Life aboard Noah’s Ark is busy and noisy. And soon the animals begin to get grumpy. So clever Noah makes a plan for an incredible talent show to get the ark swinging again. But what amazing act will appear for the finale? Enjoy the story with twenty-one kids’ yoga poses!
Noah built a house in the shape of a ship (House: Open your legs wide but a comfortable distance apart. Lift your arms up over your head bringing your hands together). He built it wide and tall. He built it for creatures great and small. When the rain came down, Noah clanged his bell crying “All aboard the Ark Hotel! Come and keep safe from the rising flood.” (Boat: Sit on your bottom, knees bent and the soles of your feet on the floor. Lift both legs, shins parallel to ground, arms stretch forward, moving the upper body slightly backwards) So along came the creatures all in pairs, flying through the windows (Flying: Standing straight with your feet together, bend your upper body forward bringing it parallel to the floor. Balancing on your right leg, raise your left leg and stretch it behind you. Extend the arms out at shoulder level), stepping up the stairs (Stair: Standing tall, raise one leg slowly up and lift the opposite arm as if you are climbing up)… Finally, the water rose and made the great big boat float. And aboard Noah’s Ark, they were safe and dry.
Well, the days went by and the weeks went past. And it seemed that the flood would last and last. All those creatures got bored, and they felt like a fight (Reverse Warrior: Step one foot forward and turn the back toes out to the side. Bend your front knee and extend the arms wide. Drop your back arm toward your back leg. Lift your front arm straight up, reaching your fingertips toward the sky. Gaze up at your fingertips overhead). Camels were very unhappy with humps on their backs (Camel: Standing on your knees, toes can be tucked or long. Place your hands on your lower back, fingers pointing up or down. Pressing the hip bones forward, lift your chest to the sky. Arching your back, look up). The lions started gossiping (Lion: Kneeling up, hands wide, inhale and then exhale with an haaaa letting the tongue drop down and the eyes open wide. Let everything release with this roar). The rodents were having animal tantrums (Mouse: Sitting on your heels, bend forward. Rest your forehead on the mat in front of you. Place your arms wherever you feel comfortable, they can be extended or down by your sides.). And the insects were offended by each other (Happy Baby: Lying on your back, bring your knees into your chest with the soles of your feet towards the ceiling. Gently grab the inside of your feet, pressing the soles deep downwards. Keep the shoulders relaxed with the neck).
So, Noah stood up, saying “Hush and hark! Anymore fuss and you are off my ark! So, while we are here, let’s have some fun. We’ll all get ready for a talent show. You can all do something, isn’t that so?” There were no more quarrels and or fights. When at last it was time to begin the show, the animals came on two by two to show the things that they could do.
The frogs sprang on doing hyper-hops (Frog: Squatting down with your fingertips on the floor. Push up to your tiptoes, take heels off the floor and hop!). They flipped all over the tabletops.
The toucans played a rhythmic peck with tapping beaks upon the deck (Bird: Open your legs wide. Come halfway up into a flat back. Lift your arms out at your side like wings floating up and down as you fly like a bird.).
The elephants dipped their trunks in the sea and blew high fountains (Elephant: Standing tall, take your feet wide apart. Reach one arm high to the sky like an elephant trunk, the other arm behind the back. Sway like an elephant swinging its trunk. Move it around as you wish).
But nobody heard the caterpillars croon “We are wrapping ourselves in a tight cocoon.” (Caterpillar: Lie on your tummy, bring the hands up by the side of the chest, push the hands into the floor and lift your chest up.)
The snakes both tied themselves in knots (Knot: Standing up, bend the knees slightly. Lift left leg up and wrap it over the right leg. Hook the top of left foot behind right calf. Straighten your hands. Right arm on top and left arm under, wrap together pressing the palms together. Raise the arms to the level of the chest).
The leopards wiggled all their spots (Leopard: Hands and knees on the floor, bring one arm out extending in front of you at shoulder level. Extend the opposite leg out behind you at hip level. Balance the body on one palm and knee).
But the poor little caterpillars lay quite still, all wrapped up on the windowsill (Knee Hugging: Lie on your back. Feet together, bring your knees towards your chest. Clasp your hands around your legs as if you are hugging your knees).
The crocodiles balanced on the tips of their tails (Crocodile: Lie on your side, your arms long over your head. Raise the top leg up towards the ceiling. Taking the leg up and down, open your big crocodile jaws).
The monkeys screeched out mega wails (Monkey Jump: Crouching down, leap up like a monkey into the air.).
And the caterpillars thought “They are all so good. We would both join in if we only could.” (Knee Hugging: Lie on your back. Feet together, bring your knees towards your chest. Clasp your hands around your legs as if you are hugging your knees.)
And when the show was nearly through, Noah whispered “One more act to do…” Each caterpillar’s tight cocoon looked like it might crack open soon… Then out they burst! Surprise! They spread their brilliant wings out wide (Butterfly Wings: Sitting on your bottom, bend your legs at the knees. Hold on to the big toe with your hands. Raise the legs off the floor, extending them outwards beyond your hip distance. Balance your body on sitting bones) and every single creature sighed. “They are beautiful!” said Noah. “Out there the water is gone! That means there is land to live upon. The butterflies can end our show. Let’s wave goodbye and watch them go…” (Butterfly: Coming to seating position, bring the soles of the feet together. Flutter your knees up and down just like butterfly wings.)
Then the creatures came out two by two, on a world that waited bright and new.
Relaxation:
What a funny story! How they start fighting when they get bored. First, they do not know how to keep themselves busy. Then, Noah finds an activity to distract them. And it works! How much fun they have in talent show! So, they don’t understand how time passes… Sometimes you can get bored too. You may not find anything to do. Then you may feel unhappy and even angry. The most important thing is to realize what you are feeling at that moment. As soon as you realize your feeling, you can see that it is because of boredom. Maybe then, you will be nice to yourself and find an activity to keep yourself busy. You can play with toys you haven’t played for a long time. You can draw a picture and paint. You can dance or just listen to music… Then you just realize that you are feeling different now. Remember that emotions are temporary… They come and go like clouds in the sky… You just be good to yourself.
When you feel ready, you can slowly start to move your fingers and toes. Pulling your knees to your chest, give them a big hug. Rolling over to one side, lift up to a comfortable sitting position. Bring your hands together in front of your chest. Thank you for doing yoga with me today. Namaste!