#all abilities

THIS is how you help veterans & promote adaptive winter sports

Sophie is Patron, UK Armed Forces Winter Sports Association

Inter-services snow sports championships in Meribel, France.

You might be thinking "isn't this the same as that other group known as LGBT?" See, no; that other group is for everyone outside of those groups too, what with neopronouns and xenogenders and such.

Mindful Jenga

What you’ll need:

Jenga game

Set of yoga, mindfulness, table talk…cards

Family/Friends

How to play?

Set up the game. Shuffle all cards together. Turn pile upside down and place near the game.

Traditional rules of Jenga apply. Do not choose tiles from the top 3 tiers.

Choose a tile. Breathe in. Remove tile carefully. Breathe out.

Place tile on top of the tower.

Flip top card. Everyone completes the designated action. If a yoga pose is chosen, take a breath in and out in the pose. Do both sides, if needed.

Card Deck Suggestions:

A Therapeutic Treasure Deck of Grounding, Soothing, Coping and Regulating Cards by Dr. Karen Treisman

A Therapeutic Treasure Deck of Sentence Completion and Feelings Cards by Dr. Karen Treisman

Creative Yoga Games for Kids (Vol 1 & 2) by Yoga Education Resources

Mindful Kids: 50 Activities For Calm, Focus & Peace  by Whitney Stewart

The Go Yoga! Card Set: 50 Everyday Yoga Poses for Calm, Happy, Healthy Kids by Emma Hughes

Yoga Pretzel Cards by Tara Gruber and Leah Kalish

Another mindful activity: Make your own deck. Draw favorite yoga poses, “this or that’s”, etc.

  Yoga Memory

What you’ll need:

Yoga Memory Set (of course you can make you’r own too…which could be a totally other mindful activity. Everyone designs two yoga/mindfulness activity cards….. They can be similar pictures or  even two aspects of the same idea…which could lead to cross matching….oh! So many options)

Family/Friends

How to play?

Mix-up tiles/cards. Set up game. Traditional memory has 36 matching pairs for a total of 72 tiles. Reducing the number of tiles used can make the game easier and more fun if needed for special adaptation. .

Traditional Memory rules apply.

When a pair is found, all participants practice the activity.

Breathe in and out in each pose. Do both sides of a 2-sided pose.

  Found Object Mandala

A mandala is a series of concentric circles, beginning with a central concept, an then radiating out to the outer rim with repeating shapes, colors or designs.

What you’ll need:

Nik-Naks, Bric-A Brac, screws, nuts and bolts, pins, jacks, toy cars, ABC blocks, sea glass, beach rocks, or head outside for a walk and collect leaves, acorns, stones….everything and anything that has multiples.

A large open space, maybe covered with a table cloth.

Friends/Family

How to play:

First, look around the space you are in and find mandalas, for example, a clock face, the ceiling sprinklers, window moldings, etc. Think of  mandalas outside, for example, the sun, a flower, a hubcap, etc.

Work as a team to build the mandala.

For fun, take photos throughout the process. This makes a nice flip book or picture video or even a nice picture for next years holiday card.

  6/ 1-Minute Meditations:

Whistle Breathing: Whistling is breath and music combined that you create with the lips. It is very powerful because it relaxes inside and out. It creates inner balance.

A. To do it on the inhalation: pucker your lips, concentrate on the third eye point, and inhale through the mouth making a high-pitched whistle. Exhale through the nose. Focus the third-eye point on the sound of the whistle on the inhalation and on the soft sound of the breath through the nose on the exhalation.

B. To do it on the exhalation, reverse the procedure: inhale through the nose and exhale through the puckered lips with a whistle. Focus the eyes at the third eye point and focus the third-eye point on the sound of the whistle on the inhalation and on the soft sound of the breath through the nose on the exhalation.

Tongue Action Meditation A:  Stick your tongue: left, right, in, out. You will start to laugh!

Tongue Action meditation B: Roll your tongue on the inside of the mouth around the gum and lips (not the teeth) as if you are wiping peanut butter off from the inside of your mouth. Can switch directions 1/2 way through, if desired.

Kiss the air! Pucker up and kiss the air. Or possibly kiss the left palm and then the right, back and forth.

“Z” Stand: Balance on toes; bend knees slightly as if to start sitting down; arms out, parallel to the ground, palms facing down; Chin gently dropped; Eyes 9/10th’s closed; Breath-of-fire. Short sniff in and short puff out with the nose or circled lips. Focus on the navel point.

4-Stroke Breathe: Emergency calming activity! Breathe in 4 strokes with the nose; Breathe out all in one stoke, to the count of 4,3,2,1. (the exhale can be through the nose or with the mouth).

It wasn’t our day in the end, but a terrific season in the Western Australian Amateur Integrated Football League ended in a grand final defeat to Coolbinia. We played hard and I’m proud of the team. We will be back stronger next year.

My stats for Season 2019:

Goals: 23

Assists: 20+ (score involvements)

Wins: 12 (10 in regular season)

Losses: 5 (3 in regular season)

Record: WLWLWWWWWWLWWWLWL

Warm-up to Find Your Courage

Punch/March

Ego Eradicator

Cat/Cow

Boat

Forward Fold

Reverse Plank

Push-Up

Alternate Leg Lifts

Seated Meditation

Kriya to Balance The Mind In The Group Energy

Sit in a close-knit circle; everyone should choose a partner. If you have groups of 4, Patty Cake (if not enough people, switch to Rararara, Mamamama, Ramaramaramarama, Sa Ta Na Ma in partners)

Gratitude Hands w/ Clockwise Hip-to-Head Circles (see above)

Hold Hands in Silence (whole group holds hands; no one is left alone)

Cactus Arms & Spirit Fingers w/Counterclockwise Circles (see above)

Dance: Punjabi Style; Freely: Add Clapping

Patty Cake (would like to try it with Rockin’ Robin)

Surrender

Rest

Playlist:

Ong Namo by Shakta Kaur Khalsa

Ek Ong Kar by Tina Malia

Brazilian Rhyme (Fearless Mix) by Mondo Grosso

Hey Hey by Muete

Naive Melody (Young Edits Sophistaicated Melody Version) by The Talking Heads

Chattr Chakkr Vartee by Nirinjan Kaur

Hallelujah by Jai-Jageesh

Heartbeat by Taana Gardner

Shake The Mind by C Cat Trance

Adidas To Addis by Cut Chemist

Har by Snatam Kaur

Har by Tera Naam

Rockin’ Robin by Michael Jackson

Rararara, Mamamama, Ramaramaramarama, Sa Ta Na Ma

Fantasia Inca by Various Artists

Fantasia Inca by A. Caste

Long Time Sun by Paramjeet Singh & Kaur