~Turkey Yoga~

Yoga for kids is one of my most favorite activities to do with my girls. They love it! Rita's kindergarten teacher thinks it's good for the kids too and incorporates it into the curriculum twice a month. Last week I was lucky enough to get to actually teach the class. There is a kid yoga teacher training in January and I just may get some hours training in that specialized area! Here's a wonderful way to kick off the Thanksgiving festivities with your kids....

~Turkey Yoga for Kids~

~Start in mountain pose with your eyes closed



~Take a deep breath in through your nose and imagine all of the delicious food smells we associate with Thanksgiving

~Imagine Turkey, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, Cranberries, and Apple or Pumpkin Pie or any other foods your family will enjoy. Taking deep breaths in between naming different foods.

Next we will go through movements for each of the foods listed above...

~Turkey Strut: however you want moving around the room. With a big group we formed a circle and flapping our wings and strutting our stuff all around saying

"Gobble Gobble Gobble"



~Mashed Potato: a famous dance move from the 50's like a combo of the twist but moving one foot in front and back


~Green Beans or Peas: Gotta get our veggies in! First we harvest our veggies by planting seeds and by raining down on them and giving them plenty of sunshine. For Green Beans we stand as straight as we can and jump up and down. For Peas we get in a tight ball and roll on to our backs while holding our knees in tight


SUN


RAIN




GREEN BEANS & PEAS



~PIE! We stand in Mountain again and look the the left then right and then up and look for an apple tree. Tree Pose and we grow our branches and then sway to the right and left. Then we put our arms in front and make a big circle for our basket and we either reach up high on our tippy toes for the apples or we squat low for the pumpkins. We then stretch our arms and do a back bend while we dump our fruit out and then fill and dump again several times.



TREE


BASKET


PICK FRUIT


DUMP FRUIT

~Finally our basket is so full we can't pick it up so from a squatting position we fall back and grab our feet for happy baby pose.





~Close our eyes for the finally resting talking about all the great food we put into our bodies to make us strong and healthy!

~Consistenly Inconsistent~

Consistently Inconsistent? Huh? Does that even make any sense. Well I'd say it sure does for me...these days at least. I then started to think back and I feel like I can go back as far as my very first year of college oh something like 20 years ago! YIKES! I was very consistent at going to college but I was very inconsistent at sticking to a major. Luckily, I pulled it together and figured things out and finished with a BS in Nutrition. It has been however a very inconsistent career choice and I haven't quite found my niche in this field I love so much. Enough about that...that's a different post altogether, perhaps a different blog even....

I had two very consistent pregnancies with my thyroid being inconsistent for both putting my body into hypothyroid for the entire length of my pregnancies. I was however much more consistent in eating well and working out through the first pregnancy and still gained 55 pounds. The second time around when the weight gain seemed to be a carbon copy each month of the first I quickly realized, it was sort of out of my control and I ate whatever my lil heart desired = 55 pounds again... maybe that's why i'm still trying to lose the baby weight from the second time around!

My triathlon training has been very inconsistent...I just can't seem to fit it in. I mean I could if I could live off of just 4 hours of sleep...can't sorry I tried and it doesn't work! I won't bother with my l.o.n.g list of reasons. One thing I have been consistent at lately is Yoga! It has helped with my core strength so much and my flexibility has improved greatly.

I have been inconsistent in blogging as well and time plays a factor again. Hopefully my schedule will become more consistent so I can find some time for blogging, and training, and living. I have decided to forgo the olympic distance tri I had planned next month and instead do a weekend Level One Yoga Teacher Training!!! Two years ago, it was listed on my 5 year plan of things I'd like to do and if I start now, I may just be able to achieve this goal. I wish I had the time and money to just dive in and go for it full time but I am just thankful for the opportunity to take my yoga to the next level. My original plan was to obtain a Les Mills Body Flow certification but let's just say that things have been very inconsistent with that plan with no fault of my own...all the changes at my gym has influenced this goal. Oh well...luckily my tri buddy had an alternative plan to the triathlon as well and in fact she's the one who influenced my destination/decision and will be joining me in the journey of Yoga Teacher Certification! We all need a lil bit of this and and a lil bit of Nat in our lives! Thanks Bunches!