Early Literacy: ABC Yoga Poses

Early Literacy: ABC Yoga Poses

·  Antelope: Chair pose; thumbs linked and fingers spread; stretch arms/hands above head like antlers

·  Butterfly: Butterfly pose (we make our “wings” beat fast, slow, and just right)

·  Cow: Cow pose

·  Dinosaur: Legs/feet strong and knees bent; claws (hands) up; “make a mean face;” breath in and let out a roar

·  Elephant: Make arms like a trunk, reach up and stretch them overhead (maybe on tiptoes) while breathing in; and then let the arms fall between legs while breathing out

·  Frog: Heels together, toes apart; knees bent and fingers on floor; staying in place, bounce up and down on your toes, lightly tapping the floor when you go down (kids will hop all over the place )

·  Gorilla: Knees bent and feet strong (like in dinosaur pose); hands on knees to start; breath in and then breath out while starting to bounce/sway in place and “beating” your chest (we also make a gorilla sound on the exhale)

·  Horse: Horse pose; bring hands up like you’re holding reigns and bounce up and down like you’re on a horse

·  Iguana: Lizard pose (instead of a noise, we breathed in and then stuck out our tongue on the exhale)

·  Jackrabbit: Rabbit pose

·  Kitten: Cat pose

·  Lion: Lion pose/breath (sit on knees with feet together and knees spread; hands between knees; breath in and exhale with tongue out)

·  Monkey: Half-splits (Hanumanasana)

·  Newt: Lizard pose (again)

·  Owl: Seated twist

·  Puppy: Puppy pose (hands and knees, stretch arms out in front; keep hips over knees; head down)

·  Quail: Bird pose

·  Rattlesnake: Cobra pose but keep knees on ground and lift up feet; shake feet back and forth gently

·  Starfish: Savasana pose with arms and legs spread out (head, arms, and legs make 5 starfish limbs)

·  Turtle: Sit in “loose” butterfly and slide hands under knees to reach the ankles; bend over to create a turtle “shell”

·  Unicorn: Horse pose, but now with hands connected and stretched overhead like a horn

·  Vulture: Balance on one foot while bending the other knee up; create a “hook” with opposite side hand and round your back

·  Wild Turkey: Low squat; elbows by side; flap “wings” with the breath

·  Xenops: Bird pose (again)

·  Yak: Downward dog (yaks move slowly, so walk around in DD in time with breath)

·  Zebra: Create “stripes” with a five finger meditation (start at base of thumb with opposite hand index finger; breath in as you trace up the thumb and breath out as you trace down the other side; breath in as you trace up the index finger (with opposite side index finger) and breath out as you trace down; continue until you get to the end, and then switch hands)

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