AUGUST: Friday with Friends - TwEENS (In studio)
This month we will be talking about anxiety and going back to school. We will discuss what anxiety actually is, how it affects our brains, and how we can relax both physically and emotionally.
Preregistering is REQUIRED, so that we can have the studio set up for covid-19 safety.
BRAIN TALK
We will discuss how anxious thoughts activate our Amygdala and can cause us to freeze, fight, or flee. We'll try to discover when this happens in each of our own lives, and how we can redirect our thoughts when it does.
MAKING FRIENDS
How can we make new friends, and show interest, when wearing a mask? We will review our friendship skills, and also chat about how to be friendly when half of our face is covered.
We will also focus on the friendship skill of asking questions to show interest. Dale Carnegie suggested asking engaging questions when getting to know new people, and listening over speaking. We will breakout into partners or groups and practice asking questions to connect with friends.
MEDITATION & YOGA
How does our breath affect anxiety or anxious thoughts? We will discuss why our breath becomes more shallow when we are anxious, and how we can slow down our breath to calm ourselves.
Now that school is back in session, we may find ourselves with excess energy to burn. Our yoga practice will be a vigorous flow that can be used at home to quickly burn excess energy or anxiety so that we can better focus on homework.
CRAFTS
Our craft time will allow us to socialize and chat, while enjoying creative expression. This month we will be exploring photography, and how we can use our photographer's eye (even when we don't have a camera on-hand!) to notice details around us to calm our anxious minds. If your child has a phone camera or a regular camera, please send it. If not, I will have some available to use.
If you are new to Friday with Friends, this is a great time to jump in, as we start a new school year and revisit Dale Carnegie's tips for Making Friends and Influencing People. Here is some background regarding Friday with Friends and what each month typically looks like:
Register Early: Registering early really helps Stacey to tailor each class to the participants and to have an idea of how to best use the class size to make the greatest impact.
Bring to Class:
1. Yoga mat, blanket, or towel
2. Journal/Spiral and something to write with
3. Water Bottle