Om Work

You're snowed in...again! What to do? Do your Om Work! Little Flower Yoga has taken some great yoga practices for kids and compiled them into one sweet link for your convenience! Themed poses, breathing exercises, and relaxation techniques perfect for your child and for you! Stay warm, be safe, and do your Om Work!

While you're there, take some time to check out the rest of Little Flower's recently updated site. They are working on some great projects and have some amazing workshops, conferences, and trainings coming up that you won't want to miss!

Eye Pillow Making with the Alluem Kids

A lovely craft for kids of all ages! Thank you to Colud9Fabrics for the eco-sensible fabric!

Flags for Haiti

Starting this Saturday, January 29th!

(Click to enlarge.)

We Are Who We Are!

Now that's what I call a Yoga Birthday Party!!! Yoga fun and games, movie, snacks, lavender eye pillow making, restorative yoga, into a 7 hour savasana (deep peaceful rest)!

Happy Birthday, Alexa!

Book your Alluem Kids Birthday Party today!

One

Everyone counts at Alluem Kids! And so do all the colors in Kathryn Otoshi's picture book One. This is one of my favorite books on the subject of bullying and getting along with each other - even the tougher personalities in our lives...like Red. Red is a hot head who likes to pick on Blue, a quiet color. Red was such a bully he often made "Blue feel bad about being Blue." He would often taunt, "Red is hot! Blue is not!" And when the other colors heard this business, they would comfort Blue, but never in front of Red. They too were afraid of Red - which just made him bigger and bigger! Then one day a grey-shaped number One showed up with "bold strokes and square corners" and he stood right up to Red. "I, for One, stand up and say, No!" Red did not like this. He grew hotter and hotter! One inspired the others and they wanted to count, too! "Yellow felt brave and said, Me Two! And Green said, Me Three!" All the colors wanted to count, including Blue, and they all stood up to Red, who grew smaller and smaller. Then One thought, "Can Red be hot AND Blue be cool?" Sure!! Red wanted to count, too, and joined in the fun! It would be a more peaceful world if we could just recognized that everyone counts!

You can start really great discussion with children of any age through this story - how to recognize a bully, what to do if you are being bullied, what you can do if you see someone being bullied, what the world would be like without bullies - just to name a few. For the Alluem Little Kids this week, after the story and some discussion, we worked on the below activity.

The kids were to pick a strong color to represent the bully. If they had a bully in their life, they could put a name to that circle. The number One would represent themselves - strong and straight, standing right up to that bully. The other circles would represent the people in their lives who supported them - friends, family, teachers, classmates, teammates. Seeing how many people in their lives who support them makes that bully much smaller!

No Sticks. No Stones.

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me! We've all been insulted and called a name or two, and I'm sure many of us have chanted this phrase back at our bullies. I know I have! Nobody likes being picked on, but it happens everyday - in schools, at home, amongst friends - and now more then ever are we taking a stand against bullying!

This coming week is officially "No Name Calling Week". "The project seeks to focus national attention on the problem of name-calling in schools, and to provide students and educators with the tools and inspiration to launch an on-going dialogue about ways to eliminate name-calling in their communities." Whether you're a parent, teacher, or work with children in any capacity, I urge you to visit http://www.nonamecallingweek.org/. There are a plethora of resources from lesson plans and art projects for a variety of classroom levels, to a complete guide for parents on what to do if your child is being bullied.

So what are we doing in yoga this week? We'll be learning about the principle of Ahimsa. Ahimsa is a term from the ancient Sanskrit language meaning "to do no harm". Ahmisa means to be kind to yourself and to others including animals and nature. It is a belief that all living things are connected and should therefore be respected. We are all one - children and adults - all here to love, serve, support one another. When we bully, whether it's verbal, physical, emotional, or more recently, cyber bullying, we put up walls. The walls we put up are anger, fear, sadness, and hurt. And when it comes to children, rarely do they know how do deal with these feelings in a healthy manner...their walls will keep rising until they learn how. We act out, we shut down, we internalize, we wind up separating from one another and the bully wins. We move further way from the true meaning of yoga - union - to come together. When we understand and practice this concept of oneness, we can move toward a more peaceful world...a world without bullies.

Take the pledge today!

I ________________________ believe that bullying and calling other students hurtful names is wrong. I pledge to do
my best to:
• Not bully other students or call them hurtful names.
• Intervene, if I safely can, in situations where students are being called names.
• Support efforts to end bullying and name‐calling.

Help from the Students of Brookside

When a child learns to give, the child learns to be grateful.
When a child learns to empathize, the child learns to appreciate.
When a child learns compassion, the child learns love.
When a child learns to think globally, the child learns endless possibilities.
Children want to make a difference in the world and Mrs. Scholz's 5th grade class is doing just that. The children were given a lesson on China by one of the students' father, Thomas Berry.

"On my many trips to Hong Kong and mainland China (Shanghai), I pick up various denominations of currency. I was planning to incorporate this colorful aspect of Asian culture into my presentation. When I did my presentation on China, I gave the kids a homework assignment. Each kid received a piece of currency ranging from 50 Hong Kong Dollars to 5000 Yuan. They were told to convert it to US Dollars, for which they had the necessary rate of exchange. Next, I told them that the class would total up the individual amounts for each student and I would donate that amount to the charity of their choosing. They of course choose Haiti."

After calculating the conversion, the children then collectively decided (in the traditional "Heads Down Thumbs Up" fashion) on where they would donate the money that was collected from the assignment. The children picked Alluem Yoga's Off the Mat into the World Global Seva Challenge - Haiti 2012. Several of the students who attend Alluem Kid's Yoga classes knew of the fundraiser that has been going on since the end of last year. The children know how important this cause is to Gina, who will be travelling to Haiti once her $20,000 goal is reached by February 2012. Even a year after the devastating earthquake, the people of Haiti still need our help. The children of Brookside School have taken part in becoming that help. They chose to donate the $466.20 dollars to this cause (and the Student Council donated an additional $500 to the cause!). While accepting the donation, Gina and I, were truly touched by the love that filled the classroom this day. Through giving, our hearts grow stronger.

Our Hands Will Help

January 12th was a very important day for Alluem Yoga. Marking the 1 year anniversary of the Haiti Earthquake, we were so thankful to see many faces of the Cranford community come out on this day to show their support. Over $1,300 dollars were raised on this day to help bring Gina even closer to her goal of $20,000 for Off the Mat Into the World's Global Seva Challenge. Once her goal is met by Feb. 2012, she will travel to Haiti to provide emergency relief services such as food, water, and shelter, as well as working with select partners who are actively building sustainable projects and communities in Haiti. We meditated and journaled fireside outside by the river, danced through asana on our mats, reflected by candlelight, left our mark through hand and foot prints on prayer flags that will later travel to Haiti with Gina.

We can not thank everyone enough for coming out on this snowy day to remember, support, and honor the many who are still without homes, schools, and live with very very little. Thank you most of all for the Alluem Kids who came out to dedicate their practice to the children in Haiti. With heart opening poses, deep breathing, and a singing bowl meditation we pray that the children, the future of Haiti, continue to hold onto HOPE. With this HOPE combined with strength and courage, the people of Haiti will have a brighter future. Namaste.

Haiti Rising

I urge you to gather your kids, follow this link and take the time to watch the episode of Nick News - Haiti Rising. Find out what it's like to be a kid in Haiti a year after the earthquake. Find out the possibility of turning the country into something better then it was before the earthquake. Find out how the kids in Haiti rise up from tragedy.

Nick News
Tags: Nick News Episodes,Nick News,Nick News Games

Alluem Yoga's Hope for Haiti Day 2011

January 12th marks the one year anniversary of the devastating earthquake in Haiti.
As you all know, Alluem founder, Gina Pachkowski, has made a commitment to taking Off the Mat Into the World Global Seva Challenge 2011 to raise $20,000 to help respond to both critical needs and to create and implement long term solutions in Haiti.
She will journey with OTM to Haiti in February 2012.
All are welcome to join us today between the hours of 2pm and 9:30pm at the studio as we remember, reflect, and honor those in Haiti. Feel the brisk air as we dance through asana, breathe, meditate, journal, and nourish our souls.
There will be a special Kid's Class from 4-5pm for all ages. We will learn about the children in Haiti today, dedicate our practice to them and make prayer flags with our handprints to show that we care. Prayer Flags are traditionally made to help promote peace, compassion, strength, and wisdom. Stop by ANYTIME during the day to make a flag of your own marked by your hand or foot print to be displayed by the river in support of those practicing throughout the day. These flags will later travel to Haiti with Gina to help spread the good will and love. (Suggested Flag Donation $20.)

Are you Down? Yeah, I'm Down Dog.

Wow! I just found The Ohmies and I can't stop smiling! This is brilliant!

Co-created by Laurie Miller and Ben Toleffson, The Ohmies is a one-of-a-kind interactive experience for pre-schoolers with a focus on health and wellness. They encourage physical activity, emotional development and social development through song, an imaginative plot, and yoga moves! This show is playing for a limited time at the Daryl Roth Theatre in Union Square - January 6-30th! Scoop up your Alluem Kid and get over to the city to check this out!