Yoga is a wonderful way of de-stressing and countering all the pressures of school, friends, sports, and life in general. You feel strong, flexible and full of confidence. The best part is that yoga is non-competitive, which means that you do it just for yourself! You connect more deeply with yourself. You become aware of your body, of all the muscles that are stretching, bending, contracting… making you stronger, and filling you with self-esteem. Yoga brings to the surface that marvellous inner light that all of you have, so spread that yoga mat, and try some poses that our friends from Yoga Jungle are waiting to teach you!
The story so far : Hide n seek, followed by Shashakasana , then just fooling around and teasing each other followed by Vrikshasana , and then a spot of mountain climbing with Simha garjan and Parvatasana . Bunny Rabbit and her friends — Geeya the Giraffe, Dimpy the Duck, Vriksha the Tree, Ellie the Elephant, Turtle Tom, Simba the Lion, Heigh Ho the horse, and of course the monkeys — are so full of energy!
Geeya, who was so shy when she first met this gang, has just started to open up and enjoy. Right now, they are all on top of the hill enjoying the magnificent view of the valley and the river below.
“Now let’s race down!” yelled Bunny Rabbit. She never seemed to get tired!
Ellie the Elephant was keen to keep up with her this time. After all, racing down would be much easier than racing up the hill, right?
Bunny Rabbit, in her excitement, didn’t wait for Ellie to catch up, like she did while they were climbing. She wanted to be the first. Sure enough, she was the first.
Soon, all the other animals reached the foothill, even Turtle Tom. But where was Ellie?
“Don’t tell me she is this slow coming downhill!” exclaimed Bunny.
Just then they heard a faint cry for help.
Running around the mountain, all the animals were horrified to see Ellie hanging from the branch of a tree. She must have slipped down the steep slope on the rocky side of the mountain, but thankfully the tree had caught her.
In a fix
What now? The tree was too high and none of the animals could reach up to help her.
Well, actually, one of them could — it was Geeya the Giraffe! With her nimble legs, she could safely cross the rocks, and with her long neck, she was able to reach the branch that Ellie was stuck on. Soon Ellie was back on the ground, and all her friends clapped and cheered.
Geeya was a hero! All the animals grew fond of her. She plucked tender leaves from tree tops for them. She could reach the tastiest fruits hidden from the sight of even the monkeys! And of course, every time some silly animal got stuck in a tree, it was Geeeeeeyaaaaaaaa to the rescue!
All the baby animals now grew fascinated with growing tall. They followed Geeya all day long asking her how she managed to grow tall. Baby Zebra told his mom, “You know what, Geeya is as tall as the mountain!” Ellie the baby elephant thought Geeya was as tall as the palm tree.
Geeya was amused with all this attention. She asked the baby animals, “Do you kids want to be as tall as me? Then, let’s try Tadasana or the palm tree pose. It will help you grow tall.”
Baby monkey said, “I’m going to call this the Giraffe pose!”
Tadasana
Tadasana helps increase height in children, improves body posture and balance, develops and activates the nerves of the entire body, and strengthens the ankles, knees, thighs, arms, and legs.
To get into Tadasana, stand straight with your feet slightly apart.
Inhale and raise your arms; Iinterlocking your fingers and stretch.
Slowly raise yourself on your heels to stand on your toes.
Breathe normally and maintain the pose. Keep looking at a specific point in the distance to maintain your balance.
Hold for about 20 counts.
As you keep practising, you can gradually increase the count. The longer you hold, the better it is.
Exhale and bring your heels down, at the same time slowly lowering your hands.
NOTE: This fun yoga series only aims to create awareness, and not teach Yoga. One must learn Yoga ONLY from a qualified Yoga teacher. Yoga must always be done on an empty stomach.
