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Opening Minds: Early Education, Child Care, and School Age Conference Presentation

I was honored to speak at the Opening Minds Conference and Expo in Chicago.  It is one of the biggest early childhood events of the year and I was so excited to be a part of it. I presented on How to Easily Incorporate Yoga in Your Preschool Classroom with Poses, Games, and Mindfulness Within Your Existing Curriculum.

Best yoga for kids props and resources

I may have slightly overpacked, but I had so many props, resources, and ideas that I couldn’t wait to share with fellow educators, counselors, parents, child care providers, and healthcare professionals about the importance of introducing yoga to young children.

Many of my favorite props are detailed in Go Go Yoga for Kids: Yoga Lessons for Children but there were also many seasonal kids yoga props and games that are very timely and effective such as our Open Hearts and Minds Valentine Box and poses as well as our Snowball Kids Yoga Lesson Plan.

Opening Minds: Early Education, Child Care, and School Age Conference and Expo

An hour and a half can be a long time for a session so I made sure to break it up with some breathing exercises, poses, yoga games and videos that everyone seemed to enjoy. A few favorites were Birthday Candle Breath, Balloon Breathing, how to effectively teach Tree Pose to children and ways to instantly incorporate yoga into the classroom in minutes. We used the Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards for some of the exercises, but any yoga pose cards could work.

Top yoga poses for kids. How to teach Tree Pose to kids.

One of my passions is definitely helping children get fit and literate. One easy way to do this is by incorporating quality read aloud books along with yoga poses. I took the opportunity to walk through some of my favorite children’s books and explain how to incorporate yoga poses and games with them. Kids love this and they retain what they are learning all the better if they are moving as well.

Favorite read alouds to teach yoga to children

For example, practice forming some Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Palm Trees and different letter shapes with your body. For more information check out our How to Teach Yoga to Kids with Picture Books video or see a list of our favorite read-aloud books.

I so enjoyed meeting the attendees. They had wonderful questions and feedback. It was definitely a joy to be able to share my passions of kids, teaching, and yoga with others.

You May Also Enjoy:

Get Ready for Preschool Yoga

Teach Mindfulness to Children with this Quick Tip

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Opening Minds Early Childhood Conference and Expo

I was honored to speak at the Opening Minds Conference and Expo in Chicago.  It is one of the biggest early childhood events of the year and I was so excited to be a part of it. I presented on How to Easily Incorporate Yoga in Your Preschool Classroom with Poses, Games, and Mindfulness Within Your Existing Curriculum.

I may have slightly overpacked, but I had so many props, resources, and ideas that I couldn’t wait to share with fellow educators, counselors, parents, child care providers, and health care professionals the importance of introducing yoga to young children.

Get Ready for the Biggest Early Childhood Event of the Year

Opening Minds USA: Early Education, Childcare and School Age

Conference and Exp0

I am honored to be selected as a presenter at the Opening Minds: Early Education, Childcare, and School Age Conference in Chicago, IL February 7-10, 2018.

This is the biggest early childhood event of the year and I can’t wait to be a part of it.

I will be presenting on How to Easily Incorporate Yoga in Your Preschool Classroom with Poses, Games, and Mindfulness Within Your Existing Curriculum.

Get ready to learn how to effectively use yoga with young children through a variety of methods in an early childhood session. This engaging and interactive session is designed for teachers, child care providers, counselors, and those who want to learn the best strategies to get young children involved with yoga in kid-friendly ways.

You will learn characteristics of this 2-6 year old age group and why now is the best time to introduce them to yoga. This session will include breathing and calming exercises that really work with these young children to help them focus and ease anxiety, stress or nervousness. These exercises can be used at school or home.

Discover which yoga poses work best for this young age group. Learn how to easily incorporate these poses into your regular classroom schedule. Get proven classroom transition tips to help children move easily and quietly from one activity to another.

Learn cooperative games that allow children to practice yoga poses, build strength, flexibility, and practice self-control while having fun. These games are perfect to play with any size space and require few props or materials.

Handouts will be given including an illustrated yoga pose guide, lesson plans, and resources.


I can’t wait. It promises to be an amazing event. I would love to see you there.

Find out more information or  see ticket prices see here. Take advantage of a discount by ordering 5 or more.