[Some of my lovely yogis at this morning's workshop!]
What a beautiful morning I had today. Hosted my first Family Yoga Workshop here in Dartford, Kent and it was such a wonderful fun experience!
I genuinely had no idea how it was going to work out - even with a well-laid plan in my head of what I wanted to include in the workshop I knew that when children are involved you have to expect the unexpected. BUT I have to say I was pleasantly surprised in that the children were fantastic and the adults seemed game to try everything too! The youngest yogi joining us was 2 years old and the oldest "little" yogi was 12 years old. Accompanying the children today were Mums, Dads, Grandparents, Aunts and cousins so a real mix of relationships and it all worked well.
I themed the workshop around the idea of a "Jungle Adventure" and the children really enjoyed bringing their cuddly toys with, in fact my son brought six of his with him!
The session included all the usual elements of an adult yoga class including breath focus, posture work and relaxation but just presented in a fun, light-hearted way so the children (and adults) didn't have to feel they had to be serious and could explore the poses a little more freely. I definitely think the partner poses were the favourite and we experimented with a few different ones including Double (and even triple!) Trees, Double Boats and Lizards on a Rock. Unfortunately I didn't manage to get that many pictures as I was so busy but here are some of the "Lizards on a Rock" from today's workshop:
There were lots of complete beginners in the group this morning, both amongst the adults and children and so this made it doubly fantastic because it was a new experience on so many levels for so many people. We played some fun, energetic games too and enjoyed a break for some healthy snacks and drinks to let the children have a little time where they didn't have to concentrate. Most surprising of all was that everyone was able to relax during Savasana (our relaxation time at the end) - even the little ones - and all in all I'm pleased with how it went and got some lovely feedback too.
I've already heard from a few of the Mums that their children have already been practising their new yoga poses at home so if I have contributed even a little to inspiring the next generation of yogis then I am super happy!!