I was honored to be a guest on the Mindful Moments for Families & Schools Podcast! We continued to crack the code on how to easily incorporate mindfulness and yoga into your children’s everyday routine.
Get Ready to Discover:
Recommendations on how to get started with a yoga & mindfulness practice yourself
How to get started teaching yoga to children
Create mini mindful moments with Kids
How the Go Go Yoga for Kids books & resources came to fruition
In today’s episode I chat with Sara Weis. Best-selling author Sara J. Weis is a creative and passionate teacher who has inspired children for over twenty years. In Go Go Yoga for Kids, Sara has combined her experience as a school teacher and a certified kid and adult yoga instructor to introduce children to yoga in engaging and child-friendly ways.
Sara holds a master’s degree in education as well as bachelor’s degrees in early childhood and elementary education. She is a teacher for West Des Moines Schools and leads kids yoga classes for a nationally-known health and fitness club. Her Go Go Go Yoga for Kids Teacher Training and books are found in over 200 health clubs, gyms and schools across the US.
The Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards will challenge you and children with balance, flexibility, mindfulness, and more. This card deck includes 40 poses including partner poses, confidence building pose mantras, and fun games to play together using these cards.
The Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards Include:
40 progressive yoga poses including partner poses
Empowering pose mantras for beginners and meditation
Poses rated from 1-5 stars based on difficulty
Easy to follow poses to create many original yoga flows
15 Bonus Games to play using these pose cards
Tested and proven yoga poses to bring most mental and physical benefit
Takes only minutes each day to gain lifelong skills and health benefits
Looking for simple mindfulness activities for kids that actually work?
The good news is that mindfulness doesn’t have to mean sitting quietly for long periods of time. In fact, some of the best mindfulness activities for children take less than five minutes and can be done anywhere.
Whether you’re a parent trying to create calmer mornings, a teacher looking for a quick brain break, or a camp counselor managing a group of energetic kids, these simple activities can help children improve focus, regulate emotions, and reduce stress.
Why Mindfulness Matters for Kids
Children today are growing up in a fast-paced world filled with constant stimulation. Mindfulness helps children slow down, pay attention to the present moment, and develop important self-regulation skills.
Research shows that mindfulness can help children:
• Improve focus and concentration
• Manage big emotions
• Reduce anxiety and stress
• Increase self-awareness
• Build resilience
The best part? It only takes a few minutes a day.
1. Five Finger Breathing
Spread one hand wide.
Using the pointer finger of the opposite hand, slowly trace up and down each finger.
Breathe in as you trace up.
Breathe out as you trace down.
This activity is perfect for calming anxious or frustrated children.
2. Rainbow Walk
Go outside and challenge children to find something red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple.
This simple activity encourages observation skills and helps children stay present.
3. Listening Challenge
Set a timer for one minute.
Ask children to close their eyes and count how many sounds they hear.
Lie down and place a small stuffed animal on the belly.
Watch the stuffed animal rise and fall with each breath.
Children love this activity because they can actually see their breathing.
5. Mindful Stretch Break
Reach high like a tree.
Fold forward like a waterfall.
Stretch wide like a starfish.
Move slowly and notice how the body feels.
6. Gratitude Toss
Toss a ball back and forth.
Each time someone catches the ball, they share one thing they are grateful for.
Simple. Fun. Powerful.
7. Freeze and Feel
Turn on music and dance.
When the music stops, freeze.
Ask:
How does your body feel?
How is your breathing?
What emotion are you feeling right now?
Yoga Freeze Dance
8. Five Senses Check-In
Name:
• 5 things you see
• 4 things you hear
• 3 things you feel
• 2 things you smell
• 1 thing you taste
This classic grounding activity works for children and adults alike.
9. Kindness Challenge
Challenge children to perform one act of kindness today.
Helping a sibling.
Holding a door.
Writing a note.
Kindness and mindfulness go hand in hand.
10. One Minute of Stillness
Can your child sit quietly for one minute?
No screens.
No talking.
Just breathing and noticing.
Sometimes the simplest activities are the most powerful.
Bringing Mindfulness Into Everyday Life
Mindfulness doesn’t require special equipment, expensive programs, or hours of practice. Small moments practiced consistently can make a big difference.
The goal isn’t perfection. The goal is helping children develop tools they can use throughout their lives to navigate stress, build confidence, and find calm in a busy world.
That’s a skill worth practicing.
Want more fun ways to teach yoga and mindfulness to children? Explore our Kids Yoga and Mindfulness Teacher Training and discover engaging games, activities, and lessons that kids love.
Celebrate the Summer Solstice and International Yoga Day with Family Yoga Fun!
The official start of summer arrives with the Summer Solstice on June 21st! This special day marks the moment when the Sun reaches its highest point in the sky above the Tropic of Cancer, giving us the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.
What makes June 21st even more meaningful is that it is also International Yoga Day. Since 2015, people around the world have come together on this day to celebrate the many physical, mental, and emotional benefits of yoga.
What better way to honor both the Summer Solstice and International Yoga Day than with family-friendly outdoor yoga activities?
Whether you’re a parent, teacher, camp counselor, or yoga instructor, taking yoga outside is a wonderful way to connect children with nature while encouraging movement, mindfulness, and fun.
Our Favorite Outdoor Yoga Activities for Kids and Families
Add excitement to your yoga practice with a beach ball! Write yoga poses, mindfulness prompts, or movement challenges on a beach ball. Toss it to a friend and complete whichever activity your thumb lands on. It’s a simple and engaging way to get kids moving and laughing while practicing yoga.
Can your toes do yoga? Toega is a playful activity that helps strengthen little feet while improving coordination and body awareness. Children love the challenge of using their toes in creative ways while developing important motor skills.
Turn a classic game into a yoga adventure! Write yoga poses on Jenga blocks and perform the pose shown on each block you remove. This game combines balance, movement, teamwork, and plenty of giggles, making it perfect for families, classrooms, camps, and yoga groups.
Benefits of Outdoor Yoga for Kids
Practicing yoga outdoors offers even more benefits for children:
• Encourages physical activity and healthy movement
• Builds mindfulness and focus
• Promotes appreciation for nature
• Reduces stress and anxiety
• Strengthens family and community connections
Do you love yoga and kids? Keep the fun of International Yoga Day going all year long! Introduce the joy and fun of yoga to children while instilling the benefits they will have for life. Enrollment is now open for our Kids Yoga and Mindfulness Teacher Training! Find out more here.
“The greatest glory of a free-born people is to transmit that freedom to their children” —William Harvard
There is no other symbol of our freedom than that of the American Eagle! Try practicing Eagle Pose with your kids. It is wonderful for balance, core strength and detoxing as you hold this twisty tricky pose.
How to Hold Eagle Pose
Begin in a standing position. Cross your right thigh over your left leg.
Try to tuck your right foot behind the calf of your left leg.
Bring your arms straight out in front of you, and then cross left arm over your right arm at the elbows.
Bend left arm at the elbow and bring palms of hands together. If palms do not touch, then have the backs of hands touch.
Bend your knees and hold your arms out in front of you with fingertips toward the sky.
There are several ways to practice breath and being mindful with your kids, but the main goal is to make children aware of how they are feeling while slowing down their bodies and noticing their calming breath. Does their breath become short, shallow and fast when they are getting worked up or nervous about something?
The following is a simple sequence that allows children to practice becoming aware of their breath and it helps them focus and calm their nerves before a test, presentation, game, recital or anything that they are feeling anxiety or stress over.
How to do Calming Breath (and Teach Your Kids)
Find a seated position comfortably with your hands resting open on your lap.
Sit up tall, close your eyes.
Breathe in for a count of five and out for a count of three through your nose.
Repeat for five to seven rounds.
Open your eyes and see how you feel. More peaceful and ready to take on the world?!
Help your kids practice this simple calming breath technique and it will become a tool that they will always have with them to use and find success with.
There are several ways to practice breath and being mindful with your kids, but the main goal is to make children aware of how they are feeling while slowing down their bodies and noticing their calming breath. Does their breath become short, shallow and fast when they are getting worked up or nervous about something?
