up for any tummy aches or sore muscles, and all can be placed in the freezer as a super forehead cooler for a fever, or relief on a warm day!

Styles and colors vary but they are all about 10 inches by 4 inches by 4 inches, and weigh between 8 and 10 ounces. They are designed floppy for maximum comfort and "flexibility."

Definition of Joy

When you see your preschool students randomly and each one always asks "Yoga today??????" and breaks out a tree pose.

FREE San Diego Library Classes - in partnership with Yoga Vista Studio

Library	FREE Yoga Class	Day/Time	Dates
Encinitas Branch San Diego County Library 540 Cornish Drive Encinitas,CA 92024 760-753-7376 Contact - Patricia Williams Encinitas Branch Librarian - 760-634-6453	Toddler Yoga	2012 2nd & 4th Mondays  Ages 18 mos - 2 yrs 12:30 PM - 12:55 PM Ages 3 yrs - 4 yrs 1:00 PM - 1:30 PM	2012 May 14 Jun 11 & 25 Jul 9 & 23 No classes in Aug Sep 10 & 24 Oct 8 & 22 Nov 12 & 26 No classes in Dec
Encinitas Branch San Diego County Library 540 Cornish Drive Encinitas,CA 92024 760-753-7376 Contact - Jacqueline Encinitas Branch Librarian - 760-634-6454	Gentle Yoga Bring a yoga mat and towel.	Bi-Monthly Thursdays 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM	2012 May 10 and 24 Jun 7 and 21 NOTE CHANGE! Jul 5 (2-3pm) and Jul 23 (3-4pm) Aug 9 & 23 Sept 13 & 27 Oct 25 Nov 8 (Closed on Nov 22) Dec 13 & 27
La Jolla Branch San Diego Public Library La Jolla/Riford Library 7555 Draper Ave La Jolla, CA 92037-4802 858-552-1657 Contact - Laurie - lbailey@sandiego.gov	Baby & Me Yoga - Ages4 weeks to crawling - 10:30-10:55 am Mommy & Me Yoga - Ages 3-4 yrs - 11:00 - 11:25 am	Fourth Friday of every Month - 10:30 and 11:00	2012 May 25 Jun 22 Jul 27 Aug 24 Sept 28 Oct 26 Nov 30 Dec 21  2013 Jan 25 Febr 22
Mission Valley Branch San Diego Public Library 2123 Fenton Parkway San Diego, CA 92108 (858)573-5007	Kids Yoga Kids Ages 2-3 Mondays - (1:30 PM - 1:55 PM) Kids Ages 4-5 Mondays - (2:00 PM - 2:30 PM)	Starting June 2012 - NEW day 1st & 3rd Mondays	2012 May 9 & 23 Jun 4 & 18 Jul 2 & 16 Aug 6 & 20 Sep 17 Oct 1 & 15 Nov 5 & 19 Dec 3 & 17  2013 Jan 7 Feb 4 Mar 4 and 18
Pacific Beach Branch San Diego Public Library 4275 Cass St San Diego, CA92109-4005 (858) 581-9934 Contact -Michelle -clarkm@sandiego.gov	Toddler Yoga - Ages 18mos - 5 yrs	1st & 3d Thursdays of every month 11:00 am-11:25 Yoga for babies crawling to 24 months (5 minute break) 11:30-11:55 Yoga for ages 2-4	2012 -  Oct 4 & 18 - 11:15-11:45 Nov 1 & 15 - Double classes! Dec 6 & 20 - Double classes!
Rancho Penasquitos Branch San Diego Public Library 13330 Salmon River Road San Diego, CA 92129-2641 (858) 538-8159 Contact: Mr. Lucero - (858)538-8159	Hatha Yoga	Fridays from 1:00 - 2:00 pm	2012 Every Friday
San Marcos Branch San Diego Public Library 2 Civic Center Drive San Marco, CA 92069 (760) 891-3100 Contact: Margo Smart	Yoga Classes		2012 Teen Yoga - Wed, Nov 7 - 5:30-6:30 Baby & Me Yoga - Tues, Nov 27 - 11am
Vista Branch San Diego County Library 700 Eucalyptus Ave Vista, CA 92084 (760) 643-5100	Chair Yoga 2008 - Won a National Award for Innovative Library Programs – Food for Thought See Photos	Bi-Monthly - Thursdays 11-12:00 PM Opposite ThursdaysChair Yoga at the Yoga Vista Studio 2012 Jun 14 & 28 Jul 12 & 26 Aug 9, 23 & 30 Sep 13 & 27 Oct 11 & 25 Nov 8, 29 (No class on Nov 22) Dec 13 & 27	2012 Jun 7 & 21 Jul 5 & 19 Aug 2 & 16 Sep 6 & 20 Oct 4 Oct 19 (Friday) Nov 1 & 15 Dec 6 & 20

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Yoga Birthday Party - How To!

Last weekend I was the keynote entertainment at the birthday party of a young lady who was turning six. She and six of her friends were treated, on a VERY warm Sunday afternoon to two hours of yoga and yoga -oriented crafts that I'll detail here.

NOTE: Feel free to use my ideas...or of course, bring B'yomYoga to YOUR next kids event (or adults for that matter). Crafts can be creating custom-scented lotions like below, felt lotuses (one i can't wait to try), pipe-cleaner creations, yog-art (foam door hangers, picture frames, visors etc.), or we can even come up with something even more unique. Pricing varies according to the craft but in general a party of 10 kids for 2 hours would run about $200 (I bring the mats and all yoga tools including craft items).

Advanced prep for lotion craft

Purchased the lotion tubes with caps and apothecary bottles with dropper lids from a company in LA for a decent price well in advance).

Bought large bottles of unscented, non-animal tested lotion (this time it was St. Ives brand) and filled each of the lotion bottles about 2/3 full (while using the spillage to REALLY moisturize my arms and legs LOL).

Selected 15 different essential oils, perfumes, oil blends, etc. from my personal stock. Using perfume base  I bought from Body Time in Berkeley http://www.bodytime.com/ (though I think witch hazel might suffice) I filled the apothecary bottles most of the way full, then added two to three droppers full of any one of the oils/perfumes to provide a good dilute product. It was infinitely easier to add this to the oils rather than allow young ones to try to shake out droplets or accidently overpour a strong essential oil.

Day of event

With mats, stuffed animal eye pillows, Hoberman Sphere, kids playlist on my ipod and craft gear in tow, I headed off to the party site.

The hostess mom cleared a living room space for us and had a table set up and ready to go when I arrived.

I started by handing out the lotion bottles and a bag of foam letter stickers and asking each girl to find her initial then place them somewhere on the bottle (but not on the cap) so we could easily identify them later on.

I then passed around a handful of the dropper bottles and we talked about what each smelled like, what colors did they make us think of, what did they remind us of, etc.  To keep things simple I chose just a few I thought would be appealing to six-year olds, and also  passed around a small cup of coffee beans to cleanse their nasal palates in between scents. Some of their cute comments:

• Sweet Orange: "fruity" "sweet"
• Eucalyptus: "minty" "strong" "trees"
• Holiday (a blend from ?): "cookies" "spicy" "perfume"
• Dewberry (a scent from The Body Shop): "fruity", "a really really nice perfume on someone"
• Amber: (an oil blend I've had for years that I picked up at Whole Foods): everyone agreed this was "green and soapy clean" smelling

With a former party of 10 year olds I allowed them to carefully drop in their own scents, cautioning that more than 2 droppers were made the scent TOO strong. With 4-6 year olds, this task was best left to defter hands so I asked them one by one to hand me their bottles and let me know what scent or scents they liked. Most chose the Sweet Orange, some mixed that with the Amber, and on really wanted the Holiday. They were all so excited I couldn't help but smile as they kept opening and closing their bottle caps sniffing eagerly.

Then we gathered into a circle in the living room, held our bottles tight, and SHOOK THEM UP ALL OVER THE PLACE - over our heads, between our knees, to the left, to the right, in circles... ...this was our yoga warm up to get the wiggles out after they sat for 20 minutes discussing perfumes!

After this we put the lotions aside, and brought out the mats. I arranged the multiple colors of mats in a star patter, the inner edges of the mat overlapping due to space constraints and told the girls to choose a spot but not to worry about where they were because we were going to move around. A few protests about colors and neighbors but eventually we settled in, and took seat.

Hoberman Sphere Breathing Exercises

I started with the pranayama exercises, showing them how to do the in-thru-your-nose-out-thru-your-nose yogic breath, and then used the "breathing ball" aka Hoberman Sphere to demonstrate how the lungs inflate then deflate. They were completely absorbed in the lesson, and with quiet attentiveness they even took my suggestions to try to move the body very little, just the lungs, cultivating awareness of our breath while limited physical movement. Each girl then had a chance to lead the class in a few rounds of breathing, opening and closing the ball all on her own, while singing (if she so chose) the breathing chant. Most took me up on the offer, some just wanted to use the ball, and other politely passed altogether.

After our nice warm up we moved on to making "yoga birthday cake," an activity with spine exercises that engages the kids creativity as they come up with ingredients to mix into the "bowl" (legs in wide baddhakonasana). The best part is asking them to balance on their seats while holding their feat and moving them in circles like they are blending with a mixer, and of course showing them how to "lick the spatula" by bringing their foot close to their heads!

After we put the cake in the "oven" (we get back to the metaphor later) I introduced them to the FIVE WARRIOR PRINCESSES. Working slowly and showing them the basic body positioning I walked them through:

• Virabhadrasana 1: Princess #1 who faces forward ready to meet challenges strongly
• Virabhadrasana 2: Princess #2 who faces sideways like a surfer, guiding the others and ready to share love
• Virabhadrasana 3: Princess #3 who can fly above all looking for those that need peace
• Reverse Warrior: Princess #4 who raises her front arm as if holding a glorious trophy, proud of her accomplishments:
• Humble Warrior: Princess #5 who knows to acknowledge the gifts of others, is proud of her self but not boastful, and thanks others for their help.

We reviewed each on on the left and right sides of our bodies, and even tried some modifications like trying it on our knees or even on our bellies (for a fun version of V3). Then each girl got to pick her favorite and describe how it made her feel, then we'd all do that pose with her. The choices were varied, with two really liking the humble version because it gave them "a really good stretch" in the arms, and some liked V2 because we would do surfer arms and lean into the circle, then out of the circle like riding waves.

All throughout, whenever they complained of being too hot I would whip out my handy eucalyptus scented water in a spray bottle and mist it over the willing yoginis (taking special note to ask them to close their eyes so it wouldn't sting). This has been a FAVORITE part of all my kids yoga classes this summer. I just filled a 12 oz. bottle with filtered water, put in 10 drops of eucalyptus oil (and a few of orange too I think), shook and give them a gentle spritz! We also took plenty of water breaks.

One girl, younger than the rest, asked if it was okay if she sat out (I believe she was overwhelmed with the activity) and though she didn't physically participate, she sad quietly and watched the entire class (and even enjoyed the misting spray!).

Once the princesses (imaginary and literal) were exercised, we sat back down and "DING" the "cake" was done. A few quick abdominal exercises to pretend to pull the racks out of the oven with our feet, and then we shared the cake on our own belly picnic tables (Reverse table tap). I worked up a sweat crab-walking around the room sharing my cake with the group!



Savahhhhhhsana!



And finally, as one little girl kept asking (when is the rest time?), we worked our way towards savasana. I handed out my special rice/flax/lavender/chamomile stuffed animals and asked the girls to lay down as quietly as they could, resting their eyes and their legs and their hands. I read a a quick relaxation excerpt from a kids yoga book, and noticing they were fidgety, wrapped up quickly. Back to seated pose we went, then a sweet Namaste and it was back to our craft. The girls were sweet enough to help me roll up the mats (albeit less tidily than I needed to fit it all back into my suitcase but still, the effort was heartfelt and heartily acknowledged)

On the table I had placed two portioned plates of sea creature foam stickers, glitter square stickers, metallic butterfly and ice cream stickers, foam letters, paint pens, glitter glue pens, puffy paints and glitter paint. And some very special crystal stickers in the shape of (of course) princess crowns, hearts, and more.

My only request was that they didn't use more than 2 of the crystal stickers so that there were enough to go around. I also advised them on techniques for holding their bottles to ensure they didn't end up smearing the paint or simply covering their fingers in glitter! Other than that, their job was to just be creative and decorate their bottle in any way they wanted! They all did such a good job, deftly applying the stickers and paints and glues to create personal works of art. They were very excited to have their OWN lotion too!

The yoga entertainment portion of the party complete, the girls settled in to sing Happy Birthday, inhale some homemade chocolate cupcakes courtesy of the hosting mom, and on to the best part (for the guest of honor): OPENING PRESENTS. She did holler a quick "LOVE YOU" over the din of squeals and oohs and ahhs as I walked out the door, and I left with a smile on my face (and sweat on my brow), and love in my heart.

Thoughtful video about the benefits of yoga

https://fbcdn-video-a.akamaihd.net/cfs-ak-ash4/v/609101/202/3900381502244_31134.mp4?oh=c162c37b7feeae08e1f3a489359071d4&oe=50099220&__gda__=1342804512_89e567bf60d917804da086fc85077724

Yoga Crafts

Yoga Craft #5 (I'll recap on 1-4 later). What you see are the fixin's for making kid's eye pillows. I picked up inexpensive kids-size socks at a local clearance store for a few dollars for six pairs are perfect for this. Kids can decorate two each and you only need to stuff one (the other is a spare cover if the first gets dirty).

Note: you can always have older kids bring in their own clean sock(s) - toddler size are TOO small.

I picked up two packs of differently colored fabric markers (each $7 at Joannes crafts minus a coupon), handed them to the kids and gave them 20 minutes to get creative. While they worked we talked about "who we are," and "what we are good at," which are two of the three questions we'd discuss in family yoga at the Chopra Center (Saturday is Dharma Day and we discuss these two questions followed by "what is our purpose" but that's a little advanced for four year olds!).

I used foamies letters to mark the initials of the kids on their socks (clever, I know!) and took them home.

Because the sock fabric is an open weave, I needed to have some sort of lining in which to put the eye pillow "guts." I thought about just using some old sheets and sewing rectangles but I didn't have time, though I will try this later this summer and let you know if I survived using my 30-year old sewing machine.

Lo and behold, I had leftover cotton voile pouches in which some crinkle curtains were packaged from Cost Plus. I knew I'd have a use for them sooner or later as I couldn't bear throwing away perfectly good fabric.

I then took inexpensive rice (big bulk package you see at right in the plastic pouch) and put 6 or so cups worth in a big pyrex bowl. Then in I sprinkled 1/4 cup of lavender flowers and 1/4 cup of chamomile flower. I picked mine up from an online store, and it was organic plus a good size package - shop around for your best deal but I recommend organic as these are going to be over kids' eyes. I have some lavender growing in my garden and have been harvesting and home drying the flower stalks so that is always an option. Rosemary will work really well too and that stuff grows like a weed! Just make sure it's dried.

You can also add in flax seed but since it's pricey, I left it out for this simple craft. When making eye pillows for my own classes (that I am not giving away), I'd put in about 1/3 volume flax seed. The seeds hold the heat or cold well if you are going to use the pillow as a thermal pad.

To bump up the scent I sprinkled in about 10 drops of lavender essential oil (with that much rice the scent won't be intense). Then I stirred to distribute the oils and flowers.

Note: I queried the kids first to make sure no one was allergic to lavender or chamomile. One child was, so his pillow insides were made separately, and I used a great essential oil that is called Mind Calm made from lemon, eucalyptus, peppermint and rosemary.

I put my hand fully into once voile pouch, held open a sock and slid it in to the bottom. I rolled back the necks of both layers, and started spooning in the rice mixture.

I only put in enought to fill below the heel of the sock, and then took out one or two scoops. Holding the neck closed, I place the sock flat and patted it down, making sure it expanded to a nice size and was still flexible, not compacted like a sandbag.

Then out came my (seldom used) hot glue gun. With the outer sock still rolled back, I placed a bead of hot glue inside the neck of the voile bag, then knotted the bag around the glue, pulling it taut. I squirted glue into the folds of the knot and inside the neck of it to ensure that if the kidlets ever got the idea to undo the bag, they wouldn't be able to (saving moms a lot of cleanup).

Then I put the package aside to let the glue cool. Once cooled, I unrolled the sock neck over the bag, and TADA we have homemade eye pillows!

I rolled up their extra socks and stuffed them into the next of the completed one and will be handing them back today at savasana - Can't wait to see them use their new BYOM eye pillows!