Yoga for the Young Athlete...and All Ambitious Kids!

                           Yoga for the Young Athlete...and All Ambitious Kids! 

This is a new yoga class that I am running for grades 5-12. It is held at Open Spirit at Edwards Church, 39 Edwards Street, Framingham, MA from 4:30-5:30PM Mondays (except on school holidays). Open Spirit is a new multi-faith center for the wider community, a place to celebrate and strengthen our connectedness, to promote healing and wholeness, and to experience spiritual nourishment.

I have been teaching my veterans yoga class at this same location for about a year now and the center has expanded its focus to include more community based classes in yoga, Tai Chi, spirituality and flamenco!  I am offering a Family Yoga class (Monday 3:30-4:30), Yoga for the Young Athlete...and All Ambitious Kids (grades 5-12; Monday 4:30-5:30); I teach in rotation a free Veteran's Yoga class (along with Lynn Stoller and Michael Thomas; Monday 6:00-7:30PM); Family Flamenco (Thursday 4:30-5:30) and Adult/Teen Flamenco (Friday 10:00-11:15AM). 

The first meeting of Athlete Yoga we spent our time exploring how yoga can be a great companion for all the other things we do in our life: sports, schoolwork, musical instruments/singing, busy time, free time, happy time, sad time, angry time....We gathered a list of activities we like to do: Basketball, Bicycling, Hiking, Piano, Saxophone, Sing, Ski/Snowboard, Surf, Swim and Tennis. Over the weeks, we will explore each session focusing on one of the activities  Classes will include breath-work (Pranyama), poses (Asana) and Meditation. We will also listen to stories and music, color, talk about healthy living choices and how to bring our yoga off the mat and into the world.

Swimming was chosen as our first "activity", as it is something that all the students enjoy. None of these kids are on a swim team but they all enjoy swimming just the same (minus the competitive edge). A yoga practice can complement even an amateur's swim routine by introducing strength building and flexibility. Asanas (postures) utilize body weight as a powerful source of resistance: Outside of the water, gravity helps to build strength and muscle. In addition, postures take the body through a full range of motion, encouraging flexible, supple muscles that are less prone to injury.

We started today's class outside at the church's labyrinth. The kids naturally took to completing the spiral in and then out, sensing the need to follow the path in and out, noticing that somehow it seemed necessary to do this. Feeling the evenness in their bodies and their minds upon completion. The entered and exited repeatedly, sometimes walking slowly, sometimes following each other and at other times running around each curve. In the end, they ended up in the center, smiling and sitting with each other.

Swimmer-asanas:

* Bean bag on belly breath

* Explaining how to and the use of Ujjayi breath (taught as Ocean breath for kids). 

*Gomulkasana Arms in Easy Pose-relieves tightness in shoulders and upper back

*A series (for Utkatasana and Low Utkatasana: diving, even bent knee table top-diving prep; Uttnasana-fall forward into water)
*Dog in Prayer 2

*Malasana

*Bakasana

*Forearm Plank-helps build and maintain core strength 

*Pointer Dog-increases core strength and balances asymmetries

*Locust-also with arms stretched out front

*½ Bow-stretches upper back
*Dancer's Pose

*Trikonasana- maintains good range of motion in shoulder and hip joints

*½ Eagle-arms first then add legs for balance

*Supported Bridge-helps release tension in neck and upper back-

* Supine Twist-stretches both hips and spine

*Savasana

We also talked about being mindful, staying in the present moment both in yoga and in life. I read them the story "The Three Questions" adapted from a book by Leo Tolstoy. Jon J. Muth recasts a short story by Tolstoy into picture-book format, substituting a boy and his animal friends for the czar and his human companions. Yearning to be a good person, Nikolai asks, "When is the best time to do things? Who is the most important one? What is the right thing to do?" Sonya the heron, Gogol the monkey and Pushkin the dog offer their opinions, but their answers do not satisfy Nikolai. He visits Leo, an old turtle who lives in the mountains. While there, he helps Leo with his garden and rescues an injured panda and her cub, and in so doing, finds the answers he seeks. As Leo explains, "There is only one important time, and that time is now. The most important one is always the one you are with. And the most important thing is to do good for the one who is standing at your side." Moral without being moralistic, the tale sends a simple and direct message unfreighted by pomp or pedantry. Muth's art is as carefully distilled as his prose. A series of misty, evocative watercolors in muted tones suggests the figures and their changing relationships to the landscape. Judicious flashes of color quicken the compositions, as in the red of Nikolai's kite (the kite, released at the end, takes on symbolic value). An afterword describes Tolstoy and his work. 

We ended class in the playground.

Ole! Namaste!
Eve

Fall 2012 Flamenco and Yoga schedule for adults and children/Taught by Eve (Agush) Costarelli

Family Yoga (grades k-4) (Mondays 3:30-4:30/Edwards Hall/Edwards Church, 39 Edwards St, Framingham, MA ):

·         Bring your whole family to yoga and practice together! This class presents an opportunity to bond within your family and the community. Family Yoga includes postures, breathing techniques and meditation for the whole family, including age- appropriate variations to accommodate all of the students in the class. Bring anyone you love and have fun! All yogis age 5 and up are welcome in this class.

Yoga for the Young Athlete…and all competitive kids! (grades 5-12) (Mondays 4:30-5:30/ Edwards Hall/Edwards Church, 39 Edwards St, Framingham, MA)

·         Yoga is the perfect complement to competitive activities as it promotes flexibility, strength, friendliness and equanimity.  Students will learn yoga postures to work the body, breathing techniques to increase the flow of oxygen to the body’s tissues and meditation to calm the mind.

Performance can be improved with yoga:

o   Stablizes autonomic nervous system equilibrium

o   Respiratory efficiency increases

o   Joint range of motion increase

o   Eye-hand coordination improves

o   Balance improves

o   Dexterity skills improve

o   Reaction time improves

o   Posture improves

o   Kinesthetic awareness increase

o   Mood improves

o   Anxiety and Depression decrease

o   Hostility decreases

o   Concentration improves

Veteran’s Yoga (Mondays 6:00-7:30/Edwards Hall/Edwards Church, 39 Edwards St, Framingham, MA )

·         This yoga class is free for all veterans, family members and providers. This class focuses on the specific needs of veterans. Experience the benefits of yoga to relieve stress, recover from trauma, focus the mind and heal the body. All veterans welcome regardless of age or physical ability. No previous yoga experience is necessary. Mats and props are provided. Please wear comfortable clothing and avoid eating at least one hour before class.

Youth Flamenco (Beginner) (Wednesday 4:00-5:00PM/Dance Complex, 536 Mass Ave Cambridge, MA; Thursday 3:30-4:30PM/Edwards Hall/Edwards Church, 39 Edwards St, Framingham, MA)

·         Children I (BEGINNER), kids ages 7 to 11

The class is designed for children aged 7 to 11 with zero to 1 year of flamenco dance experience.  This class includes basic technique of flamenco dance to include correct posture, hand, arm, and foot placement. The student will become familiar with basic flamenco vocabulary. The course will include exercises that will develop the clarity of the students’ footwork, develop their upper-body to lower-body coordination. Basic castanet playing exercises are practiced. Repertoire will be taught. Required attire:  leotard or fitted top, castanets, flamenco shoes and skirt for girls. Castanets and flamenco boots for boys.

Youth Flamenco (Intermediate) (Wednesday 5:00-6:00PM/Dance Complex, 536 Mass Ave Cambridge, MA)

·         Children II (Intermediate), kids ages 7 to 11

The class is designed for children aged 7 to 11 with at least 1 year of flamenco dance experience.  This class offers Flamenco technique to improve posture, hand, arm, and foot placement. Exercises that will improve clarity of the students’ footwork, upper-body to lower-body coordination as well as stamina and endurance are included. Medium to complex footwork and choreographic variations are taught. Required attire:  leotard or fitted top, castanets, flamenco shoes and skirt for girls. Castanets and flamenco boots for boys.

Youth Flamenco (Intermediate/Advanced) (Thursday 4:40-6:00PM/Edwards Hall/Edwards Church, 39 Edwards St, Framingham, MA)

·         Flamenco II/Teens and Adults (12 years of age minimum)

Two to four years of dance experience required. This class offers Flamenco technique to improve posture, hand, arm, and foot placement. Exercises that will improve clarity of the students’ footwork, upper-body to lower-body coordination as well as stamina and endurance are included. Medium to complex footwork and choreographic variations are taught. This class will include elements of yoga to understand the flamenco body.

Required Attire: Flamenco shoes, flamenco skirt, leotard or fitted top, castanets. Other dance accessories may be required such as Spanish hat, mantón and fan,  when necessary.

Adult Flamenco (Beginner/Advanced Beginner) (Friday 10:00-11:30AM/Edwards Hall/Edwards Church, 39 Edwards St, Framingham, MA)

Flamenco I/Teens and Adults

The class is designed for teens, at least 12 years old, and adults of ALL AGES.  This class includes basic technique of flamenco dance to include correct posture, hand, arm, and foot placement. The student will become familiar with basic flamenco vocabulary. The course will include exercises that will develop the clarity of the students’ footwork, develop their upper-body to lower-body coordination. Basic castanet playing exercises are practiced. Repertoire will be taught . This class will include elements of yoga to understand the flamenco body.Required Attire:  leotard or fitted top, castanets, flamenco shoes and skirt for women. Castanets and flamenco boots for men.