Easter Yoga with the Alluem Kids!

Easter is a time of faith, hope and new life. It's a great time to go outside and see the world as it wakes up from a long winter nap  - the leaves starting grow on the trees, the flowers blooming, the warm spring breeze and the birds coming back to greet us with the morning sun. It's also a great time to notice a spring change in yourself....
-Start in Child's Pose - rounding your spine with arms alongside your body - shaped like an egg. It's tradition at Easter Time to decorate and dye eggs to make them festive and fun. Imagine yourself as a painted Easter Egg. What color would you pick? Would you have a fancy design? Stripes, spots, tye die? Would you have glitter, sparkles or glow in the dark? Or maybe your comfortable just being plain? (Have you walked down the Easter themed aisles in the supermarket recently? Glitter Magic, Sand Blast, Rockin' Designs, Neon and my favorite - 3D Eggsplosion! What happen the normal every day solid colors and a wax crayon?? Sure, these kits are fun, but where has simplicity gone?)
I find that often times we treat ourselves like Easter Eggs. We decorate ourselves with the latest clothes or latest hairstyles. Carrying around the latest iGadget into the pockets of the latest style of jeans. Maybe trying to be cool for our peers at school - trying to fit in and be accepted. We forget that sometimes we can be more comfortable just simply being who we are.
-As you sit in Child's, imagine trying to crack out of your shell - your shell representing what you try to be for other people, forgetting that's what's inside matters most. Take a few moments to connect to your breath. Your breath is the thing that grounds you, calming you inside. Gently start to breathe deeper, stretching your arms out in front of you, grounding your palms and as slowly as you can coming up to hands and knees. As you move through Cat n' Cow, recognize how good it feels to just be and move in the body you were given as it is, still connecting to your breath, the breath that is always constant.
-Continue to move into a practice that awakens the body getting you ready for Spring!

The Alluem Kids had a great time celebrating the season! 

What's Easter Yoga without Bunny Ears?!

While the Alluem Tweens hunted for eggs filled with Yoga Poses written on Jelly Bean Shaped Cards, which they later sequenced together for a nice flow that they proudly named and taught the class...

The Alluem Kids were climbing Easter Mountain, searching high and low for eggs filled with Yoga Poses...

...pausing only to mindfully listen during Egg Shake (a game modified from Yoga in My School's "Sounds Right" game) bringing focus and concentration in the midst of all this fun!

And speaking of all this fun, the Alluem Little Kids had nothing but fun trying out some Partner Bunny Poses...

And taking time to relax with our Breathing Buddies. Floating our Duck Bunnies on our bellies riding our breath. So peaceful.