Bring your yoga class to life with yoga stories! See the stories below and create two stories for each age group of your own. Remember there is no right or wrong in this assignment. The goal is to meet the standards that you created in lesson one, and implement them in your stories.

TO DO: Submit your yoga stories for each age category.

PreK - K:

“ What might you find in a garden?” (explore their answers) Now, we are going to use our best imagination and take a walk through a garden. We start walking through our garden and see a big tall tree. Can you imagine you’re a big tall tree, strong and deep-rooted into the ground? It’s a beautiful day out in the garden and there is a slight cool breeze, still standing tall as the tree, imagine that we are swaying in the breeze. Feel the wind in your branches and move with the wind. What animals do you think are in the garden? Can we think about an animal that hops around and is green? Yes, a frog, now gently moving our bodies down on our mat and crouching down and pretending to be a frog, let’s hop a little bitaround and see what else is in our garden. We have found a seed! What will your seed grow into? A fruit, vegetable, tree, or flower? Oh look, a butterfly has passed by, let’s flap our wings and go explore more of the garden. Keep flapping your wings, moving around the garden, seeing all the pretty things. Now it’s time for the butterfly to rest, let’s land on a beautiful flower. Wow, that was such a fun experience visiting the garden. Let’s lay down and watch the clouds.”

Grades: 1-5

“Breathing ball” Who here gets nervous or worried about going to school? Can you tell me what your body is feeling? Do you get butterflies in your stomach, or start to get sweaty or your head hurts? Today I would like all of us to practice what to do when we start feeling that way. Right here I have what we call a breathing ball, this ball can get bigger and smaller. This breathing ball is going to be our guide to help us learn how to take deep calm breaths. The first step is to bring our hands and place them on our tummy, when we breathe we want our hands to rise and us to breathe from our tummies. Can we check in with our tummy, how does it feel, does it feel full because we just had lunch, are we a little hungry and it’s making noises? Maybe give our tummies a little massage, saying hello to them and giving thanks for helping us by carrying our food and giving us energy. Are we ready for the breathing ball now? When I make the ball bigger make sure to breathe in and raise our hands over our tummy. Then, when the ball gets smaller, we are going to exhale, gently, letting all the breath out. Ready..... In, gently extending our bellies, hold for 1...2...3.. And exhale, while the breathing ball gets smaller. Next time the ball gets bigger, imagine we are getting ready to go to school, think of how our body feels, what is hurting or uncomfortable. Now take those feelings and inhale with the ball and once we exhale we are going to let all those uncomfortable feelings go out with our breath. Inhale with the ball...... hold...... and exhale, slowly. We are going todo that together five more times, think about how it feels when you are walking to school, sitting down in class. Practice breathing in... With the ball and exhaling out the scary feelings... (5x). Today we practiced breathing when we were worried or scared. This is something you can do anywhere, anytime, even when you are sitting in class. Breathing is oh-so-good for your body and can help you when you are feeling worried.

Grades: 6-8

“Loving your body” Today I would like to practice loving ourselves and loving our bodies. There is a lot of pressure to look a certain way but when it comes to yoga and mindfulness, our bodies are the most precious, and practicing to challenge those negative thoughts can help us feel healthier and happier. We will begin by resting in an easy pose, sitting comfortably cross-legged, and resting your hands on your knees. Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Let that breath out slowly and fully. Today we are going to learn something important about our amazing bodies. As you relax more and more, you can feel your entire body getting warm and comfortable. Your mind feels relaxed; your body feels relaxed. All is well. Slowly transition to child’s pose by coming up on your hands and knees. Center your breath, and begin to let your thoughts slow down. Turn your awareness inward. Rest your buttocks on your heels. Those with very tight hips can keep their knees and thighs together. Sit up straight and lengthen your spine up through the crown of your head. On an exhalation, bow forward, draping your torso between your thighs. Your heart and chest should rest between or on top of your thighs. Allow your forehead to come to the floor. Keep your arms long and extended, palms facing down. Soften and relax your lower back. Allow all tension in your shoulders, arms, and neck to drain away. Keep your gaze drawn inward with your eyes closed. Let’s think about your feet. You might have little crooked toes, or you might have perfectly straight ones, yet each and every one is perfect in its own way. Your feet and toes help you move and get to where you want to go. Say a little thank you to your amazing feet that carry you places you want to go. Now think about your legs – your wonderful, beautiful legs. Some legs are thick and some legs are thin, but what matters is that they are powerful enough to help us move. It’s very important to keep in mind that you don’t need to look like anyone else. You are already the perfect you. Slowly walking our arms up towards our knees and raising our heads we transition into a kneeling pose, gently standing on our knees and inhaling as we bring our arms up over our heads. Holding this pose, Think about your arms and hands now. How wonderful it is to be able to hug the people you love. Thanks to our arms and hands, we can hold the people we care about during happy times and sad times, too. Be thankful to your arms for how strong and beautiful they are, helping you every day. Now gently come back to our first pose, resting pose inhaling as we wiggle our body and exhale as we firmly connect with the ground. Remember today – and every day – to be very thankful for your marvelous body. It will be with you always, to help you experience life and express yourself in many fantastic ways. When you’re ready and with another deep breath, open your eyes. You’ve done a wonderful job relaxing your body and learning to be thankful for it today.

Grades: 9-12

“With Our Partners” 

No matter your age, when you are in a relationship, finding a deep-rooted connection to your partner is important. Working together as a team helps create a strong bond. Today we are going to be connecting with our partner through a series of moves. This a place of no judgment, this is a time to enjoy each other company and work through these poses together, solving the challenges as we go with open hearts and minds. Let us warm up individually by completing a classic sun salutation, being by getting into mountain pose, Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Press your palms together in prayer position. Rest your thumbs on your sternum and take several breaths. Inhale as you sweep your arms out to the side and overhead. Gently arch your back and gaze toward the sky. Exhale as you fold forward from the hips. Bend your knees if necessary. Rest your hands beside your feet and bring your nose to your knees. Inhale as you lift your torso halfway, lengthening your spine forward so your back is flat. Your torso should be parallel to the floor. Keep your fingertips on the floor, or bring them to your shins. Exhale as you step or jump back into Plank Pose, with your hands under your shoulders and feet hip-distance apart. Continue exhaling as you lower your body toward the floor. Keep your elbows tucked in toward your sides. If preferred, come to your knees for Half Chaturanga. Otherwise, keep your legs straight and reach back through your heels. Inhale as you draw your chest forward and straighten your arms. Draw your shoulders back and lift your heart to the sky. Press through the tops of your feet, lifting your thighs off the floor and fully engaging your leg muscles. Keep your elbows tucked in toward your sides. Exhale as you lift your hips and roll over your toes, placing the soles of your feet on the floor. Your heels do not need to touch the ground. Ground down through your hands and the soles of your feet as you lengthen your spine. Lift your belly and sit bones toward the sky. Stay here for five breaths. On your last exhalation, bend your knees and look between your hands. Inhale as you step or jump both feet between your hands. Lift your torso halfway, lengthening your spine forward so your back is flat. Your torso should be parallel to the floor. Keep your fingertips on the floor, or bring them to your shins. Exhale as you fold your torso over your thighs. Bend your knees if you like. Rest your hands beside your feet and bring your nose to your knees. Inhale as you sweep your arms out to the side and extend up once again. Gently arch your back and gaze toward the sky. Exhale as you come back into Mountain Pose. Bring your hands into prayer position. We are now going to begin by working with our partners, again, remember to be kind to yourself and your partner as we may not know our limitations nor our partners. Begin by facing each other. Standing at less than arm's distance. While bending the leg at the knee they stand in a Double Dancer Pose and hold each other while touching at the palms. Standing and holding the toes of the bent leg, you should feel a stretch in your quads and knees. Make sure your backs are straight and in alignment with the shoulders. We will do this pose for 3 breaths and then switch to the other side. Releasing from Double Dance Pose stand in Tadasana to rest. Interlocking the hands at the wrists with your partner. Exhaling to bend down like Chair Pose or Elevator Pose. Keepingyour Back straight and thighs parallel to the floor, if possible. Knee just above the ankles. Stretching your arms out and remaining here to feel the hips, knees, ankles, and calves stretch. Releasing from Elevator Pose and continue standing in front of each other in Tadasana. Exhaling and interlocking the arms at the shoulders with your partner, while placing your hands on your partner's shoulder. Exhaling to bend the torso flexing at the hips while adjusting the body to stand comfortably. For the Lean On Me Pose, the torso should be parallel to the floor. You are not pushing on your partner, just receiving support from them. Releasing from lean on my pose, as partners you will now stand back to back in Tadasana and take a few breaths. Inhaling, interlock your arms at the elbows while placing your shoulders and back close to each other. Exhaling as you bend your knees and flex your hips to go into Chair Pose. Please make sure you are matching your exhale as you come down together. Stay in this pose for four connecting breaths. Now on a connected inhale come up together and individually stand in mountain pose, facing palms towards the front. Raise your arms up together in an inhale, exhaling go down to your shins, repeat this 3x. Bring your hands to center in prayer pose and reflect on this time spent connecting with your partner and yourself. Practice gratitude for the time shared together.