Powerful Me, Powerful You!

This month we explored the power within!  One of the best ways to grow up to be happy and balanced is to feel like you have the power and the means to create the life you want to live.  This is called an internal locus of control.  On the other hand, having an external locus of control or feeling like things just happen to you with no good reason and there is nothing to be done about it, is linked to being an unhappy adult, living a life with little satisfaction.

An internal locus of control means you have coping skills to deal with problems and stresses.  It means you can think through solutions and face difficulties.  It's mainly what you think and believe about yourself and your capabilities.  So, all you have to do is think and believe - in yourself and your abilities - make them whatever they need to be and whatever you want them to be!

Part of being strong and resilient is seeking support from others and finding shared experiences and commonalities from which to learn.  Everybody is unique and we can learn so much from each other!

The volcano - inhale and lift the arms up through center, like the lava rising up the core of the volcano.  Then, with a big whoosh of the breath, let the arms out to the sides.  The lava represents the rising of stress and frustration.  The release is the letting go of it all!

Warrior II pose - stand strong with legs apart, the front foot pointing toward the short side of the mat with the knee bent and the back foot pointing to the long end of the mat.  The hands come in to the heart and then we send them out wide from the shoulders like shooting an arrow.  We look out over where we've shot that arrow.  This represents looking at what we need to change and focusing on that change with a strong mind and a strong resolve to take care of it, for once and for all! 

Warrior I pose - Stand strong with legs apart and both feet turned toward the short side of the mat.  The arms in this version rise up toward the sky and are meant to represent pushing up and through.  In this case, we use it to represent rising above the challenges and struggles we sometimes face and emerging strong and capable!

Believe in yourself!  Be that strong and capable person you are meant to be!

Signing off for this month,

Tammy and Carmen

Yoga Dance!

The Kripalu Yoga program in Massachusettes teaches a yoga dance program and I remember enjoying it when there for a training.  So, we decided to have a summer dance party!  The girls started off by moving back and forth across the large studio space to music, creating various dance moves which incorporated yoga poses such as warrior and goddess pose.  We quickly got tired, so we moved to choosing songs and dance moves that went along with the songs.

Here we chose the song Brave by Sara Bareilles

Here we are dancing to I'm Alive by Michael Franti

And, Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen

We also did some "freeze dancing" and the "hokey pokey."

Finally, some strengthening and good stretching was needed!

Yoga as Story-Telling

The Yoga Girls did some creative story-telling using story dice.  The dice have images to inspire stories.  We shook and we passed our story along bit by bit, so that each girl contributed until the story was complete.  Once we had a complete story, it was time to set it to a yoga series.  Sometimes this was easy and sometimes hard.  We occasionally had to make up poses, but luckily yoga is pretty creative and inspiring!

We began with a need to measure some bananas on a scale for a monkey:

Scale pose

Scale pose

Bananasana

Bananasana

We also needed to weigh out some fish at the market.

There were cats involved and they were helping each other.

Half moon pose

At night the moon came out

And, a dangerous lion came into the village

He also was a magical lion that could fly.....

Flying dragon (adapted to flying lion)

A volcano

And a dead bug...

The End.......All that matters was that we had fun!!!!

Yoga Girls Create!

This month the Yoga Girls created origami animals.  Each girl chose what type of animal to create out of paper.  There was a panda, a tiger, a monkey, a frog, and a cat.

Next task was for each girl to create a three pose series that was inspired by the animal.  It was allowed that poses we'd already learned could be used, adapted, or renamed.

Celia's lazy panda

Faye's stalking tiger

Here the girls are leaping like frogs from a crouched position

Rowan's monkey

Emma created a series inspired by all the things her cat does before lying down to sleep.  Here is sleeping cat.

Creativity shouldn't just be about art, music, or writing.  The brain and the body working together creatively adds a whole new layer of awareness for the brain to pay attention to.  The brain and the body work together in a whole new way and the connections and awareness become stronger.  Why is it important for the mind and body to work together?  Because when you are stressed out, your mind can tell your body to relax and your body can tell your mind to relax.  When you are sick, you can help your body fight off illness by using your thoughts.  When you can't focus, you can use your body to help your mind get clear.

Yoga teaches us to connect the mind and the body automatically.  Create your own poses based on your favorite animals.  On Monday, do your monkey series.  On Tuesday, do your tiger series.  On Wednesday do your walrus series.  Each day you can have a practice.  Each day you can do some yoga.  And each day, you make yourself stronger, more, focused, and happier!

Take Care.
Tammy and Carmen

Who are your role models? Nicki Minaj?  Selena Gomez?  Angelina Jolie?  Reese Witherspoon?  How about a role model who is successful and makes positive contributions to our society?  Your mom?  A favorite teacher?  We tend to pick role models that are skinny and pretty.  But, what good does that do our world?

Recently, 4 women became astronauts out of a pool of 6300.  In the history of astronauts, with 534 who have gone to space, only 57 have been women.  These 4 women have truly beaten the odds!  Instead of a role model who simply looks good, how about a role model that really makes history?!  Girls who have done perfectly well in math and science throughout elementary and intermediate school grades, suddenly become unable to do well in math and science once middle school hits.  It's just not attractive.  It's a stereotype that girls do less well in math and science.  But girls all over are buying into it.  Why?

Staying true to what you like, are good at, and enjoy, that's what will make you happy in the future.  Getting a good education and training in whatever interest areas you have and not buying into the need to seek popularity and good looks will make you a happy, successful adult.  Idolizing singers, actresses, and other not so well-behaved famous folks will get you nothing but misery.

The song Brave by Sara Bareilles might help get you in the right mindset.  Being brave is a big part of ignoring peer pressure, staying true to yourself, and becoming what you really want to be when you grow up.  Speak your truth, live your truth, BE BRAVE!

Here's an activity to get you started:  Take each letter in your name and write it in capitol letters on the side of the paper.  Next come up with a word that begins with each of the letters in your name.  Make that word a strong, confident, and brave kind of word.  Hang it on your wall and remind yourself to be those words each day.

Here's Carmen's:

Creative
Active
Responsible
Mighty
Encouraging
Nice

Thanks for reading girls!  Be brave!
Tammy and Carmen

Summer Dates!

Make Those Dreams a Reality - Use Props!

Hi Girls!

Sometimes in our lives we take for granted the people that are actually an important part of how we live out our lives.  These people actually give us support in many ways (sometimes annoying or negatively).  For example, you may not like your teacher, but teachers teach us things in life that we need to know.  Another example would be family, they support and encourage us, clothe and feed us, and put a roof over our heads.   Are you taking these for granted?

What about air?  gravity? the sun shining even on the cloudy days?  All of this is supporting us!  But, are we taking that for granted?  Probably.  This isn't about gratitude, although, please be grateful.  This is about having faith and trusting that you will be supported in accomplishing your dreams.  We take for granted that there are so many things supporting our hopes and dreams, because we are often caught up in all that is wrong, or all that is annoying, frustrating, or working against us.  Being focused on what isn't working, on who isn't helpful makes our brains more able to see those negatives.  Being able to see what is working, what is supporting us, makes it much easier to see what and who is helpful, necessary, and positive in making our hopes and dreams come true.

Yoga can help us realize this.  We have props we use to help us feel and get into a pose better.  We have the wall and the floor to support us for inversions and other poses.  Don't take these things for granted, use them in your favor!  Take whatever you can get to make your experience the very best it can be.

Sometimes we don't want to ask for help or use assistance.  That is all about pride.  But, trying to make your dreams come true isn't about pride, it's about trust and having faith, knowing there are people and other supports in the world we can all use to get where we want to go.

So look around you.  Who or what are you taking for granted?  Stop doing that!  Start seeing your supports, your props, your assistants - they are out there!  Then, use them and make those dreams a reality!