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Power Partner Poses in Yoga to Practice with Kids

Power Partner Poses in Yoga to Practice with Kids

Kids love partner yoga poses! Partner yoga poses help teach children the importance of teamwork and working together plus they are fun to do. They build trust and community with one another within the group. These partner poses can be done at home, school, camp, yoga class or anywhere you have kids ready to try something new and have fun.

I incorporate partner or group poses in every kids yoga class. It is a great team-building activity and gives everyone a common goal to work toward. I love the confidence built when mastered.

I kept this in mind when I created the Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards, I purposely incorporated partner poses for some of the yoga challenge poses. The partner poses are built on progression and gives the children a goal to work toward.

Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards
Kids love to try the partner poses included in our Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards

How to Teach Partner Yoga Poses to Kids

  • Have kids partner up with those of similar size.  All partner poses can be modified, but it is a good idea to start this way.
  • Have the partners get to know one another before practicing the poses. Take a moment for them to introduce themselves to one another and pose a few questions that they need to answer as something they are good at or a favorite game to play. I sometimes have the pair come up with a team name together. That builds community and teamwork for sure!
  • Have one pair of partners demonstrate the Partner Pose before everyone tries it. As the partner pair is demonstrating, this is a good time to talk about proper form and any safety concerns. Although yoga partner poses are safe and fun, it is still a good idea to remind kids to take it slow. They will naturally be excited to get right into the pose so this will help them remember.
  • After the partners have practiced the featured yoga pose for 1-2 minutes, have each group demonstrate their pose. Kids love to show off the poses with their partners.

see saw pose
See Saw Partner Pose

Kids Yoga Partner Class Lesson Plan

  1. First, have the students get into pairs. It is helpful to have a partner of similar size, but not necessary. Modifications can be made for any of the partner poses.
  2. Have the partner pair get to know one another (if they don’t already) and think up a Team Name. They love doing this. Refer to their team name throughout class. They LOVE this and it will absolutely motivate them.
  3. Explain to the students that they will be working through a series of partner poses. Talk about how being safe is the number one priority and how they need to look out for their teammate.
  4. l used the Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards for this kids yoga class because these yoga cards include leveled partner poses. It is important to begin with the easier “one-starred” levels and work your way up to level 5. 5.
The Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards

5. I began with See Saw Partner Pose and showed the students an example pose card. This Partner Pose is perfect to begin with because it warms up your legs and allows the children to work together. I invited a pair to come and demonstrate it to the group. I had them model how you begin slowly in a see-saw fashion. Legs can be made into a diamond shape or bent if you have some children that are taller or different heights.

6. I allowed a few moments for the children to practice this first partner pose before moving on to the next pose with the Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards. Each time, have a pair model the partner pose as you explain to the students about how to safely get in and out of it. You could also use the Kids Yoga Challenge App for pose visuals, but keep in mind that the poses are randomized for fun with the app.

kids yoga app
The Kids Yoga Challenge App

7. Toward the end of class, I had a few Group Yoga Poses so that the whole class could have the opportunity to work together. This can be done by playing Yoga ShapesWind in the Trees Yoga GameGroup Trees, or Yoga Knot.

kid friendly partner yoga poses
Kid Friendly Partner Yoga Poses
teach yoga to kids books
Kids Yoga Lesson Plan Books

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Family Fun with Yoga Poses & Mindfulness

Yoga Pose Bingo is a fun and active game for all ages.  This game is an engaging and easy way to introduce and teach children a variety of yoga poses.

It is a perfect way to help kids learn and practice poses while moving their bodies in good and healthy ways.

Yoga Pose Bingo is perfect for large and small groups of all ages.

Your Yoga Pose Bingo Game Includes:

  • 10 Unique Full-Sized Colorful Bingo Cards
  • Directions on How to Play
  • 40 Different Yoga Poses
  • Multicultural & Diverse
  • 1 Caller Card
  • Downloadable Game for Immediate Play

 Perfect for school, home, camps, clubs, and parties.

Ages 3-Adult

Yoga Pose Bingo Tip:

To ensure all the players are active and engaged, I like to put the Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards or the accompanying caller card into a fun colorful gift bag to draw from.

After a card is drawn, the kids that have that yoga pose then mark it on their card.

The players then practice making that yoga pose. When someone gets Bingo,  the winner shows the 4 winning yoga poses in a sequence, The kids love flowing their winning yoga poses.

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Click on image below to learn more.

Kids Yoga Podcast with Go Go Yoga for Kids

Kids Yoga Podcast with Go Go Yoga for Kids

This week The Kids Yoga Podcast is joined by Sara Weis, Founder of Go Go Yoga for Kids. They discuss how a running injury led Sara to yoga and how she became inspired to teach kids yoga and start her own company.

Sara shares how her perspective as a mother and teacher gave her further inspiration to author Go Go Yoga for Kids books, The Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards, and the Kids Yoga Challenge App. Sara has taught thousands of children and led teacher trainings for adults. Listen in now for some inspiration!

Listen on Apple

Listen on Spotify

Why You Should Teach Yoga to Kids

# 1. Kids Need Yoga Now

Our world is changing, and our kids face different challenges and commitments then they have in the past. There are many demands on kids’ time and pressure to do well at what they are involved in. This includes school, family, friends, sports, quickly changing technology, and other interests. That leaves us with kids who have a lot going on as they try to figure out a way to balance it all.

Not only that, but we know that our world has changed with the pandemic. It is important to continue to help continue to connect with one another (online or in person) as well as teaching them the yoga and mindfulness tools that can carry them into adulthood.

Kids need to learn how to responsibly handle the world we live in.  Yoga and mindfulness are skill that can benefit all kids no matter what activities they are involved in or what their interests and abilities are. Yoga meets everyone at any stage and provides incredible extrinsic and intrinsic benefits. Discover the Super 7 Benefits of Yoga for Children here. 

Kids that practice yoga are getting stronger mentally and physically. They are healthy, strong, and more confident. Not only this, but it can help them in school, in their extracurricular activities and absolutely in their day to day lives.

#2 It is Easier to Teach Yoga to Children Now More Than Ever

When I first started teaching yoga to children there were not a lot of resources available about the best ways to teach children yoga.   Since children learn and respond differently than adults I knew yoga had to be taught differently than in adult classes. Discover 3 Things You Didn’t Know About Teaching Yoga to Children here.

kids yoga class
Our growing and changing world has helped us rethink how to can best teach yoga and mindfulness to children.

I used my background in Early Childhood and my Master’s Degree in Education as I reviewed and researched child development and the best ways that children learn. I had to figure it out and spent hours and hours researching, writing kids yoga lesson plans, trying them out with kids, and modifying to know exactly what works for teaching yoga to children.

I wanted these kids yoga lesson plans and classes to be engaging, beneficial, and memorable for kids.

Go Go Yoga for Kids prides itself on making yoga for children doable and FUN for the kids AND you to teach. I want you to succeed in teaching yoga to children. 

I am excited to share 20+ years of teaching kids compiled for you into our popular online Kids Yoga & Mindfulness Teacher Training.  I spent years figuring out what works and what doesn’t work for teaching kids yoga. I researched, tried, and tested during hundreds of kids yoga classes until I figured out what really worked! Stop wasting your time trying to piece random things into something that works.

I want to make this easy for you. I want you to be able to completely go into any kids environment (studios, camps, clubs, classes, at home) and confidently introduce children to yoga. I know you can give those children quality and inspiring classes. It is so exciting and truly makes such a positive difference.

#3 It is About Making a Difference

Kids yoga training

There is nothing like seeing the kids faces full of contentment at the end of Savasana (Discover how to easily get children into Savasana here). It is also about watching the kids master a pose after working on it for weeks. It is about seeing a child take a few deep breaths before starting a test or before a soccer game. These kids are in tune with what their bodies need and that is so important. It is all about giving children the tools that they will have for life. 

Our online Kids Yoga & Mindfulness Teacher Training will help with this. You can make a difference.  I will show you exactly how to do this every step of the way.

Want to learn more about how to develop age appropriate content and resources to teach yoga to children? Check out my Facebook Live Interview here with the step by step process!

kids yoga app
The Kids Yoga Challenge App includes 40 yoga poses, partner poses, mindfulness affirmations, and games & activities.

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How to Teach Yoga Online

How to Teach Yoga Online

Are you ready to learn how to teach yoga online?

  • Maybe you are you a Kids Yoga Teacher who has had to pivot to online classes.
  • Perhaps you are  wanting to get started teaching yoga to children online?
  • Are you looking for ways to connect with your students and keep them engaged and learning while being online.
If you don’t want to limit your class to those that expressed interest through email, you can also go Live with Youtube, Instagram and Facebook. 

There are benefits to both a scheduled meeting or going Live. The most important thing is that you are sharing the fun and joy of yoga to children!

Quick Start To How to Teach Yoga Online

Using Zoom is an easy way to teach online. Many people have become more comfortable with Zoom in the last few months. Below is a quick overview on how to get started.

  • Set up a Zoom meeting. You can create an account for free.
  • Schedule a meeting (day & time)
  • Copy the invitation
  • Send the invitation to people in an email. They will be able to easily click on the link and join the meeting at your scheduled time.

Tips for Good Creating Good Videos

  • Make sure that you have good lighting (natural light works well!)
  • Clear the area around you. A cluttered area will be distracting for your students.
  • Be Audible. I have my Blue Yeti Microphone  that I plug into my laptop. You do not need to have that, but it is important to speak clearly.
  • I have my favorite  JBL USB Speaker  JBL USB Speaker to use for music. This inexpensive little gem is one of my favorite things to use when teaching kids yoga!

Be sure that you are closer to the microphone then the speaker. It is more important that the kids hear you as opposed to the music.

Teaching Yoga Online to Children Tips

Find out our Favorite Read-Aloud Books to use in Teaching Yoga to Children.

Our bestselling Go Go Yoga for Kids: Lesson Plans for Children includes dozens of good read aloud stories with yoga poses.

Breathing deeply with purpose during yoga lets you hold the pose longer. However breathing excercises for kids need to look a little different

Go Go Yoga for Kids:Yoga Lessons for Children

The Go Go Yoga for Kids resources are invaluable when I teach online! The Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards are very helpful for my online classes because you can easily show them to the kids.

They can see up close the pose and what it looks like before they actually do it. I will make a sequence for a yoga flow and show them each pose with the cards before we do the flow.

With the lesson plans books, I can pick and choose what I want to use online for my kids yoga classes.

I like to use some of the ways suggested in how to incorporate using a storybook in the class. I find books that we can do yoga poses with them.

As I read the book, I show the pose card, and then we do the pose. I even used the mindfulness project and showed them step by step on how to make a mindfulness jar. (Go Go Yoga for Kids: Yoga Lessons for Children).

Mary K.

Kids Yoga Teacher

Kids Yoga Obstacle Course

Kids Yoga Obstacle Course

I love creating new games to use in my kids yoga classes. Kids naturally love to play games and they are a good way to get them moving. Games also lead to laughter and fun which helps build community and friendships.  Yoga Games such as the Kids Yoga Obstacle Course are also the perfect way to practice all of the fun yoga poses that the kids have been learning.

How to Create a Kids Yoga Obstacle Course:

Kids LOVE obstacle courses and this is one of my favorite ways to get kids moving in healthy and good ways. This is exactly what kids need as their school days involve a lot of sitting as well as the national increase of video games and screens.

Every kids yoga class that I teach follows the Go Go Yoga for Kids Lesson Plan Format. This lesson plan framework ensures that kids are getting exactly what they need with breathing exercises, poses, movement, teamwork, mindfulness and more.

Select 4-5 poses that you want to introduce to children. I use the Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards as visuals for the poses. I will place the selected cards into a colorful gift bag and allow the students one at a time to draw out a pose to learn. After the yoga poses have been introduced and practiced, it is the perfect time to begin The Yoga Obstacle Course!

Be creative with this! Please do not go out and buy anything. Use whatever objects you have available to make an obstacle course.

Obstacle Course Prop Examples
  • Hula hoops laid on the ground to do high knees through
  • Jump ropes laid parallel so kids can jump across them like a river
  • Cones to jump over or hop to
  • Yoga blocks for stepping stones
  • Yoga mats placed end to end for bear walks, log rolls, frog hops, etc.

The ideas are endless for using creating different obstacles and I do like to change it up to keep things fresh and fun.

Place the objects in a large circle. Between each obstacle I place a yoga mat and a Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Card.

breathing exercises

Get Ready to Go!

First, I demonstrate how to go through the obstacle course.  I make a big show out of hopping through the “rings of fire,” (hula hoops) or carefully crossing over the “icy river on blocks of ice” (yoga blocks).

Kids are completely mesmorized as they watch you carefully navigate through the obstacle course. Be sure to pause after each obstacle to hold the pose on the yoga pose card.

Next, I put on some fun music and it is the kids turn to move around the obstacle course and perform the yoga poses that are shown on cards.  They love this and would do it forever if allowed. I recommend not letting the obstacle course go on “forever” as you want to keep things fresh and fun. Learn more Secrets to Teaching Yoga to Children here.

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Literacy Night with Kids Yoga

Literacy Night with Kids Yoga

One of my favorite things to do is to visit schools and introduce yoga to the students. Recently I was invited to a nearby city’s elementary school for their Literacy Night. This included the students coming back to school in the evening, with their parents and in their pj’s. How cute and fun!

The kids got to visit an author in different stations, learn about their books, and do an activity. Go Go Yoga for Kids was thrilled to be a part of Literacy Night! It includes three of my favorite things; kids, books and yoga!

yoga in school

I had six different groups come through of all varying sizes and ages. I had planned for this so knew that my yoga activities would be good for large sized groups and for varying ages.

Spring had just sprouted in our area and the children were excited about the upcoming Easter Holiday so I made sure that our yoga poses and games were theme related.

First I read aloud one of my favorite bunny books, The Very Bad Bunny. Children are memorized with this story of a bunny that tries to be good, but makes some mistakes. His family is upset with him until they realized what a bad bunny truly is.

yoga in school

Spring Poses That We Learned and Practiced:

  • Tree Pose
  • Bunny (Chair Pose)
  • Flower (Lotus Pose)
  • Bird (Warrior 3)\
  • Boat Pose
  • Raindrop Pose (Partner Poses)
Boat Pose

I had each of these pose names placed in an Easter Egg. I called on individual children to draw out the egg and read the pose. I then showed the pose visual using The Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards and we practiced the pose.

yoga in school

Each session lasted about 20 minutes which was just the right amount of time to introduce yoga to children in some fun and engaging ways.

Airplane Pose

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