Kids Yoga Pose of the Week! Locust

This is one of those poses that kids will either LOVE to do, or want nothing to do with. The more fun you add to it though, the more likely their experience with it will be the aforementioned. Have some fun today with your littles and get your Locust on! 

Locust Pose

Aka: Grasshopper, Superman, Whale, Alligator, Swimming, Paddling on a Surf Board, Airplane Superman/Banana.

Historically, this pose is done with the arms by the side of the body with the palms facing up to the sky. Today we will explore both the classic and extended arm variations in our step-by-step instructions.

How to #1: Classic Version

1. Laying on your belly, place your arms by your sides palms facing up, finger tips pointing towards your toes and let your forehead rest on the ground. 
2. Keeping your body strong, begin to lift your head, chest, upper ribs, arms and legs away from the ground. You'll be resting on your lower ribs, belly and top of the pelvis. 
3. Think about squeezing your legs in towards each other & imagine reaching your fingers back towards your toes. 
4. Remember to breathe! Take 3 deep breaths, then lower everything back down to the ground & have a rest on one ear. Repeat 2-3 times.

Another BIG thank you to www.afterschool.ae for making this blog series possible. Your support and encouragement with this is appreciated!

How to #2: Extended arms

1. Laying on your belly, reach your arms straight in front of you palms facing down and let your forehead rest on the ground.
   
2. Keeping your body strong, begin to lift your head, arms, chest, upper ribs, and legs away from the ground. You'll be resting on your lower ribs, belly and top of the pelvis. 
3. Think about squeezing your legs in towards each other & imagine your toes reaching towards the back of the room while your finger tips reach towards the front - this creates a lengthening throughout the whole body!
4. Remember to breathe! Take 3 deep breaths, then lower everything back down to the ground & have a rest on one ear. Repeat 2-3 times.
5. Turn this one into a half locust by lifting opposite hand and foot. Move with breath, exhaling to lift inhaling to lower then exhale to lift on the opposite side. 
   
   

Fun variations:
Note: These variations are all done while in the extended arm version of the pose!

1. Swimming: In your summer/ocean/beach themed class, go for a swim in locust pose. Move your arms in a front crawl motion, butterfly, doggy paddle, or any other funny swimming style you can come up with. 
2. Paddling on a Surf Board: Same idea as the swimming pose, but imagine you are paddling your surf board out to sea! Check for a good wave by coming into cobra pose, then get up onto your board in Warrior 2 and hit the wave.
3. Whale/Alligator: Open and close your jaw by moving your arms together then apart! You can also splash your tail around by moving your legs from side to side or up and down. To have even more fun in these poses, try rocking forwards and back & imagine that you are diving into the water. Finally, if you are doing all of this as a whale, maybe you even spray some water from your blow hole!
4. Airplane: Go on an adventure, traveling over the Savanna, Rainforest, North Pole, or anywhere else you can imagine in your very own plane. Same set up, however instead of reaching your arms straight forwards, reach them out to your sides. Keeping your body long and strong, rock from side to side to steer the plane - and maybe even add in some cool sounds too.
5. Superman/Banana: Inspired from my P90X ab work out, this one gets lots of giggles. Start in the extended arm variation of Locust and instead call it Superman. Ask the children to roll onto their back in a similar position: arms raised up behind head with their head, shoulders & legs lifted, we'll call this one Banana. When the teacher calls out Superman, everyone rolls back to the original position. Have fun with this by calling the change slowly, or quickly. Try rolling without using your hands for an added challenge. 
   
   

Benefits:

• Strengthens the muscles around the spine, bum, and back of the arms & legs. 
• Stretches the shoulders, chest, belly and spine.
• Improves posture.
• Stimulates the abdominal organs, thereby relieving symptoms of indigestion.
• Relieves stress.
  

Connections:

• Create a group flower pose by laying down in a circle with your hands touching. Have everyone come into Locust pose at the same time! Have fun with this by each taking turns coming into the pose & going back down to watch your flower move. OR to get your kids holding the pose longer have them each come into it one after the other and hold the posture until it gets all the way around the circle, then go back down to rest on your forehead one after the other. 

Don't forget to check out our other Pose of the Week shares! The list is building. Boat Pose, Downward Facing Dog, Seated Forward Fold, & Chair Pose. 

Enjoy your weekend friends, and Shine On! 

Love, 

Vanessa