PARTY YOGA
Choose a theme of a journey, princess, forest, animal, beach, seasonal or a theme of your choice. Each session will give special focus to the birthday child and include poses, activities and games.
Fee: $140 per hour for up to eleven participates at your location anywhere in the Northshore Boston area. $10 per additional participant. Mats and other props provided. For more info. call 978 407 5061.
For Kids too!
YOGA FOR GIRL SCOUTS
Daisy Purple Petal
“Respect Myself & Others”-
We will talk about respecting ourselves through exercise, nutrition, and relaxation. We will do fun yoga poses to relax or energize our bodies.
Brownie
My Body “Try-It”-
We will learn about anatomy while doing fun yoga poses and seeing our muscles and bones in action.
Junior
Stress Less Badge
We will practice breathing, stretches, and relaxation poses to learn how to handle stress. We’ll also do an art project to help us stress less. Troop leaders will learn techniques to help them too!
From Stress to Success Interest Project
We’ll learn breathing techniques and stretches to relax the body. We will learn about reflexology and massage, and we’ll do lots of yoga poses too.
Fees: $12 per girl (Minimum of 8)
Date: By appointment
Time: 45 minutes-1 hour
Mats provided.
Place: Your troop meeting location
What participants say:
"It was really fun and relaxing."
" She made it both playful and educational for the girls."
YOGA FOR SOCCER
PHYSICAL BENEFITS: Soccer actions strengthens and tightens quadriceps and hamstrings . Balancing the body by elongating these muscles gives the soccer player a greater stride and less chance of injury. Strengthening opposing inner thigh muscles is conducive to a stronger cross pass.
MENTAL BENEFITS: Players need to be "up" for the game, but too much energy without focus isn't effective for game strategy. Yoga teaches focus amidst distraction; whether it be on or off the soccer field. There is also a blend of "mind over matter" in any sport. Regular yoga practice can assist in awareness of one's thought patterns and bringing consciousness to the thought processes, particularly negative self-talk.
TEAM BENEFITS: Through yoga related group exercises, team members will experience a greater sense of cohesiveness and trust.
A CASE STUDY:
Brandi Chastain says yoga improved her soccer game. A simple Down Dog, helps counterbalance the explosive sprinting, leaping, and kicking I do on the field.
The greater surprise benefit is how yoga helped her make better decisions in the heat of competition. When the U.S. women played against a powerful Brazilian team,"she says "We were killing ourselves chasing that ball." " She knew she had to slow down and regroup. "So I drew from yoga and went back to my yoga breathing." Thanks in part to Chastain's levelheaded leadership, the Americans won the game, 5-1.
About the instructor: Ms. Pantoliano holds a MS in health promotion with emphasis in exercise physiology. She completed the ACE group instructor training, and the 5oo hour level Yoga Alliance certified training. She has previous experience in physical assessment testing through the YMCA and the National Center for Health Fitness
This program is available as soccer teams and groups.
Fee: $30 per student (min of 6) for a 90 min workshop
($500 for a series of 5 sessions and includes flexibility assessment (max 12 participants)
ABOUT SHIRLEY
The Conventional :
Credentials include-
- Registered Dietitian
- 500 Hour Level Registered Yoga teacher with specialty training with children and weight management .
- Master's Degree in Health Promotion
Her professional positions inlude managing a hospital-based weight loss program, being a contributing writer for the "New England Journal of Medicine"and a a guest lecturer for the Emory University School of Medicine on implementing wellness in a physician's practice. As lead yoga instructor at the Merrimack Valley YMCA she developed, implemented, and marketed yoga programs for children ages 0-crawling, 1-3, 3-5, 6-8, and 8-12, as well as yoga mini-camps and yoga/cooking classes. In 2007 she launched Balance From Within and now leads YOGAspirit®'s Youngsters Yoga training program.
The Unconventional: Shirley mistakenly walked into a yoga class during a period of post-partum depression. She felt so moved by the end of class that she has never looked back. Integrating yoga into her life allowed her to navigate a family history of depression, even after she gave birth to her second child.
She has found work with children to be them most mutually rewarding and is pursueing a master of education degree with emphasis in special needs to be able to weave multiple disciplines to benefit children.
She may be contacted at ph 978 407 5061. P
BREATH TECHNIQUES
FOR
BETTER TEST SCORES
When done at their desks, deep breathing can help students cope with the stress and anxiety that may occur before taking tests such as the upcoming MCAS.
Pre-test stretches can focus on postures to provide space for the lungs and oxygentation to the brain and a specific breathing technique called alternate nostril breathing.
ALTERNATE NOSTRIL BREATH:
Medical science has recently discovered that the nasal cycle corresponds with brain function. The electrical activity of the brain was found to be greater on the side opposite the less congested nostril. The right side of the brain controls creative activity, while the left side controls logical verbal activity. The research showed that when the left nostril was less obstructed, the right side of the brain was predominant.
Students who've practiced this techniques with Shirley say "it was really interesting...I did feel different after trying it."
Interested in a training session for your group of students, study group, scout group, or after school club? $20 per person for a 1 hour session. Min of 8.
Contact Ms. Pantoliano at 978 407 5061 or pantoliano@ comcast.net.
References:
Hopkins, J.T. and Hopkins, L.J. (1979). A Study of Yoga and Concentration. Academic
Therapy, 14 (3), 341-345.
Telles, S., Hanumanthaiah, B., Nagarathna, R. and Nagendra, H.R. (1993). Improvement
in Static Motor Performance Following Yogic Training of School Children. Perceptual
and Motor Skills, 76, 1264-1266
WEEKEND YOGA TEACHER
TRAINING
YOGA YOUNGSTERS
From infancy to teenhood, "yoga is not merely an activity, but a tool for managing the obstacles that come with physical and emotional growth, " says Shirley Pantoliano. Focused on fun, the interactive and informative training format will address:
- Realizing hidden teaching opportunities
- Designing flexible teaching lesson plans (samples included)
- Incorporate yoga philosophy via games and hands-on activities
- Identifying and redirect age-related behaviors
Yoga for the Youngest Certification
noon-7:30 $140
(postnatal, infants and toddlers to ages 3)
*Yoga for Early to Middle Childhood Certification*
(ages 3-5, family yoga, after-school programs)
noon-7:30 $140
*Yoga for Late Childhood
Certification *
(ages 8-10, 10-12, teenagers, families)
noon-7:30 $140
new dates posted soon
Fee: $400 if you pre-register for all 3 trainings .* Must have completed 75% of a 200 hour teaching training program to attend these segments.
For Program Questions, contact Shirley Pantoliano
(978) 407 5061 or pantoliano@comcast.net
