The celebration of Diwali is this week. Teach your children the story of Diwali using fun Yoga poses. In the narration below, poses are written in all CAPS, with necessary descriptions included. Enjoy the Festival of Lights:
Thousands of years ago there lived the great King Rama, who shone like a bright STAR. His kingdom was in INDIA (point to map), and he was loved by all. MEN, WOMEN, and CHILDREN (use warrior 1, peaceful warrior and childs pose) loved him. Even all the creatures in the land DOGS, CATS, COWs, all worshipped him. But in every fairytale there is an evil stepmother. His evil stepmother had him banished to the FOREST (tree pose) for 14 years. He crossed MOUNTAINS and rivers and went to the dark forest to live with his brother Lakshmana and wife Sita. And he lived there amongst the LIONS, COBRAS, and EAGLES.
But one day a very evil demon king called Ravana saw Sita and fell in love with her. So he tricked Rama and Lakshmana by pretending to be a deer and calling them away on a HUNT (warrior pose). Then he snatched Sita and took her away to his kingdom called LANKA (point to map)
Rama was heartbroken, but he recovered and made a vow to get back Sita. So he and Lakshmana set off through the FOREST (tree) to find her. They used the help of the MONKEY God Hanuman. They built a giant BRIDGE from India to Lanka and when they reached the other side they fought a huge battle. With strength and courage, Rama managed to cut off all ten of Ravanas heads. Then he and Sita and Lakshmana returned to Ayodhya after 14 years. There was DARKNESS (rag doll) for 14 years, but when the people heard their king was coming back, they lit all the LAMPS (candle pose) in the city. (Come to BUTTERFLY). An Indian lamp is called a Diya. So 1000’s of Diyas lit up the city and FIREWORKS (star pose) sparkled in the sky and that’s how we celebrate Diwali, the festival of lights every year. We celebrate when good defeated evil.
Every year the people of India celebrate Dussera to mark the Defeat of Ravana. They celebrate Diwali as a harvest festival in October/November. They worship Goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity and the day after Diwali is considered a new financial year. It is believed that Lakshmi roams the earth looking for homes where she will be welcomed. So people clean their houses, open their doors and windows and light Divas (lamps) to invite Lakshmi in. They also prepare yummy sweets, buy new clothes and do a Puja for Goddess Lakshmi to bring them wealth and prosperity. Wonderful designs with powdered colors called Rangoli adorn the doorway to every home. Diwali teaches us to be courageous, brave, kind and to follow the path of truth.