Evolution Yoga - Burlington, Vermont » Kids Yoga

Young Yogis ~ no classes next week!

Evolution Yoga — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 01:57:24 +0000

Don’t forget, Young Yogis holiday break is coming up. There are no kids classes next week, the week of November 22nd. We’ll see you the following week of November 29th for two more weeks of this session!

Young Yogis ~ no classes next week!

Evolution Yoga — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 15:10:07 +0000

Don’t forget, Young Yogis fall break is coming up. There are no kids classes next week, the week of October 18th. We’ll see you the following week of October 25th!

Kids Classes begin THIS week!

Evolution Yoga — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 05:55:37 +0000

A reminder that all kids classes begin THIS week!

Also, there are still a few spaces left in a couple of our FRIDAY classes:

Tots on the Move at 9:45 am

AND

New Explorers at 10:45 am

For information about our Young Yogis programs, go to our kids classes page at evolution yoga! Register online or call us at 802.864.9642

Finally! Kid’s Yoga on Saturdays :)!

Evolution Yoga — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 18:28:37 +0000

EVOLUTION NOW OFFERS a 10 week Saturday-session for kids yoga!
May 08- July 18
Kids Creative Yoga- ages 2½- 5 yrs
Saturdays- 10:45 am- 11:30 am
co-teachers: Jane Jarecki, Jessica Roeder
Register Here!

Fly like a bird, roar like a lion, stand tall like a tree. Kids Creative Yoga blends yoga poses with imaginative games, storytelling and friendship-building activities. The end result: a fun, peaceful atmosphere where your child can feel confident to create and blossom. Your child will come away from kids creative yoga more relaxed, focused and expressive physically and emotionally.

NAMASTE

“Dowwwwn Dog,” a guest post by Emma Kouri

Evolution Yoga — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 19:15:39 +0000

Emma Kouri and her daughter Sapphie take Baby Yoga at Evolution with Susan Cline Lucey. Read Emma’s blog below:

“It’s amazing to me how fast time flies these days. Would you believe I have been meaning to write about baby yoga since May of last year? Finally, I’m sitting down to tell you about it.
When Sapphie was 2 months old, I signed her up for baby yoga. Evolution is such an amazing yoga studio – I had discovered it when I got pregnant and I did prenatal yoga there right up until Sapphie was born. I was so excited that they not only offer baby yoga, but post-natal yoga for new moms where you can come early, have tea with other new moms, and you can even bring your baby with you during class! Those first few months were wonderful – to go and practice yoga with other new moms, with our tiny babies laying in front of our mats. Of course, I had plans to bring Sapphie to baby yoga…” Read On…

Spring CircusYoga with Kelli Mae

Evolution Yoga — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 15:43:26 +0000

I’m really looking forward to the next session of CircusYoga in our Young Yogis program. Our past sessions have been 5 weeks long, and we’ve gotten to explore little bits of all of the elements of CircusYoga: partner acrobatics, thai massage, juggling, games, breathing, balance… Starting April 15th, our CircusYoga session will be 8 weeks long, which means we’ll be able to go deeper in the practice and into developing our skills and relationships.

In this session, we’ll focus on communication and community by breaking out in smaller groups. We’ll start to play with supporting, teaching, and learning from each other. We’ll also explore clowning and experiment with performing. Students can choose a few skills to practice consistently and sharpen. We’ll also work on our spotting techniques so that we can support one another in partner acrobatics. I hope to have some parents flying as well!

I hope to hold a few classes outside where we can to play with new circus toys. My partner, Sam, will be a guest at least once throughout the session, and will set up his slack line for us to practice our balancing skills. A slack line is similar to a tight rope, but flexible. We have worked with kids on the slack line dozens of times in the past. It is amazing to see even the most energetic children zooming in to focus when they are walking on the slack line. I also plan to make some large hula hoops so that we can learn hoop tricks.

One of the foundations of CircusYoga is the idea that everyone has something to offer to a group, and every group is stronger because of each individual within it. I would love to begin to create a space where everyone feels they are valued, and where each person can start to think about what they love and want to learn. The age range of 7-10 is such an amazing time for children. They are really starting to define their identities, but still maintaining those endearing qualities of childhood that keep them from taking themselves too seriously. This is such a fantastic time to show your kids, and to remind yourself, that being open, present, and playful are good things, and that having fun is a noble goal!

I can’t wait to share this practice with you. The class meets every Thursday from 3:30-4:15 at Evolution. It runs April 15th- June 3rd. And we’ll be taking a break for the summer, so this is your last chance to play before next fall! We need at least 5 teams of parents and kids to run the class. So sign up and encourage your friends! Register Now!

- Kelli Mae Willis

Baby Yoga Play Group Forms

Evolution Yoga — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 16:05:56 +0000

Baby yoga at Evolution has been great for Liam, but even better for me! I have met so many wonderful moms, and many of them are brand new at this parenting adventure just like me. After one of our classes, we were all lingering out in the lobby at Evolution, and one of us suggested we walk down the street for a cup of tea. As we sat around with sleeping, fussing, nibbling babies, we decided it would be fun to get together outside of yoga. Since our first playdate, we have been meeting about once a week and have been rotating homes and toys. We never run out of things to talk about. We share stories and support about our babies’ births, sleep struggles, solid foods, and our kids’ quirky habits. Often our conversations turn to how our lives have changed now that we’re moms and how to balance the changes. We have been dreaming about warmer weather and all the fun we’ll have once our babes can play outside. The babies in our current group range from 3 to 10 months old. Any other interested moms are welcome to join us! Email cbirner@gmail.com if you’d like more information!

Love,

Colleen
Click here to read more about Baby Yoga at Evolution and join the next series!

Feeling the Rhythym in Kid’s Yoga

Julie Epstein — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 02:28:40 +0000

The latest first grade yoga class began with sound and rhythm: egg shakers shaking, tapping, rolling, and stopping together. We practiced getting united as a group, harmonizing our movement/noise and stillness/quiet. Then, sitting with legs wide apart and a foot in contact with each neighbor, we passed an egg around. The reach was a good stretch, and before we handed off the egg we said our name, giving a shake for each syllable.
Next we played a game using a poster showing six basic poses or movements. Each child rolled a large six-sided die and, depending on which number they rolled, we would perform the asana that many times.
We practiced a HA breath, inhaling and stretching out on our backs and, with a fiery exhalation, hugging the knees in, exclaimed HA!
This was an extremely entertaining and satisfying practice for this group. It evolved into the blooming lotus, with all of us seated, feet pointing in towards the center of the circle and bodies folded forward in paschimottonasana. Together we blossomed, raising our arms up, using core muscles to lower onto our backs and finally raising our legs up and over in halasana, plow pose. We took turns, one at a time, to watch the lotus unfold and each child seemed to relish saying, “It looks like butts in the air!” Maybe the magic is more in what we feel than in what we see.
-Julie Epstein

Yoga for Grades 3-5 with Julie Epstein

Evolution Yoga — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 07:34:17 +0000

Yoga with the 3rd-5th graders looks a lot like traditional yoga.

We move through warm-ups, sun salutations, hip-openers, twists, standing balancing poses and savasana. Left and right comes into play a lot, and kids also get to work on crossing the midline in ways that don’t always come easily but, once they master it, it is a revelation for them! For example, we practiced a standing balance and twist by lifting one foot onto a bench. The opposite hand reaches across to the knee and the other arm reaches back into space. It is often challenging for them to “cross the midline” in this way, but we really got into stepping away from the bench and practicing by lifting one knee and then the other, gently slapping with the opposite hand, finally slowing down to hold the balance for a breath or two.

One of the students intuited that this evolves into a version with the leg extended, instead of bent, and showed me her pavritta utthita hasta padangusthasana (extended hand-toe posture with a twist). Hearing some the kids’ feedback made by day and confirmed why I teach yoga to kids: “This is fun!” “Awesome!”
“This is so relaxing.”
“This is better than push-ups.”

“Yes,” I said, “Yoga includes movements like push-ups but also so much more.”

-Julie Epstein

Julie Epstein is an Evolution Yoga teacher for adults and children. She teaches at the studio and in the Burlington schools.

Yoga for Grades K-2 with Julie Epstein

Evolution Yoga — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 12:08:15 +0000

“In the K-2 group (group) we usually begin with each child saying his or her name and offering a movement that we imitate, building a sequence around the circle. It’s a way to establish our community, (also helping me to remember their names) with each child’s individual presence being recognized, and inviting their expression to add to the texture of what we are doing together.

For pranayama we became balloons, inflating and deflating, and buzzing bees. The vinyasa that we do is a story about a cat playing who is chased by a dog, out into the grass (bodies stretch and sway) and up into a tree (vrksasana). Each week the story will develop, adding a character or an event that we can act out with our movements. One-by-one the children dove and leapt through a hula hoop, then lumbering downward dog-style, then crab walking.

Then they came through all holding hands in a train, and finally with a partner, holding each other’s two hands, cooperating and being mindful of each other. When they rest for savasana, I check if their arms and legs are totally heavy and relaxed, picking them up one at-a-time, sometimes wiggling an arm like jell-o or letting a leg feel its own weight; they love this and say, ‘Check me! Check me again!’ To close, we share a song that I love to hear their voices sing together:

‘Namaste is what we say, to the good in you and the good in me. Say Namaste everyday and the world will be in harmony.’”

-Julie Epstein

Julie Epstein is an Evolution Yoga teacher for adults and children. She teaches at the studio and in the Burlington schools.