In our Children Yoga training, I often come across the question of whether using stories in our Children Yoga lesson plans is well suited for older children too?

The answer is It depends: on the group dynamics but also on your beliefs and delivery. In my experience, it really is an excellent way to explain concepts that may be otherwise too abstract.
See for yourself.

Last night I taught the third lesson plan of our Autumn Term curriculum to a group of Year 3 to Year 5 children. 

You might think that year after year teaching the same story within the lesson plan could feel repetitive? It is, but actually I was able to cement some of the previous week’s learning and add further elements to our toolbox to improve our overall mental and emotional wellbeing. 

Note that our theme is Positive Attitude which can be explained as our ability to help ourselves feel happier. It is the acknowledgment that given the same set of circumstances, some of us have a better experience of life than others, but that we can make a difference if we work at it, as it is not always a natural incline. In fact, we know that there is a ‘negativity bias’ that helps our brain spot differences, anomalies and threats to help us survive (ref. Neuroscientist Rick Hanson). This is a good thing when we have got our problem solving, constructive and solution oriented hat on because we feel empowered. However when we feel helpless, and disempowered or self centred, this may affect our moods.

In this story, we looked at external factors such as how the weather can make us feel grumpy just like Charlotte the character in our story. We started by sharing how we feel, and turns out ¼ of the children liked the rain because they felt like dancing in the rain and also they thought of how good the rain is for the environment and that made them feel good. Others felt grumpy when it rained. I thanked the children for sharing their reason for liking rainy days because it helps me see it in a different way too!

Debriefing the story we listed all the tools Charlotte had or could have used to help herself feel happier that day.

  • she could have set 3 wishes upon waking about her day to set a positive intention.
  • she could have practiced one round of Sun Salutations
  • she thought about something she loves to do instead of going to school
  • she used her imagination to help her mother see the good too.
  • she then thought about reasons to be excited about school
  • she sets herself a little reward after school
  • she gave her mother some encouraging words upon leaving

We talked about all the tools we can use to manage our moods and help our wellbeing with the Acronym of the GREAT DREAM. This acronym was coined by the charity Action for Happiness and encourages you to have a Great Dream, with a list of areas to look at and to spend time on to feel happier. This Acronym was listed on my Mental Health First Aid course as a tool for wellbeing and was also shared on one of the article from ‘The Week Junior’

www.actionforhappiness.org

 I found other simpler systems when searching online about Positivity, systems that schools have come up with, such as this 5 tier system: Connect, Be Active, Keep Learning, Give and Take Notice 

We acknowledged that these tools’ aims are not to brush things under the carpet and plaster a ‘everything’s fine look’ on our face. But rather to help ourselves feel happier if this is right for us at that time. In any case, If we are worried about something and it is not going away quickly, then we should speak to a trusted carer, parent or friend.