By Sarah Scribner
What do you get when you combine 400 kids, a sunny day and Pretzel Kids yoga? A whole lot of yoga fun in the sun!
Indeed, this was the scene at the Highland Foundation’s 5th annual TADpole 10 event on Thursday, June 29. Located next to the TADpole playground at the Boston Common, the summertime fun is held on 10 Thursdays, from June 22 through August 24.
Pretzel Kids was proud to partner with Highland Street and bring the joy of Pretzel Kids yoga to children from the Boys & Girls Club, ABCD Roxbury Head Start, the Boston YMCA and many other early education programs. As Highland Street’s first ever children’s yoga partner, Pretzel Kids brought smiles to the faces of hundreds of children - alongside the esteemed ReadBoston and Playworks, a nationwide organization that promotes physical activity in schools with fun and interactive activities.
Pretzel Kids yoga time
The morning kicked off with storytime with ReadBoston, followed by games with Playworks and Pretzel Kids yoga.
Guided by Pretzel Kids Founder Robyn Parets and newly minted teacher Laurie Thompson, the children were led through summer sun salutations. They reached their arms high - some standing on their toes - and slowly stretched down to touch the ground. Although many kids were experiencing yoga for the first time, some proudly shared that had done yoga before.
The kids then learned a series of Pretzel Kids ocean-themed poses, including surfer, lifeguard, seashell, crab and starfish. First-timers and yogi pros became fully engaged and the group transitioned into playing “Salty Says,” a beach-themed Pretzel Kids game.
“Salty Says” encouraged the kids to interact with each other and match “Salty’s” poses - as long as “Salty Says.” From seated lifeguard to balancing surfer, the beach poses were named to mask common poses practiced in an adult yoga class, like chair pose and warrior II. The children excitedly listened to “Salty” and tried not to strike a pose if “Salty”, aka Robyn, failed to say so.
After a fun round of “Salty Says,” the kids took a pretend car ride to the park, where they made a Pretzel Kids sandwich and painted an imaginary rainbow in the sky. This led to a fan favorite: savasana!
During savasana, the Sanskrit name for relaxation pose, Robyn led the children through a visualization. While listening, the kids relaxed on their imaginary picnic blankets and went on a trip past the rainbow they just created in the sky. After savasana, the children finished the Pretzel Kids session in what else: pretzel pose!
Relaxed and happy Pretzel Kids!
Relaxed and calm, the kids were ready for snack time and eagerly awaited their Goldfish snacks. They sat next to each other on the grass and reflected on their morning, which was full of fun stories, cool games, and even better weather. One boy exclaimed his love for yoga, while another one insisted on demonstrating his crab and lifeguard poses again. A young girl even asked if she could do more poses in the future, to which I happily replied “yes!”
Pretzel Kids’ time at TADpole 10 proved that yoga is truly for all kids and this crowd particularly loved our trip to the beach and journey back to the Boston Common.
Repeat performance?
Pretzel Kids enjoyed our time at TADpole 10 and we hope to return later this summer and next season for even more yoga fun under the sun. Thank you for having us, Highland Foundation. We can’t wait to strike some more poses with Boston children!
Fun fact: Pretzel Kids travels and will come to your event or program. Interested? Learn more about our PK Yoga 2 Go program HERE or give us a holler at info@pretzelkids.com.
Sarah Scriber is a content writer at Pretzel Kids
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