Finding Compassion for Yourself & Others: A Yoga + Mindfulness Lesson Plan for Tweens & Teens
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Compassion is often described as kindness or empathy in action – it’s taking your feelings to the next level by doing something tangible to help. Compassion and self-compassion are skills that tweens and tweens can practice by bringing awareness and mindfulness to their thoughts and actions. This yoga + mindfulness lesson plan reminds tweens and teens about the importance of Finding Compassion for Yourself and Others.
Yoga poses, creative movements, meditation prompts, and breath exercises invite tween and tweens to experience yoga + mindfulness in a fun and engaging way. Theme-specific music, options for partner poses, a guided relaxation activity, and ideas for taking the theme beyond their mat create a meaningful yoga experience for older children and teens who are ready to deepen their practice and explore more complex themes. This lesson plan can be used any time of the year.
 This NGY Lesson Plan includes:
An introduction to successfully sharing yoga with the tweens and tweens in your life, whether you are a parent, caregiver, a school professional, or an experienced or new yoga teacher.
A detailed and easy to follow script for the teacher/leader.
A complete class theme and sequence including an introduction to the topic, breathing exercises, a warm up, an active pose series, a cool down, and a guided meditation and relaxation exercise. The lesson plan theme works whether taught from beginning to end or in pieces.
Ideas for activities, props, songs, and more to enhance the experience
Ideas for taking the theme off the mat to help tweens and teens incorporate their practice into their daily lives.
Suggestions for how to relationally connect with tweens and tweens in developmentally appropriate ways.
Opportunities to teach through multiple pathways: physical, social-emotional, sensory, creative, cognitive and intellectual learning.
A how-to glossary of poses and breathing exercises used in the lesson plan that includes traditional names plus Sanskrit names when appropriate.
A one-page lesson plan “cheat sheet” — a quick guide for handy reference.
NGY Lesson Plans are delivered electronically in PDF format – easy to download & print or view on a tablet or e-reader!