The pose for this week in Tatty Bumpkin classes is DOG.
This week Tatty Bumpkin and her faithful dog find themselves by the sea. Dog is a little nervous and gingerly dips his paw into the water. Then a friendly dolphin pops his head up through waves and soon Tatty Bumpkin and dog are diving deep into the ocean and happily swimming with their new friends.
Dog is always ready to explore and soon he has met a starfish, the seahorses and even a crab hiding in a shell…. Who else might the friends find on the seashore and just what shall they have for their seaside picnic? Come and find out at your next Tatty Bumpkin class….
What Dog Pose Looks Like
 |
| Wave a paw in dog pose! |
Description of Pose
Note to parents. It is always best to try and do dog pose with your child so they can copy you, this is especially true if your child is younger. If you have never done dog pose before always practise this pose away from your child so you are sure you are stable and confident in this position. If you are concerned about your back or wrists then stay on your hands and knees in cat pose. Make sure both you and your child are on a non-slip mat as it is easy to slip back with your feet. Start on your hands and knees in cat pose, then tuck your toes under, and push your hips up into the air, moving into ‘dog’ pose. Dog pose is a back stretch so it is important to bend your knees as this will let your spine ‘lengthen’.
Now encourage your child to copy you! You can bark at each other and even ‘go for a walk’ – moving forwards a few paces as dogs. Once in dog pose you can gradually push your heels down to the floor, but be sure to keep your hips as high as you can.
What to say to your child. "Start on your hands & knees then tuck your toes under your feet. Push through your hands and feet to lift your bottom up to the ceiling. Straighten your elbows but keep your knees bent so you feel your back is stretching out."
Want to make it harder?
Once in dog pose, try to lift one hand off the floor to be a dog shaking their paw and saying ‘hello', put your ‘paw’ back on the floor and then lift up your other hand or paw to say 'hello' again. After you have ‘had a go’ at shaking your paws, see if you can lift one foot off the ground to ‘wag your tail’. Stretch your foot high up into the air and wave it side to side as you are a really ‘waggy’ dog! Then put your foot back on the floor and lift up your other leg as you are a dog with two magic tails!
Other Games
Find a square of furry fabric and place it in front of your on your mat.Put your hands on the fabric as your move into dog pose, then you can imagine you are feeling the dog’s fur as well as actually being a dog!
Why it is ‘Good For Me’
As your child or toddler does dog pose they will be:
- Strengthening their tummy, back, shoulder and hip muscles. As your child takes weight through their arms and legs pushing up through their hands and feet they will be strengthening their shoulder, tummy, back and hip muscles. These muscle groups have to be strong and active to help your child develop more complex movements and skills i.e. jumping, dressing themselves, using cutlery, writing and drawing.
- Stretching out their small hand muscles. Dog pose encourages your child to spread their palms out on the floor and take weight through their hands. As they do this they will be gently stretching and activating their hand muscles – a good preparation for learning more complex fine motor (hand) skills.
- Stimulating and refining their vestibular sense. As your child puts their head down between their arms in dog pose they will stimulate their vestibular sense. This sense informs us where our head is in relation to our body and whether we are moving or remaining still. We need to accurately process vestibular information to: see effectively, maintain good sitting and standing positions, keep our balance, plan our movements, and even to calm ourselves and regulate our behaviour.
Make it Multi-Sensory, Educational & Fun
In Tatty Bumpkin classes we use unique storylines to make the activities meaningful and to fire the imagination.
All our classes are multi-sensory comprising of:
- Adapted yoga poses and activities which both stimulate and calm the body senses
- Dedicated songs and rhythms which are relevant to the stories
- Bespoke hand-woven props to look at and feel. Tatty Bumpkin has its own range of fairly traded animal props to back up the yoga poses and bring the stories to life. Our teachers are supported to use natural props in the classes which are great to feel as opposed to smooth plastic
So … The Adventure This Week ..
Back on the shore Tatty Bumpkin treads on something sharp – it is a little hermit crab hiding in a shell! What other creatures will be hiding on the seashore? Come and find out at your local Tatty Bumpkin class. ….
 |
| Scuttle on the seashore with crab! |
The Tatty Bumpkin story this week will give your child an opportunity to:
- Strengthen their core muscles, develop their sense of balance, and stimulate their body senses in dog, dolphin and crab poses
- Use gestures or words to express their feelings – imagining they are ‘nervous’ then ‘confident’ swimming dogs!
- Develop their sense of rhythm as they dive and dance in the waves to the Tatty Bumpkin Dolphin song
- Learn about the sea shore environment and the plants and creatures they might see there
- Have fun with their friends: wagging their tails in dog pose, balancing and walking in crab pose and having an imaginary seaside picnic!
Find your local Tatty Bumpkin class at http://www.tattybumpkin.com/classes/find-class.html
No comments:
Post a Comment