Full of Joy Yoga

Yoga for Children. Joy for Life

  • About
    • The Story of Full of Joy Yoga
    • Our Teachers
    • Benefits
    • Friends of FOJY
    • Information
    • FOJY Partners
  • Book
  • Kids
    • Preschool Yoga Classes
    • Birthday Parties & Special Events
    • Private Classes
  • Teachers
    • Upcoming Trainings, Workshops, Webinars
    • Become a FOJY Warrior
    • 20 hour Kids Yoga Teacher Training
    • Find a Trained FOJY Teacher
    • Teacher Tools
  • Community
    • IRIS – Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services
    • Yoga Reaches Out
    • Africa Yoga Project
    • Amal Alliance
    • United We Om
    • In the Press
    • Mindfulness Month: Yoga for Kids & Families
  • Mindful Yoga Breaks®
  • Shop
    • Mindful Yoga Breaks
      • Products
      • Online Videos
      • Workshops
    • FOJY Products
    • Lesson Plans
    • Books and Cards
    • Peace Corner & Teaching Props
  • Blog
  •  

April 4, 2018

In Between Seasons

From Winter to Spring

As we head into spring, our bodies and minds are ready for the warmth yet it’s still feeling like winter. Yesterday we had this surprise snow which was beautiful coming down, and then thankfully disappeared by the warmth of the afternoon. This sums up spring in the Northeast. I remember it was way more defined growing up in NJ- and April to me (my birthday month) was SPRING.

These days, it’s just not how we remembered it to be, and now in this first week of April, it’s still only 40 degrees. That’s COLD. We still have our basket of hats, gloves, scarves in the hall. Our winter boots are lined up and coats are still hanging. Yet the buds are forming on the trees and the early flowers such as crocus, snowdrops and daffodils are popping up everywhere. This in between feeling can make us a little uncertain and feel a bit dragged down.

I know that I am SO ready for the warmth and sunshine of spring- yet what we teach the kiddos- we can’t control the weather. We can control how we respond, but we can’t control what happens out there in the world -as much as we’d love to try. We teach the kids this exercise called The Weather Report. Sometimes its hard to put a label on how we are feeling in this moment. I know I can’t describe it sometimes.

Take a Weather Report

This is one of our mindfulness activities in the Mindful Yoga Breaks Card Deck®. We LOVE to use it in all our classes. This activity lets students observe how they feel without letting their emotions take control.

1) Ask students to think about a weather report that best describes their emotions or feelings at the moment. Some options can be: sunny, rainy, stormy, calm, windy, tsunami, etc.
2) Have them share their weather report with the group or a friend.
3) Ask the students: “Can we change the weather outside? (No!) We can’t change our emotions or feelings either. All we can change is how we respond to them.”

How do we respond to different weather?

We change our clothes, we change our activities,  WE have control of what WE can do and respond accordingly.

We can use a weather word to describe the weather inside us. Just like we can’t change the external weather, we cannot change our internal weather. Emotions will come and go and pass just like the weather. We may feel like a hurricane, but we are not that hurricane. We can acknowledge our emotions without reacting.

What can we do when we acknowledge our emotions?

We can ask for a hug, take a deep breath (one of our Anchor Breaths from our MYB Card Deck) or talk to a friend. Our emotions don’t define us- they are not WHO we are.

So as we go about our spring and we experience the highs and lows of this crazy weather (at least here on our side of the US), we can figure out how to best respond to one day snow, next day rain and the next day 70 degrees and sunny! Just like the changing weather, our moods and emotions will pass through us and we need to figure out how to best respond. Giving kids (and adults!) these tools to self-regulate is the key to managing our OWN emotions and figuring out what helps to calm us when needed. It’s my favorite part of this work- teaching these oh so important tools that I know would have helped me in managing my emotions as a kid.

What are you doing to help manage your emotions during the changing seasons? How do you calm your hurricane inside?

Article by Lani Rosen / Lessons / breathe, childrens yoga, family yoga, full of joy yoga, kids yoga, mindful yoga breaks, mindfulness, seasons, spring, transitions, weather report, yoga for kids, yoga in preschools, yoga in schools, yoga with kids Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Full of Joy Yoga Newsletter

Full of Joy Yoga (Kids Yoga Teacher Trainings & Kids and family yoga classes)

(Teacher Workshops & Classes)

Latest from the Blog

This is Your Brain on Stress
We all know that reasoning doesn’t work during a meltdown. Christyn of KidPowerment Yoga chatted with me about what is happening
Read more.
Peace Begins with Me
How are you a peaceful warrior? What do you stand for? In this class for kids ages 3-9yrs, Lani shares
Read more.
Why YOU, Yes YOU Should Start a Gratitude Practice
and how a gratitude practice can bring more joy to your life. The definition of gratitude is the quality of
Read more.

Recent Posts

  • This is Your Brain on Stress February 21, 2021
  • Peace Begins with Me January 20, 2020
  • Why YOU, Yes YOU Should Start a Gratitude Practice October 31, 2019
  • How to Create a Mindful Glitter Bottle September 5, 2019
  • School to Summer Transitions May 29, 2019

Shop by Category

Good to Know

  • Contact
  • Information
  • Privacy Policy
  • Become a FOJY Warrior
  • Registration and Waiver Form

Yoga Alliance

yoga alliance, yoga badges

Keep in Touch

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
Copyright © Full of Joy Yoga 2019. All Rights Reserved.
Developed by Renaissance Web Solutions