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Make Your Own Hand Sanitizer

1/3/2018

Are you looking for a more natural alternative to alcohol-based hand sanitizers? Here is a recipe how to make your own. I have been bringing this mixture to my yoga classes, and the kids love it.

½ cup of Pure Aloe Vera Gel
1 ½ cup of Witch Hazel
15 drops of Tea Tree Essential Oil
10 drops of Lavender Essential Oil
10 drops of Orange Oil
4 oz. Spray Glass Bottle
Label (optional)

Mix the Aloe Vera Gel and Witch Hazel. Add essential oils. Pour in glass bottle and shake well. Decorate a label and stick it on the bottle. And voila — your hand sanitizer is ready to go!
Your skin will love the aloe vera and witch hazel — no more dry skin from alcohol-based sanitizers! Tea tree oil and lavender oil are bacteria busters as they have antifungal, antiseptic, antiviral, and antibacterial qualities. Orange oil was added to create a nice scent along with the lavender oil, and it is also antiseptic. If you don’t care for the smell of tea tree oil, you could experiment with adding more lavender and less tea tree oil.

Caution: Do not leave your children unsupervised while working with essential oils. While the oils are all natural, they are powerful plant compounds, should only be used diluted, and should not be ingested (unless you are following a trusted cooking recipe). The oils in this recipe are generally considered safe on your skin, but please be aware that someone could have an allergic reaction.

Make your own Lavender Spray

3/10/2017

Recently I have been spraying lavender mist in our yoga classes. The kids love the “lavender rain”, and right away it helps them to relax as we first start our class. I have been using the spray in my adult yoga classes as well, and the grown-ups love it just as much.
We are lucky to have a local farm nearby that grows organic lavender. They make a fantastic Lavender Stress Relief Mist. However, I teach a lot of classes and go through this stuff like water, so I started making my own. Thankfully, Keys Creek Lavender Farm also sells pure essential lavender oil, which I have been using for my personal mix. The kids and I have been talking about making our own spray.
So Mom and Dad, here is the recipe: in a spray bottle mix 1 cup of water with 10 or more drops of lavender oil. I use distilled water since it is more pure. You can use more or less essential oil depending how intense you’d like the scent to be. You may also experiment with mixing in a few drops of other essential oils. Recently, with all the colds going around I have been adding a few drops of eucalyptus oil.
Now mix away and enjoy a whiff of relaxation around your house — especially at bedtime!

Yoga Rascals Wins Award

10/16/2016

Yoga Rascals wins
Red Tricycle's Totally Awesome Award

Dear Families,
We are happy to announce that Yoga Rascals won Red Tricycle's Totally Awesome Award in the category Most Invigorating Fitness Program in SoCal. It wouldn't have happened without you! Thank you so much for taking the time to vote. We truly appreciate your support.
Namaste,
Sünje O'Clancy
Yoga Rascals Founder, MA, E-RYT, RCYT, RPYT

The winners of the eye pillow giveaway are Norma D., Christina G., and Petra P. Congratulations!

How to clean your yoga mat

9/23/2016

Fill a spray bottle with water and 1 - 2 tablespoons of white vinegar. Spray and wipe your mat with a soft cloth or towel. Instead of vinegar you can use a few drops of tea tree oil. Both vinegar and tea tree oil contain antibacterial and anti-fungal properties. Lavender oil works great,too. It is antibacterial, but not anti-fungal. Make sure your mat is completely dry before you roll it back up.

Alternatively, most mats can be washed in the washing machine with warm water and a little bit of laundry detergent. To balance the washing machine it's best to either wash a couple of yoga mats at the same time, or, if washing only one, add a few towels. Hang your mat over a chair to air dry. If you roll it up in a dry towel first, you can squeeze a lot of the water out before you hang it up. Make sure your mat is completely dry before you roll it back up.

Also read blog post "A cleaner way to roll up your yoga mat"

Red Tricycle Totally Awesome Awards

9/3/2016

Vote for Me

We are excited to announce that Yoga Rascals is a finalist for SoCal in the Invigorating Fitness Programs category in Red Tricycle’s Totally Awesome Awards. Voting runs until September 30th and the finalist with the most votes will be the winner. If you love Yoga Rascals, we need your votes! Please take a moment to vote with this direct link to our listing on Red Tricycle's website. Scroll down to get to Yoga Rascals.

About the Totally Awesome Awards: Red Tricycle’s Totally Awesome Awards is the largest awards program in the greater parenting community. This year, Red Tricycle's entire community (HQ team, editors, writers, and readers) has tirelessly searched coast to coast evaluating thousands of businesses in over 100 categories to bring parents the best of the best. They have spent the whole year testing out classes, exploring new play spaces and getting up close and personal with the newest and coolest gear in search of the unquestionably great. The end result is the exhaustive collection of nominees that they provide to the parenting community who then decides and casts their votes for the ultimate Totally Awesome Awards winners.

9 Ways To Help Your Child Relax After School

8/22/2016

It’s time to go back to school! The days of summer leisure are over, and the demands of getting up early, a long school day, and a more regulated schedule might feel a bit overwhelming for your child. It is important to give your busy student time to decompress when coming home. Rather than plopping down on the sofa to watch TV or getting busy on your phone, here are some ideas. After school is out, choose one of these easy everyday activities, and have fun together!

1. Move
Your child has been sitting in a chair for the majority of the day. Now it’s time to move: Walk around the block as you talk about what happened in school today. Go to the playground. Ride your bikes. Throw a ball in your backyard, or the park. Shoot some hoops. Kick the soccer ball. Jump rope. Swirl the hula-hoop. Play hide-and-seek. Do a few yoga poses. Turn on your favorite song and dance. Wiggle and shake. Challenge your child to a race. Jump on one foot. Set a timer and move your body until time’s up. In general, whatever physical activity you both enjoy works.

2. Go Outside and Smell the Roses
These days, many children are driven to and from school, and miss out on the opportunity to spend time outside on their way home. It feels good to get fresh air after being inside. That’s why several of the activities mentioned above involve going outside. You can walk around the block, stop at the park, or enjoy time in the backyard. Bring your child’s awareness to the way the air feels, describing it in a positive way, i.e. pleasantly warm, nice and cool, fresh on your skin. Use your other senses to help your child arrive in the present moment, and let go of any stress he might have experienced in school. Notice what sounds you hear. What do you smell? What do you see? Recognize beauty around you, a flower blooming, the shape of a tree, or a cloud in the sky.

3. Be Silly
Roll down a grassy hill. Talk like a chipmunk. Walk like a sloth. Pretend to be someone else, an imaginary person with exaggerated character traits, or mimic a favorite character from a book or movie. Tell knock-knock jokes. Pick a cue word. Any time that word comes up in your conversation, everyone has to jump for joy for 10 seconds.

4. Share Food
Most likely your child is hungry after school. Make a point of sharing a healthy snack. Even better, prepare it together. For instance, let her wash a peach, then arrange it on a plate together after you have cut it in slices. Smell the peach, describe its vibrant colors, and talk about its sweet juicy flavor after taking your first bite.

5. Walk Barefoot
Everyone kick off your shoes and take off your socks. Wiggle your toes and let your feet breathe! Walk and feel the ground underneath you. Let your toes talk with a funny voice and say something like, “Oh, I am so happy to be free! I was stuck in shoes all day! I am finally out! I feel dandy! Thank you for letting me come out to play!” Ask your child what his toes are saying.

6. Break out in Song
Play your favorite song and sing along together. Pretend to hold a microphone. Throw in some fancy dance moves. Have fun!

7. Make a Mandala
If your child had a real busy day, or seems hyper, a calming activity might be the answer. Draw and color a mandala together. Or, for a more sensory experience, make a sand mandala. Take a pie pan and fill it with sand or salt. Pick rocks, leaves, flower petals, sticks, beans, beads, or anything else you may find in your back yard or around the house. Arrange the materials to make a pretty design in your pie pan. You can keep using the same pie pan over and over again, creating new mandalas by rearranging your objects or adding new ones.

8. Drop to the Ground
Some days your child might be simply exhausted, and in need of a break. Grab a couple of stuffed animals. Turn on relaxing music, or a nature soundtrack, and lay down next to each other on the floor. Give your stuffed animals a ride on your bellies. See it go up and down with your breath. Hold hands and stay for a while.

9. Give a Hug
Sometimes we need to remind ourselves of the most obvious. A hug feels good. Give your child a heartfelt hug when the moment is right (with older kids wait until you get home :-)

Even if you take just a few minutes after school to spend quality time with your child, it will make a big difference for both of you. Allowing for a moment of connection and shared happiness goes a long way. Enjoy!

Photo by Barney Moss via flickr

How To Practice Yoga With Your Child At Home

6/10/2016

First published on Red Tricycle
You love yoga. Your child wants to jump in when you roll out your mat. You’d like to share your yoga practice with her, but you know your primary series, or any other adult yoga routine for that matter, might not be the way to go. Here are a few tips on how to create a special yoga experience for you and your child at home.

Make time
Find a day and time when you can spend 30 minutes or so together without interruptions. Be considerate of meal times. In other words, don’t practice right after a big lunch when tummies are full, or too close to dinnertime when a growling stomach makes for a cranky yogi. For school-age children, weekends and school breaks are great times to get started.

Find a place
Unless you already have a designated yoga area, ask your child if he has any suggestions for a good yoga spot in your home. Talk about what qualities might be helpful. For example, enough room to not bump into furniture, the right temperature, a peaceful setting, appropriate lighting, etc. Decide on a place together, move furniture out of the way if necessary, and proudly roll out your mats. If you don’t have yoga mats, beach towels will do. Make your yoga spot even more special by placing a couple of meaningful objects next to you. This could be a rock, a seashell, your child’s favorite stuffed animal, or anything that makes you feel good.

Turn off distractions
Turn off your cell phone, and any other electronic devices. Better yet, leave them in another room, so you don’t get tempted to peak “real quick” at an incoming text. If you still own one, turn your home phone and answering machine down. Be ready to be offline, so you can connect with your child.

Ring a bell
Now it’s time to get started! Create an opening ritual like ringing a bell, a chime, or a singing bowl three times. Don’t worry if you have no musical instruments around. Improvise. Fill a wine glass with water and gently hit it with a spoon. Take turns making the sound while the other person is listening, hands on heart, eyes closed. Another lovely opening would be to chant OM three times together, if you feel comfortable doing so.

Breathe together
Get settled with a breathing exercise. Here are a couple of examples (choose one at a time): 1. Put your hands on your belly and blow up an imaginary balloon as you inhale, deflate it on the exhale. Ask your child what color her balloon is. Repeat a few times. 2. Sit across from each other and take a deep breath in while lifting your arms up overhead. Let the palms of your hands touch together. Hold the breath for a moment. Exhale slowly while your arms come back down by your side. Repeat a couple of times. You could also do these breathing exercises while sitting back to back so you can feel each other breathing.

Go on an imaginary adventure
Now it’s time to take off on a yoga adventure! Imagine you are going on a bike ride (lay on your back while pedaling your feet). Where are you going? Your child will have great ideas! Touch the soles of your feet together to ride your bikes in unison. What do you see along the way? Become a cat, a cow, a dog, a snake, or a mouse. If your child thinks of an animal that doesn’t have a corresponding yoga pose, make it up! Are you going to the beach? Add dolphin, turtle, and fish! Are you riding through the countryside? Be a butterfly, a bird, or a horse. Are you ready to get off your bike and hike up a mountain? Walk in place or stomp around the room! Do you see trees? Come into tree pose and ask your child what kind of tree he is. Let your child’s imagination guide you, and be creative. Make up a story and act it out! Compliment your child on her great ideas. Let her be free in doing the poses her way. Unless she is hurting herself, there is no need for correction. Your child learns easily by copying you, doing the poses to the best of her ability and the way it is appropriate for her development. Be encouraging, supportive and enthusiastic. You will have lots of fun together!
It might be helpful to have a look at a few kids’ yoga books and videos beforehand, so that you have a variety of kid friendly yoga poses up your sleeve.

Take a nap
Every great trip has to come to an end. When you’re ready to come back home, find the perfect spot to take a nap. Would it be underneath a tree? Or would you like to rest in the sand on the beach? Place an eye pillow over your eyes, and cover yourselves with a blanket. You may cuddle up with your child, or rest side by side. Play relaxation music or a track with nature sounds. Rest for a few minutes. When you are ready to come back, ring your bell again three times.

Namaste
Sit across from each other. Put your hands together in front of your heart. Explain the meaning of Namaste (The light in me sees the light in you) and talk about what it means to you. Bow to each other and say “namaste”. Thank your child and express how much fun it was practicing yoga together. Set a date for your next yoga session.

A cleaner way to roll up your yoga mat

2/18/2016

Your yoga mat might pick up a lot of dirt depending on the floor you put it on. When you roll it up at the end of class, you roll any dirt sticking to the bottom side right onto the top side. Besides cleaning your mat regularly, you might want to consider folding your mat in half before you roll it up. In other words, fold the top side onto itself, and when you roll up the folded mat, the bottom side will never touch the top side.

January 04th, 2016

1/4/2016

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