Are you ready for a positive and engaging challenge that will improve balance, flexibility, mindfulness and more?
The Yoga Pose Challenge is kid and adult friendly and fun for all ages.
The Kids Yoga Challenge
I have worked with children for over 20 years and know that kids love to have a challenge! They feel like they have a goal to work toward and something tangible to accomplish. When completed, they definitely feel a sense of pride and accomplishment.
A physical challenge that can easily be done with yoga poses and was the motivation behind the creation of The Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards.
You do not need to have the Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards to participate in The Yoga Challenge, but it is helpful to understand how challenges can motivate kids intrinsically and extrinsically. Combine this with yoga poses which are so beneficial physically and mentally that it is a win-win all around!
The Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards challenge participants with balance, flexibility, mindfulness, and more. Our yoga card deck includes 40 poses. Each pose includes a starred level of difficulty.
How to Be Part of The Yoga Challenge
Each of the yoga poses are given a star rating for difficulty. For example starred Level 1 Poses would include Cat Pose or Mountain Pose while Level 2 Poses would be Horse Pose or a Partner Pose. Find some of our favorite Partner Poses that kids love to show off here. All of the Partner Poses are included in the Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards.
It is important to use some kind of yoga pose visual when working with kids especially when working through the Yoga Challenge. You can find downloadable yoga pose posters, other pose cards, or our Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards Digital Deck. Simply assign a starred level rating to each pose for the kids to practice and work through progressively.
By practicing the yoga poses regularly, the Level 5Poses such as Crow Pose, Wheel Pose and Lotus Pose will become easier.
Go Slowly
It is important for children (and adults) to understand that they are not expected to master all of the Yoga Challenge immediately.
Yoga is a practice and not something that is ever perfected. By practicing a sequence of poses over time, they will become familiar in your body. This means that your body will become more fluid and flexible. The more challenging yoga poses will then come with greater ease.
Ease Up on the Alignment
Demonstrate the pose yourself or with yoga pose cards. But be aware that if you spend a majority of time making sure every child has a perfect complete 90 degrees with their leg in Warrior 1 or that their Plank Pose includes a perfectly flat back, you will lose the attention and enthusiasm of the kids.
Yoga is a continued practice. Children, like adults, will continue to learn and grow with the poses and their practice.
More YOGA CHALLENGE OPTIONS:
1. Balance Poses:
Select a single balance yoga pose for the children to work on. This could be Airplane Pose, Dancer Pose, Tree Pose or may others. We like to useThe Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cardsto help provide a visual. When placed on the floor, they also provide a wonderful focal point.
Kids love to work on balance in yoga class because it is fun and challenging. They often don’t realize that they are acquiring a skill that improves each time they practice. This is good news because studies have shown that our balance decreases as we age beginning at age 7. With practice, we can maintain this balance.
2. Inversions:
I understand that Inversions can sound scary to try…especially with kids. The great news is that Inversions do not need to be difficult to do and the benefits are enormous. Find out how to practice our favoriteKids Yoga Inversions here.
3. Partner Yoga Poses:
Kids love partner yoga poses! Partner yoga poses help teach children the importance of teamwork and working together plus they are fun to do and build trust and community with one another. Check out our all-time favoriteKids Yoga Partner Poses here.
4. Group Yoga Challenge:
This type of yoga challenges are some of my favorites. Do not overthink this, it can be anything from standing in a circle and passing a hula hoop without letting go of hands. It can also be a Group Tree Pose or a Down Dog Tunnel. The point is to get the children working together to achieve a goal while having fun!
Down Dog Tunnels are always a hit for The Yoga Challenge.
Conclusion:
No matter how you go about it, have fun with the Yoga Challenge! There are many variations to get children interested and engaged so have fun trying them all.
If you are interested in learning more about being a Kids Yoga Teacher, I would love to tell you more about our popular online Kids Yoga & Mindfulness Teacher Training.
Kids love yoga games! Yoga games are often a favorite part of the class as children naturally love to play games. Games are also another great way to get kids moving, build strength, follow directions, work together and practice yoga poses in fun and engaging ways.
I also love how games help break the ice with new groups and allow kids to get to know one another. Games also lead to laughter and provide opportunities to maybe step outside a comfort while working together to achieve a goal.
I like to have a repertoire of yoga games that can be played and used in a variety of situations such as varying group sizes, ages, indoor, outdoor yoga games. I also like to include games with partners, quiet and mindful games, games that bring the energy level up and games that bring the energy down.
These games could be used during a yoga class, a school setting, camps, during other kid-related activities, or a home with your children.
I do recommend having a set of yoga pose cards to when playing the games. We loveThe Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards and they provide a great visual for when playing yoga games.
As you dive in deeper with some of our favorite kids yoga games, please feel free to adapt for varying age levels, setting, age appropriateness, and number of children. This can be done by making a few simple adjustments.
A huge tip is that you spend no longer than 10 minutes playing a yoga game. Keep the interest level and excitement high. Always end on a high note which leaves them wanting more
The goal of yoga games is to get kids excited about practicing many different yoga poses, while they gain strength, improve balance, experience teamwork and have fun!
Put the cards and caller card in a gift bag and have a player draw a card.
The player who drew the card calls out the pose to the other players.
Players who have the pose on their card mark it off.
The player who first gets bingo shows off their four winning poses in a sequence.
To make the game more challenging, you can:
Include variations of each pose
Have players hold the pose for a certain amount of time
Add bonus squares for completing a sequence of poses or holding a difficult pose
You can play yoga pose bingo at home, in a classroom, or at a yoga studio. It’s a fun way to teach kids yoga poses, practice new poses, and build community.
Directions on How to Play 8 Diverse Yoga Poses Multicultural & Diverse Downloadable for immediate play Perfect for school, home, camps, clubs, and parties.
As a classroom teacher, I appreciate how the start of a new school year is full of new beginnings and fresh starts. ⠀The opportunities to learn, grow, and try new things doesn’t apply just for kids!
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Have you been wanting to try something new? Learn something that will truly make a difference in the lives of children?!⠀
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I bet you do! Our online Kids Yoga and Mindfulness Teacher Training not only benefits children, but you as well!⠀
Discover how to truly and effectively introduce yoga and mindfulness to children through our comprehensive yoga teacher training which includes:⠀
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⭐️live classroom training videos⠀
⭐️hands on applications ⠀
⭐️kids yoga lesson plans, games guide and yoga pose cards⠀
⭐️Age group teaching guides & class management guide⠀
⭐️Access to our private group and live workshops.
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Begin Making a Difference Today
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Learn: How to efficiently and easily plan a kids yoga class from beginning to end
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Teach: Breathing exercises, yoga games, poses, mindful moments, and yoga challenges that promise to keep your students learning and engage
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Proven class management strategies so your class flows effortlessly
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Exact breathing exercises for calming and relaxing children
The best yoga poses for growing kids
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Learn how to effectively teach yoga and mindfulness to children in our easy to follow step by step proven format.
The official start of summer is with the arrival of the summer solstice on June 21st. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, this marks the longest day of the year. This is the moment when the Sun reaches the Tropic of Cancer, which is its highest point. For those who live in the Southern Hemisphere, this is the shortest day of the year and the arrival of winter. The solstice happens at the same moment for everyone, everywhere on Earth.
What makes this day even more special is that June 21st is also International Yoga Day which is recognized around the world since its inception in 2015.
What better way then to recognize both of these celebrations than with some family-friendly outdoor yoga?! Check out some of our favorite yoga poses and games!
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.
It will be so much fun learning a variety of yoga games perfect for all ages!
These Yoga Games Will:
Create strength physically and mentally for kids
Promote teamwork and team building skills
Build confidence
Increase flexibility
Improve Balance and focus
Enhance creative thinking
Bring joy, laughter, and reminders not to take ourselves too seriously!
Each game include videos, directions on how to enhance and differentiate for kids with varying abilities within the games, as well as game images and lesson plans.
Age Group Characteristics & Groupings for Yoga Games
The following guidelines will help you decide which yoga games and activities are most appropriate for the children you will be working with.
Early Childhood: Ages 2-5
Children at this stage thrive on repetition and routine. This knowledge is helpful not just in their play, but in all areas of their lives. Children at this age have difficulty waiting for their turn, but they learn as it is shown and modeled.
Preschool children are just discovering all of the different ways their bodies can move around—skip, hop, gallop, shuffle, run, walk backward—making active movement games especially beneficial. Incorporating pretend and fantasy into yoga games feeds imaginations and allows for unique personalities and ideas to emerge and grow.
Keeping games short, five to seven minutes at most, and giving simple directions will keep them present and focused. They are easily distracted but they are eager to learn and will engage well with repetitive directions, movements, and play.
School Age: Ages 5-11
As kids mature, they develop longer attention spans, stronger bodies, and more control over their movements. But they also need variation, as they grow bored with anything too repetitive.
Physically, kids this age can handle additional large motor movement and poses, so incorporating more complicated games and activities will challenge them and keep them engaged. Introducing themes helps them retain information and recall it.
This age group enjoys cooperation and teamwork. Friendships are important. Children quickly learning interpersonal skills as they move through elementary, primary, and intermediate schools. They understand the concept of taking turns and often have a developing or well-formed understanding of teamwork.
cards. But be aware that if you spend a majority of time making sure every child has a perfect complete 90 degrees with their leg in Warrior 1 or that their Plank Pose includes a perfectly flat back, you will lose the attention and enthusiasm of the kids.
Check out some of our favorite yoga poses and games!
