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September 22 is the Fall Equinox. It’s one of two times a year when the length of the day and night are equal. It marks the official end of summer and the beginning of Autumn.
This is not the time of year to pick apples, it is the time of year to let them fall.
A change in seasons often feels unsettling as we switch from more care-free days to new routines. Often, there’s no rhythm yet. September is full of extra administrative tasks with school forms, new playdates and after school program schedules. It’s a lot of details to manage.
If that stresses you out, 3 things may get you grounded:
1. Earthing. Feeling your bare feet in the grass or sand is soothing. Because the Earth has a magnetic field that provides the nourishment of free electrons. All sorts of benefits occur—when you go outside.
2. Yoga. Standing postures demand your full attention with both feet on the ground. It’s important to do yoga in bare feet to allow reflex zones to reach all body areas and organs connected to them. Plus it gives your toes space to move and breath.
3. Listen to what the birds are saying. Birds are the secret weapon to overcome anxiety. Their chirping sounds can comfort us, soothe our stress and bring us joy. You can listen on a walk or simply lying on your back after yoga while earthing.
The change of seasons is a sensory experience. Enjoy the color of the leaves changing and watch them fall to the ground. It’s also a good time to reflect on what you can let go of and bring into balance.
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It’s my birthday! My 5X+th. 🙀 I’ve been through light and dark. Yoga has kept me strong, flexible, healthy and sane (mostly). It’s freed me physically, mentally and emotionally to become more balanced.
Here are the 3 birthday wishes I’m making this year.
1. Help at Home Yes, please! Why this husband’s advice for how dads can help their wives went viral. Guys, it’s really not complicated.
2. Quality Time I’m done with complacency. I want true connection. Time is precious. I want to be even more conscious about how and who I spend time with this year.
3. Increased Impact I love teaching kids from cradle to college the skills they need to succeed in today’s world. I’m on a mission to train 10,000 leaders so we can reach 10 million children and teens.
Make my wish come true! Join me for the most rewarding work you can do - and get paid for! Warrior Training starts soon.
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For Grandparents' Day, we’re excited to honor the cherished role that grandparents play in our lives. Many grandparents share caregiving responsibilities — and understanding today's childhood is often a challenge. Connecting across the generational gap with changes in media and technology can be tricky, so it's more important than ever to find ways to engage together.
Yoga is a great way to bridge that gap because children and seniors need to be active to stay healthy and grow — or at least not shrink! Only do what feels safe and breathe.
Here are the top 7 yoga poses kids and grandparents can do together:
Butterfly pose: sit with the souls of the feet together and gently flap your wings. Tell each other what color your wings are. This opens the hips.
Cat/Cow pose: on hands and knees arch the back and look up for cow. Then curl the back and look at your belly for cat. Crawl and stretch your paws/hooves by lifting one limb at a time. Do make the animal sounds! This creates mobility in the spine.
Downward Dog pose: from cow pose, curl toes down to the floor, lift hips up and wag your tail. This pose lengthens the spine, strengthens the arms, and stretches the legs.
Monkey pose: from dog pose, walk your feet and hands toward each other to stand. Relax your head and upper body toward the floor and swing your arms side to side. This stretches your back.
Sun pose: from monkey pose, slowly stand tall and reach your arms to touch the sun. On you tip toes, turn your sunshine all around in both directions. This lengthens your whole body and strengthens your calves.
Tree pose: stand on one foot with your other foot on your shin or ankle. Hold hands to keep the trees steady. This strengthens the standing leg and promotes better balance.
Cobra pose: rest on your belly and pretend to be slithering snakes in the grass. This strengthens your back. Then, take a rest together and be sleepy snakes.
Remember to listen to your body and get trained because there’s so much more you can do together to promote physical fitness and mental health.
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On this Labor Day, I’m reminded that if If American women earned minimum wage for the unpaid work they do around the house and caring for relatives, they would have made $1.5 trillion last year.
Women’s Unpaid Labor is Worth $10,900,000,000,000
A mother’s love is priceless, right? A labor of love is productive work performed voluntarily without material reward or compensation, an altruistic work or undertaking. This is what parents, especially mothers, do for their children, and ultimately, society.
One idea to share the load is to have dads take on bedtime. In particular, burning the energy to prepare for sleep. How? Yoga. Here are 3 ways to help the kids wind down and be ready to rest:
1. Frog Jumps: squat like a frog and jump up and down several times. Jump as high as you can and land on your feet. Try this 8 times.
2. Donkey Kicks: from downward dog, kick both feet up to your bottom at the same time and land on your feet together. Try this 5 times.
3. Star/Mountain (Yoga Jacks): Stand tall and strong with hands at sides, then jump feet and hands wide to make a star. Then, back to the mountain. Repeat 10 times fast.
After these active moves, kids are typically ready to cuddle, read and rest. If not, do the whole thing again until they are! You can learn more health tips in our Zen Parenting workshop or Warrior Training. Look for other ways you can share the load.
Try the Post-it challenge to see how much both parents are responsible for around the house. Take note!
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This is what we do. We’re in the last weeks of summer camp and it’s been a total joy! Studies have shown that mindfulness reduces disciplinary actions and creates a more harmonious environments at home and in the classroom.
“What we learn on the mat translates to life off the mat. Everything you need to know, you can learn in yoga.” - Michelle Wing, Founder, It’s Yoga Kids®
Kids yoga is about so many things! Here are the top three:
1. Confidence. “Fake it until you make it” doesn’t work here. Kids know what’s true and what’s not true for them. Confidence comes from consistent positive experiences and outcomes. Results. That’s it. You can’t fake that. Yoga builds it because everyone can be challenged and successful — over time.
2. Resilience is built through failure and perseverance which leads to confidence. The way to level up is to be challenged — to fall and get back up — to break through barriers physically and mentally. Yoga does that. If you are not paying attention, you will fall. Hard stop.
3. Adaptability is you ability to accept what is happening RIGHT NOW and adjust to it. This is a pivotal skill that leads to both resilience and confidence. To know what you can control and what you can’t and to manage it. That’s total presence. We learn it in yoga.
The camp, which runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., with optional extended day until 4 p.m., teaches kids how to manage their emotions and their bodies. It also creates connection to and appreciation for the earth because we’re the the beautiful Presidio of San Francisco — nature at it’s finest!
“I felt a lot of stress in basketball. After yoga, I’m carefree.” - Kevin, age 6
Yoga camps are offered on school holidays and spring and summer breaks.