By Madison Butkus
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Yoga does not just have to be for adults and the Medfield Public Library (MPL) is showing that to be just the case! This past Monday, August 21st, the MPL invited Certified Children’s Yoga Instructor, Erin Mann, to teach the bigger kids, ages six through eleven, different yoga poses.
The Meeting Room was packed with kids ready to explore all that yoga has to offer. Through this program, young ones are able to learn about fitness, meditation, and relaxation while also having some fun along the way.
Erin was absolutely incredible with all the participants and made sure to explain the easy-going rules before starting her class. She stated, “It’s really nice to see you guys. Some of you may have come to yoga before, some of you may not have come before. Either way, it is no big deal. When I share yoga with friends, I bring stuffed animals, I bring books, I bring music, so I know that you can jump in and give it a try. A couple rules before we start, because I’m a teacher and teacher’s have rules. I ask that you bring your listening ears and all of you are doing a fabulous job with that. I ask that you stay in your spot. We all have a mat, that’s our spot for yoga. I also ask, because you guys are older and I feel like you guys can handle this, my final rule is that you are smart with your body. So yoga is a way of stretching and moving your body and I want you to do what feels just right for you and maybe that means sitting and taking a break or maybe it means changing it a little bit so that it feels just right for you.”
These very important yet simple rules helped the young ones understand that while they are here to have a fun time, it is important to be mindful of what their body is telling them, listen to those around them, and not accidentally bump into one another while stretching.
Throughout the class, Erin did a bunch of fun activities that not only got the kids to practice yoga, but also got them to interact with each other. One game that everyone played was creating their own yoga sequence in groups. When paired together, each group could use stuffed animals, animal cards, or yoga blocks to pick out the sequence they were going to teach the class. While working together, each group came up with their own unique sequence that everyone loved to learn.
Overall, the little ones had such a great time doing yoga with Erin. One can only hope she returns to the MPL in the future. For more information about events like these happening at the MPL, please visit their website at www.medfieldpubliclibrary.org.
