Materials:
- One yoga mat per student.
- Enough floor space that students can spread out.
Set Up:
- Arrange the yoga mats, ensuring that students have enough space to move without bumping into one another.
- If you have enough space, consider arranging the yoga mats in a circle so that you can see each student from your own mat.
Begin on your hands and knees.
Step your feet back into a push-up position.
As you breathe in, move your body into a straight line from your head to your toes.
As you breathe out, squeeze your stomach muscles, noticing how strong your body is.
Excellent.
Now stretch your fingers on your right hand out like a starfish.
Shift your weight onto your right hand.
Gently roll your body over to the right. Balance on the outer edge of your right foot.
If you prefer, lower your right knee down to the mat to help you balance.
Now raise your left arm into the air.
Wonderful. This is side plank.
Let’s hold this pose for one breath.
As you breathe in, stretch through your head and your feet, feeling your body lengthen.
As you breathe out, notice how strong your body is.
Great job! Now slowly shift your body to the left, returning to plank pose.
Let’s repeat this process on the other side.
This time stretch the fingers on your left hand out like a starfish.
Shift your weight onto your left hand.
Gently roll your body over to the left. Balance on the outer edge of your left foot.
If you prefer, lower your left knee down to the mat to help you balance.
Now raise your right arm into the air.
Wonderful.
Let’s hold this pose for one breath.
As you breathe in, stretch through your head and your feet, feeling your body lengthen.
As you breathe out, notice how strong your body is.
Now slowly shift your body to the right, returning to plank pose.
Slowly lower your left knee to the mat. Now lower your right knee to the mat.
And return to hands and knees.
You do not need to read the included script verbatim. Adapt the language so that it is appropriate for your students in particular.
It is perfectly appropriate to simplify the breathing cues, particularly when you first introduce the pose to your students. You might invite students to simply count several breaths in the pose, or you might opt to omit them altogether.
It is not important for students to get the pose “exactly right.” Instead, focus on helping them build mind-body awareness each time you practice.
Offer students positive reinforcements throughout each practice. Focus on qualities and behaviors they can control, like their focus, effort, or persistence. Be specific whenever possible. This will help your students develop a “growth mindset.”
If you have students who are struggling with this pose, model one of the accessible variations listed below.
There are several variations that help make this pose more accessible. If students find this pose too difficult, invite them to practice it with one knee on the mat. If that is still too much of a challenge, invite them to place the hand that is not on the mat on their raised hip, rather than lifting it toward the sky.
