114 Yoga for Speech-Language Development
going on a space adventure, they represent an event they might
have previously observed through a television program, cartoon,
or movie, or read about in a book. Examples of invented themes
include an imaginary safari into the jungle or a journey into the
depths of the sea.
As noted in the discussion of vocabulary in the previous
chapter, many yoga poses are named for animals; the thematic
content of children’s yoga practice reflects these creatures, some of
which are listed in Table 7.1 of the previous chapter. The animals
represent different categories such as those that live in the jungle,
on a farm, or in the sea. In addition, biological classifications
such as amphibians, birds, and insects comprise other animal
categories that reflect poses in children’s yoga practice. Table 8.2
lists the names of poses that belong to these different animal
categories. The poses could be practiced singularly or several
animals belonging to the same category could be practiced
sequentially. Poses named for elements of nature, transportation,
and furniture are categories that were introduced in the previous
chapter. These provide additional thematic content to children’s
yoga practice. Children could pretend to be a basic boat or a more
specific boat such as a sailboat by extending one arm straight up
into the air and the other straight out in front representing sails.
Another example of a general pose is fish with the more specific
variants including blowfish, starfish, and jellyfish. Practiced
within a session, these latter poses could constitute an undersea
theme. The adult leading the activity must determine that basic
level vocabulary is understood before introducing more advanced
lexical items in a category.