New Winter Session!

8 Week Session starts the week of January 9th!
Alluem Little Kids (ages 4yrs-7yrs):
Sundays -10:00am-11:00am
Thursdays - 3:45-4:45pm
Alluem Kids (8yrs-12yrs):
Sundays - 11:15am-12:15pm
Mondays - 3:45-4:45pm
$96 per 8 wk session
Sign up at www.alluemyoga.com under the workshops tab!

Teen Yoga
8 Week Session Starts Wednesday, January 12th!
6:00pm-7:00pm - All teens!
$96 per 8 wk session
Sign up at www.alluemyoga.com under the workshops tab! Drop-ins welcome! ($15)
All fees and packages are non-transferable, non-exchangeable and non-refundable. Any classes not used in duration assigned are forfeit.

Storytime Yoga

Kids off from school today? Bring them over to the snow covered Mill for Storytime Yoga at 1:30pm!

Thanks, John, for capturing these sweet moments with your boys at Storytime Yoga!!!

Storytime is every Thursday from 1:30-2pm - $5 per child. Ages 1-100 (kids under 4 must be accompanied by an adult).

Om Franti Om

Hands down one of my favorite artists, yogis, and all around role model...Michael Franti. Listen to his words, follow his example, love his music. From now until Jan. 1st his kid's book What I Be is on sale at michaelfranti.com!

For the children in your life or the child in you, enjoy Michael's first children's book! Illustrated by Ben Hodson, 'What I Be', is a visual and musical journey about self acceptance. It's okay to be just who you are and strive to be the best that you can be, by embodying the best characteristics of nature. Be as radiant as the sun, as healing as the rain or as generous as a tree.

This story was adapted from one of my favorite songs and one I play in my kid's classes - "Everyone Deserves Music"...because face it, we all need a little music in our lives! PS - If you ever get the chance to see Michael Franti in concert - GO! You will LOVE it! And bring the kids - he usually invites them up on stage!
My next wish is for a trip to the center of Bail for a stay in Michael's Stay Human Yoga and Retreat Center!!! Ahhhh.....

Happy Holidays from Rudolph and the Alluem Kids!

You may not know this, but Rudolph loves to meditate! It's good for him to sit still, clear his head, and prepare himself for that hard job of leading Santa's Sleigh around the world!

The Alluem Little Kids know that it is important to try to quite our minds (ever since our Meditation Owl project), but they also know it can be a challenge to sit and meditate in order to quiet our minds. Sometimes we need something to focus on or we may need to move. Sometimes it's a word or a sound we can repeat (a mantra) or it can be a slight movement such as touching each one of our fingers repeatedly to our thumb one after the other. It's a slight movement that may be just what we need to do to quiet the rest of our bodies.

The kids loved the Sa, Ta, Ma, Na Rudolph project we did as a Holiday Celebration! The cutting and pasting to make Rudolph acted as great single pointed focus to prepare them for meditation. They then traced their hands to use as antlers. On each of the fingers we wrote a common Mantra, "Sa, Ta, Ma, Na". Sitting tall and going through the mantras is a great way for the kids to go inside, focus, and listen...all of which is great practice for a growing child. (See Bog Post: Yoga Mudras)

Gifts That Give Back #12

Playing off of the Gift of Nothing post, I decided the final "Gift That Gives Back" would be one for yourself: The Gift of Yoga. Yoga is a practice that is so much more then an exercise. It is a time for you to take an hour and a half out of your busy day to dedicate to yourself. It definitely is a gift that gives back. When we give to ourselves we are more apt to open our hearts and give to others. We have more energy to give to others when we take the time restore and renew our bodies and minds - which is exactly what yoga does for us. Yoga gives us the opportunity to move freely in our bodies - stretching, sweating, finding that comfort within our bodies and with ourselves just as we are. Yoga gives us the opportunity to listen to our breath - simply taking the time to inhale and exhale. Yoga gives us the opportunity to be present to the moment, the only moment that truly matters. Yoga gives us the opportunity to open our hearts. Give the gift of yoga to yourself, to your children, to all your loved ones.

Gifts That Give Back #11

What do you give to someone who has everything? In Patrick McDonnell's Gift of Nothing, Mooch decides that the best gift for Earl, his friend who has everything, would be to give him nothing! He fills up a box with nothing, but then decides he deserves more then that...so he gets a bigger box!

While reading this book to the Alluem Kids, I realized how wonderful of a gift this would be for them. I hear about how these kids run from sport to sport, activity to activity non-stop after spending a day at school and before a night of homework. How wonderful would it be for them to do absolutely nothing even for a little bit this season.

When we were done reading the story, we took sheets of 9"x9" paper and folded little origami boxes...a gift for ourselves. What would we fill these boxes with? Nothing. The gift we would give to ourselves this season is nothing. I had the kids write a number between 1-20 at random on the outside of their boxes. I then told them this would indicate how many minutes a day I wanted them to spend doing nothing during their holiday break. If they were able to do that amount of time during the days of their break and if they enjoyed it, then I urged them to continue doing nothing for just a little bit each day - whether it's sitting up straight and still, practicing one of our mantras or mudras, or lying flat while relaxing the body. Slowing down is hard in this society especially when we're constantly going at such a fast pace trying to do it all. When we do that we forget to enjoy the little things, the simple things in life. Today I urge you to give back to yourself this holiday season. Give the gift of nothing. Enjoy nothing with someone you love. Then take a savasana.

Gifts That Give Back #10

Dolls were an essential part of my childhood. I had many that offered me hours of imaginative play. This Gift That Gives More™ supplies one doll each to children living in exile in refugee camps along the Thai-Burma and Indo-Burma borders. By purchasing dolls for children, you not only bring big smiles to small faces, but also help women artisans in the camps earn a living wage for themselves and their families.
"Women's Education for Advancement and Empowerment (WEAVE) is a non-profit organization established in 1990. With project centers in the ethnic Karen and Karenni refugee camps along the Thai-Burma and Indo-Burma borders, WEAVE works to improve the lives of marginalized indigenous women and children by improving education, health, and self-reliance."

These dolls can be purchased through the Greater Good Network. Last December they were able to distribute over 900 dolls in 19 nursery schools. There are over 9,000 pre-school children in the 9 refugee camps along the borders. Let's help give them even more dolls this year! 100% of the proceeds go to WEAVE as a grant through www.GreaterGood.org.