Beijing: November 21 – 24, 2019

Workshop at Iyengar Yogashala, Beijing, China.

Adho Mukha Svanasana. Work this way to roll the tops of the inner thighs back, draw the anterior lumbar spine back and up, and release the posterior lumbar spine down. This is extremely helpful for those with low back compression or pain.

Adho Mukha Baddha Konasana with Three Blocks. This is the biggest hip opener ever!

The wide leg poses access space in the pelvic region, facilitate mobility in the hip joints, and supports health for women’s reproductive systems.

Half Padmasana with a figure of eight belt holding it all together.

Nirlamba Sarvangasana is particularly helpful for women. It reduces hot flashes, helps relax a tense throat and stimulates the thyroid.

The Chinese Translation of Watch Me Do Yoga! The English text is retained along side of the Mandarin.

Ming’s nieces practicing their version of Padmasana.

Tadasana with attitude – practicing along with my book.

Kids the world over love Lion Pose!

Yoga for Breast Care – Chinese translation!.

The Chinese students are enthusiastic about selfies, and will stop at nothing to get their picture taken with the teacher.

This Chinese “mudra” means love, I think.

My favorite pic of all time. This young student took my entire workshop in that outfit.

 

© 2020 Bobby Clennell.

Bogota: September 27 – 29, 2019

Workshops at Natural Yoga.

Uttanasana with a belt.

The rolled up sticky mat will work for anyone who has a long spine. Working this way gives me tremendous traction in the lower spinal muscles.

Kids Love Yoga!

I taught a classroom full of children up in the mountains.

We began with Mountain Pose, then followed it with Tree Pose.

The wind was blowing the branches around!

Lion Pose. Can you make a horrible face, and roar?

The excitement and danger of running through the snapping jaws of the crocodile! Could they make it through, or would the crocodile eat them up?

I don’t teach children very often but after teaching these two classes, I realized why in the children’s classes in Pune, there are so many strong assistants. They really keep order. In Pune, its fun, to be sure. There is also a lot of disipline. The boys, in particular benefit from a greater sense of order than I managed to keep here.

Okay, okay! One at a time please. When the kids were asked afterward what they remember the most from the class, they say the crocodile. (Just to say, there are no animals or stories in the Pune children’s class. They pack in a tremendous number of poses, and the class moves fast, and they only use the Sanskrit names of the poses).

Finally! Spaghetti Pose.

This kid looks like an angel here.

…but here he is, waiting to see what I would do when I discovered two pieces of spaghetti stuck together.

There is nothing as quiet or still as a room full of prevously rowdy kids being wet spaghetti.

It seems to me that boys and girls display different tendencies – at least at this age.. “I will chant OM. First me. Then you”.

“Om”.

Field study

A passing alpaca.

In a clearing in the jungle we came upon this very old typewriter, and two chairs.

© 2019 Bobby Clennell.

Not Only Kidding

It can be quite serious work doing yoga, but these kids are up to the challenge.

Sit up straight and concentrate. Ava Tyler sent this photo with the caption “An apple doesn’t fall far far from the tree.”

Ellen from Swanage, Dorset, UK stretches her legs and pushes against the floor with her hands.

Two trees growing tall. Iyengar yoga teacher Amy Van Mui’s daughter — and a friend — know that it’s important to maintain focus when you attempt Vrksasana.

When Annie Beatty’s kids were young, they worked hard making triangles in the yard.

Iyengar yoga teachers Matt Dreyfus and Michelle LaRue’s daughter has been immersed in yoga all her life. “6 years old — just decided to get some props and do a little viparita dandasana…”

Concentrated study: Ellen, granddaughter of Carlotta Barrow from Swanage Dorset UK,  is using my book as a text.

A bolsters helps open 3 year old Kori’s lungs as she breathes deep while practicing Baddha Konasana. Her grandmother Kiha Lee is a Int Jr 3 Iyengar Yoga teacher.

Now a teen, Annie Beatty’s oldest attends a teen class “which often involves lots of laughing in between some good work and some great relaxation.”

Thanks to everyone who has sent me photos of their kids who were inspired by Watch Me Do Yoga; please keep sending them in. I try my best to correctly credit all the photos, but if I’ve forgotten your child’s name, or the parent or grandparent who sent in the photo, please send it to me, and I’ll update the post.

©2018 Bobby Clennell.

Kids Try Harder

It’s hard to know what you can do until you try. In my book, Watch Me Do Yoga, a young girl challenges herself to try yoga postures that may seem difficult.

Trying. Trying again, and gaining confidence. It’s all part of growing.

Martín tests his balance at Natural Yoga in Bogotá, Colombia. That’s my drawing on the wall over to the right.

Knowing the wall is close by can help you to find your balance…

Iyengar yoga trained Suzie Dodd teaches yoga to schoolchildren in County Galway, Ireland. She sent in this photo of a 15-year-old boy who practices tree pose on a balance board while wearing an eye mask. Now that’s quite a challenge.

…but some like a bit more of a challenge.

Brigitta Ortner’s granddaughter Charli Jane, gets a lift. Brigitta began studying Iyengar yoga in 1994, and is certified to teach at the J1 level.

It’s true that we all need a helping hand (or bolster!) sometimes…

Another of Suzie’s students: “a boy who is normally not very physical or involved, was surprised and delighted to be able do Bhekasana with the rest of the class”.

…but sometimes a little extra effort yields big rewards.

Suzie’s granddaughter, Fern in her version of Padangustha Dhanurasana (an intensified version of Dhanurasana).

Fern’s super vibrant drawing.

Fern, again, working hard to lift and curve. Bhujangasana II. This pose is preparatory to Rajakapotasana.

 

Pull, lift and curve: Dhanurasana. This is Vickie Ewell’s granddaughter Marley. Vickie is director at The Yoga Loft in the Village in Sheffield, Ohio.

With only 20 pupils at rural Carron National School, County Galway, Ireland, Suzie Dodd has them all practicing shoulder stand together. When they’re not practicing yoga, the children are teaching Suzie (a city girl) the difference between the “moo” of a cow, the “moouo” of a calf, the “muuuuuooo” of a cow about to be milked, and the sound of a bull, which is apparently “uuuuuuuuuu.”

After all that effort, it’s time for a little restorative Supta Baddha Konasana.

Thanks to everyone who has sent me photos of their kids who were inspired by Watch Me Do Yoga; please keep sending them in. I try my best to correctly credit all the photos, but if I’ve forgotten your child’s name, or the parent or grandparent who sent in the photo, please send it to me, and I’ll update the post.

©2017 Bobby Clennell.

Hanging around with the kids

A yoga studio can be like a playground to young yoga practitioners. Their imagination can lead to some interesting set ups.

2-year-old Charli Jane came up with this set up all on her own. She likes to check out the ropes and props in her grandmother’s home studio, Toronto based Iyengar yoga teacher Brigitta Ortner.

Martín hangs out at Natural Yoga in Bogotá, Colombia.

Vickie Ewell’s granddaughter Marley likes to use the rope wall when she stretches. Vickie is director at The Yoga Loft in the Village in Sheffield, Ohio.

Balance with a wall, grab a brick, or hold a rope. It’s all fun. Kelly Biondo teaches at Namaskara Estúdio de Yoga in São Paulo, Brazil. Her young friends, Cauê (3), and brothers Noah (5) and Gabriel (6), all have moms who teach Iyengar yoga. What a great start.

Charli Jane has found a fun way to use the ropes, too.

Even relaxation can inspire an elaborate set up…

…but sometimes all you need is a folded blanket under your head.

Thanks to everyone who has sent me photos of their kids who were inspired by my book, Watch Me Do Yoga; please keep sending them in. I try my best to correctly credit all the photos, but if I’ve forgotten your child’s name, or the parent or grandparent who sent in the photo, please send it to me, and I’ll update the post.

©2017 Bobby Clennell.

Kids Love Yoga

Yoga is fun to do all by yourself…

Six-year-old Marley, daughter of certified Iyengar Yoga teacher Vicky Elwell, expresses the sheer joy of tickling her toes with her hair: Rajakapotasana (King of Pigeons). Vicky’s studio, the Yoga Loft, is in Sheffield  Village, Ohio.

Playing on the ropes in the big kids playroom Adho Mukna Svanasana on the Ropes (Downward Facing Dog Pose).

… or with friends

Will these trees sway in the breeze: Vriksanana (Tree Pose)? Or be strong and steady, like a triangle: Uttitha Trikonasana? Helena and Irene Ortiz practicing with me at Natural Yoga, Bogota, Columbia. Photo by by their mother, Ilse Bedolla.

Curl up and around, or stretch up to the sky: Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana (Upward Facing Interlocked Fingers Pose) from Sukhasana (Simple Cross Legs Pose).

Didi Hall’s grandson has an exquisite sense of balance. And his tree (Vriksanana) grows in unusual soil: Kurmasana (Tortoise Pose)! Didi teaches at The Yoga Center Toronto.

Stand tall like a tree, with your roots in the ground and your leaves reaching for the sky.

Thanks to everyone who has sent me photos of their kids who were inspired by my book, Watch Me Do Yoga; please keep sending them in. I try my best to correctly credit all the photos, but if I’ve forgotten your child’s name, please send it to me, and I’ll update the post.

© 2017 Bobby Clennell.

Yoga, Kids and Play

For kids, yoga-time and play-time are sometimes indistinguishable.

Adho Mukha Svanasana – Downward Facing Dog Pose. Hey, who put this floor down here? Sonalli Kurlekar sent this photo in of her daughter.

This is Martine from Bogota, Colombia. How much fun it is push into Upward Facing Dog Pose (Urdhva Mukha Svanasana) on a soft, furry rug.

Dandasana – Staff Pose. I see ten toes!

This is one of the original pencil sketches from Watch Me Do Yoga.

Now this is what I call a real Tree Pose (Adho Mukha Vriksasana)!

Madeline Cook is only two-years-old, but she has yoga in her blood: both of her grandmothers are yoga teachers.

Here is Madeline’s older sister, five-year-old Amelia. Amelia loves looking at books about yoga, and likes to learn (and pronounce) the Sanskrit names of the poses she copies from the illustrations. Recently, her grandmother Leah Bray Nichols (Evergreen Yoga, Memphis) found her “reading yoga books to Madeline. Looks like teaching yoga runs in the family!”

Neither of the girls has been to a kids class. Just reading, playing and doing. Leah says that when she cleans her studio,” I take them with me and they play on the ropes and make-up poses and make forts with the props.”

Here is Francesca, daughter of Lara Warren who teaches at the Iyengar Yoga Institutes, of New York, and Brooklyn. The exuberance of this pose says it all! The rope wall was installed by Lee Christie-Irvine.

Vicky Ewell’s five-year-old granddaughter Marley lifts her chest high and moves her dorsal spine in as she pushes up into a a backbend (Urdhva Dhanurasana) in front of her pink princess tent. Vicky’s studio, the Yoga Loft, is in Sheffield  Village, Ohio.

Fern likes to create her own poses. This one was sent in by Suzie Dodd, “I call it Fernasana!”

These knees are sure to please. Halasana – Plow Pose.

Thanks to everyone who has sent me photos of their kids who were inspired by my book, Watch Me Do Yoga; please keep sending them in. I try my best to correctly credit all the photos, but if I’ve forgotten your child’s name, or the parent or grandparent who sent in the photo, please send it to me, and I’ll update the post.

©2017 Bobby Clennell.

Starting Small — Kids and Yoga

Thanks to everyone who has sent me photos of their kids who were inspired by my book, Watch Me Do Yoga; please keep sending them in. I try my best to correctly credit all the photos, but if I’ve forgotten your child’s name, please send it to me, and I’ll update the post.

Push, push, push up into Chaturanga Dandasana. It’s good to start young.

This little girl is trying to touch the sky with her toes. Her grandmother, Iyengar teacher, Vickie Elwell says, “my girl joined me in my yoga practice today.”

Daniela De Nicola took this photo: Even toys love to do headstand.

Here is Michelle from Jakarta pushing up like a wheel…

…and practicing Full Arm Balance with legs wide. What fun!

While her little sister reads Watch Me Do Yoga and thinks about which pose she should practice next.

 

Child’s Pose looks interesting…

… but maybe I’ll practice Savasana, just like Teddy.

© 2016 Bobby Clennell.

More kids

Kids approach yoga with great enthusiasm; it’s more like play than practice!

Tadasana, Mountain Pose. Stand at attention! Cecillia Danson sent pictures of her nieces Daisy Blair, age 7, and her little sister Doris Blair, 5 years old. They were playing in Cecillia’s yoga room in Umeå, Sweden.

Vrksasana. The trees are waving at you. Can you wave back?

Adho Mukha Svanasana, Urdhva Mukha Svanasana. Down and up, and up and down!

Chatturanga Dandasana — push, push, push!

It’s more fun when we do it together! Aileen Kingerlee, from Kerry, Ireland, ran a week long yoga camps for kids during the summer at the Muckross Traditional Farms in Muckross National Park. They started each day with a yoga class, then spent the day out in nature, bread baking, butter making, milking cows, etc. Later, they did quieter poses, finishing with Sarvangasana. They each had their own yoga journal in which they wrote and drew about their day and their favorite poses.

Adho Mukha Vrksasana, Upside-down Tree Pose Facing the Wall. Climb your feet up the wall.

Kick up into this safety version of Adho Mukha Vrksasana, Upside-down Tree Pose.

Upside-down Tree Pose with the feet together.

… and spread the legs wide!

Setu Banda on the Ropes. The world looks funny when you’re upside-down!

Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana on a chair. This is what chairs were made for!

Dhanurasana, Bow Pose. Anaya, 9 years old, and her sister Isya, 4 years old, love yoga.  It’s fun to rock back and forth…

….. to push up from the floor: Urdhva Dhanurasana, Upside-down Bow Pose….

… and to feel your hair tickle your toes. Fern in Kapotasana with arms up. Photo by Suzy Dodd.

Bekhasana. Balancing is fun, too. This boy is strong!

Savasana. And now it’s time to relax.

Thanks to everyone who has sent me photos of their kids who were inspired by my book, Watch Me Do Yoga; please keep sending them in. I try my best to correctly credit all the photos, but if I’ve forgotten your child’s name, please send it to me, and I’ll update the post.

© 2016 Bobby Clennell.

Kids practice

It all starts by joining in with mom or dad.

Adho Mukha Svanasana — This is Tal Messica’s two-year-old daughter, Malaya, who spends a lot of time in the yoga studio with her parents, imitating, in her own creative way, the poses she sees. Tal teaches at and owns the Iyengar Yoga Center of Ojai, California.

Paschima Namaskarasana in Vajrasana.

Adho Mukha Virasana.

Urdhva Mukha Svanasana, Adho Mukha Svanasana. Good job Malaya!

 

Supta Virasana — a mother/daughter team.

And soon they are teaching others.

Adho Mukha Svanasana.

Parivrtta Janu Sirsasana — Photo by Suzie Dodd of her daughter Fern. “We call it Bobby Clennell Pose”.

After a long day’s practice…

… it’s nice to kick back and relax.

Thanks to everyone who has sent me photos of their kids who were inspired by my book, Watch Me Do Yoga; please keep sending them in. I try my best to correctly credit all the photos, but if I’ve fogotten your child’s name, please send it to me, and I’ll update the post.

© 2016 Bobby Clennell.