With the Thanksgiving holiday fast approaching it provides us with an excellent opportunity to encourage the young ones around us as well as ourselves to take a moment to be grateful for all that we have.

All it really takes is a moment and a breath to be thankful.

But with a few moments… and a few breaths… Give these ideas a try and go deeper in inspiring your students and family to embrace a life of gratitude.

Thanksgiving Yoga Class Ideas

Thankful Turkey

To make a Thankful Turkey:
– Trace a hand shape and cut out 5 from different colours of paper.
– Cut the thumb shape off all but one. (this will be the bottom and the “head”)
– Write or draw one thing that you are grateful for on each palm.
– Arrange your stack of hands so they fan out like a turkey tail and staple the hands all together at the base of the one remaining thumb so that you can leaf through and read all that you are thankful for on your turkey.

The Gratitude Alphabet

Can you think of one thing you are thankful for to go along with each letter of the alphabet?
A – Apples fresh off a tree.
B – Bees that help make fruit grow…
C – Clouds that race and dance across the sky.
D – Dancing girls that make my heart sing

and speaking of dance… check out the Gratitude Dance

Watch the YouTube Gratitude Dance Video and just start dancing!

My Favourite Gratitude Books

Here are a couple of my favourite books that inspire gratitude and are perfect for reading and yoga:

• The Secret of Saying Thanks, by Douglas Wood – Get the complete pose list and a video production of the poem!

• Thank You World, by Alice McGinty

Top Music Hits for Thanksgiving

• I’m Gonna Eat on Thanksgiving Day – by Laurie Berkner

• Making Pie – Kira Wiley

• Grateful, A Song of Giving Thanks – Art Garfunkel

Now its your turn:

Share your Thanksgiving class ideas below and inspire us all.