Kids Yoga Pose of the Week! Pose #2, Seated Forward Fold

We are so excited to bring you the second edition of our Kids Yoga Pose of the Week series! I have to say, the best part so far has been putting together all the variations of each pose....That's the beauty of kids yoga, there's no right way, there's no wrong way, there's no ONE way; as long as you are getting active, having fun & doing what feels right for your body - then it's a lovely thing! 

Seated Forward Fold

Aka: PB&J Sandwich, River, Making Cookies, Leaf, Pizza, Pie, Cake, and whatever else you can think up!

A special thank you to www.afterschool.ae for making this blog series possible with all of your amazing images! You rock!

How to:

1. Sit with your legs straight out in front of you, feet together. Spine is long, shoulders back & right over the hips. 
2. Inhale, reach your arms up to the sky.
3. Exhale and begin to fold forward from your hips bringing your belly in towards your thighs as you reach towards your feet. It’s not important to grab the feet, just think about keeping the spine long! Maybe you reach for the knees, side of your calves, ankles, or outer edges of the feet. 
4. Take 3 deep breaths in and out through your nose. With every inhalation, feel your spine lift & lengthen! With every exhalation, fold a little more into the pose.
5. To come out, bring your belly away from the thighs & begin to reach the arms up as you inhale. Imagine the tailbone leading this movement, pulling down towards the earth to help you rise up.

Fun variations:

1. PB&J Sandwich: Start seated the same way, but before you fold forward…. Reach up with one arm and grab the tub of Peanut Butter, take a giant scoop with your hand and smear it all over your legs, chest, arms, and face. Then grab the Jam with your other hand and do the same. When you’re all done smearing, reach both arms up as you inhale & bring the two slices of bread together! What other types of sandwiches could you invent?
2. River, Rock & Roll: This simple seated forward fold can also be called river! To do the river rock and roll, we start in river, inhale to come up quickly & build momentum as you exhale rocking backwards to lie onto your back & swing your legs up and all the way over - touching your toes behind your head. Quickly again to build momentum, inhale rolling back up to river pose. Do this as many times as you would like!
3. Making Cookies: Start seated the same way. Bend your right knee, bringing your foot flat onto the floor. With your right hand, reach for your knee & with your left hand reach for your foot. Bring your leg up so that your calf is resting horizontally (same position as rocking the baby). This is your dough mixer!! Mix your leg one way, rotating in a circle, mix your leg the other way and then switch – repeating on the other side. Time to roll out the dough! Stretch your legs out in front of you, just like the seated forward fold. Grab your rolling pin, and exhale as you roll the dough out towards your toes, inhale as you roll back towards yourself. Grab your cookie cutters (make circles with your hands) & cut your shapes out all along your legs. Move your cookies onto a baking sheet and put them into the oven as you lay down onto your back to bake. The rest is up to you! 
4. Pizza/Pie/Cake: Seated in the same position, take your legs out wide to create a triangle shape. The remainder of the steps are the same, this is just the wide-leg version of the forward fold! You can also treat these three as you did the sandwich, reaching up to grab a variety of different toppings. 

Benefits:

• Calms the brain and helps to relive stress
• Stretches and lengthens the spine, shoulders & hamstrings
• Improves digestion
• Soothes headaches, anxiety, tantrums & reduces fatigue

Connections:

• Turn this into a partner pose with some serious fun! Sit facing each other, legs extended, foot to foot. Inhale, reach your arms up, exhale folding forwards as you normally would but add in a double high five on your way down. Then when you are in the full fold, try tickling your partners feet! 

There are so many great, creative ways to play in a forward fold! I hope this post gives you some new ways to freshen up your regular old forward fold & inspires you to think outside the box in your next class. If you have any other ways that you love to play in a seated forward bend, please share in the comments below!

Wishing you a BRIGHT, BOLD & YOU-Ish day!

In Love,
Vanessa