It is a great veggie story! With a bit of help from his grandfather, Oliver soon discovers that life exists beyond french fries. Enjoy the story with twenty kids’ yoga poses!
It was morning (Hello Sun: Stand with the feet hip distance apart. Lift your arms upwards and continue the movement doing a back bend.). Oliver was having his breakfast (Table: Place your palms and knees on the floor, hips over the knees, shoulders over the wrists with a long neck. / Chair: Stand with your feet together or hip-distance apart. Raising your arms above your head, bend your knees. Bring your thighs as parallel to the floor as they can get.). “Finish up, Oliver, or we will miss the bus.” said his mum (Bus: Sit on the floor stretching your legs out in front of you. Make sure you are seated on your sit bones. Keeping the feet straight with toes pointing towards the ceiling. Hold your imaginary steering wheel and lean back as if going up and fold forward as if going down.). “Can’t we walk to Grandpa’s house?” asked Oliver (House: Open your legs wide but a comfortable distance apart. Lift your arms up over your head bringing your hands together.). “No, it is too far.” said his mother.
The best thing about Grandpa’s house was the wonderful garden. “I grow all my own vegetables,” Grandpa said proudly (Growing/from Malasana: Opening legs up about hip distance, squat down. You may keep the heels on the floor or place a rolled-up towel under the heels. You can bring the palms in touch in front of your chest. to Raised Hands: Stand with the feet hip distance apart. Lift your arms upwards.)
“I don’t eat vegetables,” Oliver told Grandpa. “I only eat chips.” “If you want chips, you must find the potatoes. If you find something else, you eat that and no complaints. Is it a bargain?”
Oliver ran around the garden, but he couldn’t see any potatoes. “They must be hiding,” he said (Hiding: 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 pulled at the nearest leaves. “Carrots,” (Crescent Moon: Standing tall with hands on the sides, sweep the arms up overhead palms touching. Lean over to one side so that the biceps touch the ears.) said Grandpa. “Just the thing for Monday lunch.” Oliver ate his first carrots for lunch.
Oliver took a long time making up his mind on Tuesday. “Those crinkly leaves are pretty. Are the potatoes there?” (Standing Half Forward Bend: Standing nice and tall, come halfway up into a flat back.) “Spinach,” said Grandpa. They had spinach for supper. “That was good,” said Oliver.
On Wednesday Oliver got up early and found rhubarb! They had rhubarb pie that evening (Pie: Sitting up tall, spread your legs wide. Keep your toes flexed, arms outstretched on your legs.). “That was very good,” said Oliver.
It rained on Thursday (Raining: Standing up, bring your hands to the top of your head with your fingertips. Begin tapping. You can come down to your face very softly and then pat your body like a rain shower.). When it stopped, Oliver hurried outside. He could not find the potatoes but slugs and snails (Snail: Lying down on your back, lift your hips up and support them with your hands. Rounding your spine allow your feet to fall over your head. Move the weight of the body on the shoulders. The legs are straight with the feet touching the floor. If comfortable, stretch your arms on the floor clasping your hands.). They were eating the cabbage. Oliver had two helpings of cabbage that evening. “Very, very good,” he said (Eating: Sitting on the ground, cross the legs. Fold forward resting the elbows on the ground and enjoy eating!).
On Friday Oliver was sure that he had found the potatoes. When he pulled at the leaves, up came some beetroot (Triangle: Standing up, step one foot forward and turn the back toes out to the side. Open your arms wide and look over the front extended arm. Bending gradually at the hips, bring your front hand towards the floor. Stretch your back arm up and look up at the raised arm. Open the chest ensuring the body is comfortable.). That night Oliver ate all his beetroot salad. “Very, very good,” he said.
On Saturday Oliver played football. The ball landed in a tangle of sticks and leaves (Eagle: 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.). Oliver was sure the potatoes weren’t there. “Peas,” Grandpa said. Oliver had three helpings of pea soup that evening (Stir the Pot: Crossing your legs, place your hands on the knees. Begin to make circles with your upper body by rotating your spine slowly from one side to the other.). “It was delicious!” said Oliver.
Oliver rushed into the garden on Sunday. “Here they are!” he said. “How did you know?” asked Grandpa. “They were the only things left,” said Oliver.
“Can we have chips now?” Oliver asked. They scrubbed the potatoes, peeled them, and cut them up (Easy Seated Twists: Beginning in crossed-legged position, place the left palm on the right knee and right palm back on the floor – fingers pointing outwards. Turn and twist your body to the right along with the neck to look back.). Oliver, Gran, and Grandpa sat down to eat (Chair: Stand with your feet together or hip-distance apart. Raising your arms above your head, bend your knees. Bring your thighs as parallel to the floor as they can get.). The door opened and in walked Oliver’s mother (Door: Standing on your knees, extend your right leg to the right. Lift the left arm over head toward the right. Slide the right hand down the right leg. Keeping your chest open, bend toward the right side.). “Oh dear! I hoped Oliver would eat something different while he was here,” she said. They looked at each other. His mother stared as they laughed and laughed and laughed.
Relaxation:
Oliver likes french fries, pretty much to the exclusion of all other food. So, when he goes to spend a week at his grandparents’ home, they promise him his favorites only if he can find the taters in the garden. Whatever else he pulls up during the search he must eat each night for dinner. Thus, Oliver is introduced to carrots, spinach, rhubarb, cabbage, beets, and peas, all of which he thinks are delicious.
What about you? Are you eating a balanced diet? Have you tasted delicious and colorful vegetables? What is your favorite vegetable? If you haven’t tried it yet, you can give it a shot like Oliver. Eating a balanced and healthy diet is not only good for your body, but also reflects on your soul and emotions. Now I want to give you a few minutes… in the meantime, you can imagine yourself trying a new vegetable you are curious about… I hope you enjoy it!
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!