Ah! I think Wonders of the World and my dreams come alive!
When I was young, I always dreamt of seeing the world. I dreamt of Argentina and Tahiti, Australia and India. Coming from a very rural lower-middle-class family, seeing the world was not really on the cards, though. My parents had enough money for us to live but nothing more.
After discovering travel for myself as a young adult, I vowed to show the world to my own children. After becoming a mother, I realised I didn’t need to spend that much money to learn about the world.
As kids become more aware of the whole wide world around them, they learn about its diversity and beauty. They learn about people’s stories, histories, and similarities. They learn about how humans have built beautiful creations all around this wonderful planet and how they can protect it going forward.
There are so many ways you can show your children the world without spending a single cent or even leaving your living room. Through cooking, meeting people, reading books, and watching documentaries, I am showing the world to my own children. Here is how you can show your children the world through yoga and gentle movement.
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5 YOGA POSES TO EXPLORE THE WONDERS OF THE WORLD
The following five yoga poses for kids allow us to explore human-made monuments and learn about physics, art, mathematics, and more while moving our bodies gently and being mindful about ourselves and the world around us.
Pretend to be Big Ben in England.
How to practice Extended Mountain Pose: Stand tall in Mountain Pose. Inhale, look up, and raise your arms straight up to the sky. Pretend to be Big Ben.
Learn more about Big Ben
Pretend to be the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy.
How to practice Crescent Moon Pose: Standing, reach your arms up high over your head, bringing your palms together. Tilt your upper body to one side. Come back to center. Tilt your body to the other side. Pretend to be the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Learn more about the Tower of Pisa
Pretend to be the Sydney Opera House in Australia.
How to practice Triangle Pose: From a standing position, step one foot back, angling your foot slightly outward. Take your arms up parallel to the ground then bend at your waist, tilting your upper body forward. Reach your front hand down to gently rest on your shin and reach your other arm straight up. Pretend to be the Sydney Opera House.
Learn more about the Sydney Opera House
Pretend to be the Tikal temple in Guatemala.
How to practice Downward-Facing Dog Pose: From all fours, lift your knees to an upside-down V shape, with your buttocks up in the air. Ensure that your palms are flat on the ground and that your spine and legs are straight. Press your heels toward the ground and look back through your legs. Pretend to be the Tikal temple.
Learn more about the Tikal Temple
Pretend to be the Taj Mahal in India.
How to practice Table Top Pose: Come to an all-fours position with your fingers spread out and palms flat on the ground. Ensure that your back and neck are in a straight but neutral position. Your shoulders should be over your wrists, and your hips should be over your knees while the tops of your feet are flat on the ground. Pretend to be the Taj Mahal.
Learn more about the Taj Mahal
Goodnight Taj Mahal, Nitya Mohan Khemka: this delightful and educational board book tours little explorers around the magical city of Agra.
To explore more wonders of the world, invite your children to make up yoga poses to match these other magnificent wonders:
- Parthenon, Greece
- Saint Basil’s Cathedral, Russia
- Statue of Liberty, United States
- Eiffel Tower, France
- Blue Mosque, Turkey
- Stonehenge, England
- Golden Gate Bridge, United States
- The Great Wall of China, China
- Machu Picchu, Peru
- Angkor Wat, Cambodia
- The Pyramids at Giza, Egypt
Wonders of Our World, Carron Brown & Stef Murphy. You might also like to add a book to your movement. This really cute shine-a-light book is perfect for pre-schoolers to 2nd grade.
About the Author
After a decade in the UK and another one in Germany, Annabelle Humanes now lives in Portugal with her husband and two children. Annabelle would describe her career as that of a chameleon. She trained as a linguist and academic researcher in language acquisition. She worked in academia for over a decade teaching languages and carrying out research in language acquisition in young children. She joined the Kids Yoga Stories team in September 2021.
When not traveling or eating her way around the world with her little European citizens, she writes at www.thepiripirilexicon.com about being the mother of two cross-cultural children and blending cultures and languages. Annabelle has also contributed to a book on the topic (How to Raise a Global Citizen: For the Parents of the Children Who Will Save the World, DK, 2021). After a childhood immersed in yoga practice, she credits, in part, her adaptability skills to yoga. Annabelle Humanes wants to live in a world where diversity is celebrated and valued, where parents of multilingual children are never asked to stop speaking their home language(s), and more importantly, where books come bundled with chocolate.
CHECK OUT OUR CITIES TO EXPLORE YOGA PACK
Enjoy these three colorful decks celebrating the wonder of Paris, London, and New York. Take in the sights, smells and tastes of Paris, London and New York while having your children practicing yoga.
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