Welcome to another installment of Kinesthetic Library Programming! Â This time we're going to learn about bringing yoga to your littlest patrons and their caregivers.
Spring Break Challenge Quest was a library district-wide, weeklong drop-in and passive program for students in kindergarten through sixth grade. Held during our schools' spring break, the series involved daily "quests" to challenge the mind and body, from scavenger hunts to binary coding to yoga.
The yoga quest challenged kids to look at printed silhouettes of yoga poses (e.g. child's pose, downward-facing dog)Â and figure out how to position their bodies into the poses shown.Â
This class, the first of its kind at our library, began in early 2016 at the suggestion of a patron. We meet twice a week in our library's community room from 8:15 to 9 a.m.
Our instructor is a patron who volunteers to conduct the classes. We follow a set regime of exercises that are good for joints and building strength. Both men and women typically attend this class.
In October 2017, as women were bravely tweeting #MeToo to draw attention to the ubiquitous experience of sexual harassment or assault of women all over the world, of every race, nationality, education level and socio-economic background, we were busy planning a special corresponding event here at the L.P. Fisher Public Library in Woodstock, NB.Â
At public libraries we spend an awful lot of time celebrating the holidays and happy parts of life (as we should): Halloween parties, Valentine's crafts, Thanksgiving storytime, book launches, STEM programs. These are all exciting and essential services. But what about the needs of our patrons that are sometimes a bit messier, a bit more hidden from public view, a bit less Hallmark-card sweet and a bit more nitty-gritty reality?
Each year on June 21, the LP Fisher Public Library in Woodstock, New Brunswick, celebrates International Yoga Day, first made official by the United Nations on Dec. 11, 2014. But you don’t have to wait until June 2018 to celebrate — you can copy what we do by having a Family Yoga Party any time of year!
Join Jenn Carson (librarian, Programming Librarian blogger and creator of YogaintheLibrary.com) as she teaches you how to de-stress at your desk, maintain proper posture, avoid injury and regulate your emotions through breathing and stretching exercises.Â
Participants will learn an easy self-care routine that will help to reduce stress at work and leave you feeling recharged.
No experience necessary. Participants will leave with digital downloads to help them remember what they learned.