by sara | Jun 16, 2017 | Kids Yoga Lesson Plan
What a blast it was to be back at Athleta for another fun kids yoga class. This time leading a Partner Yoga for Kids class. We warmed up our bodies with exercises to get our hearts pumping. Then got ready for our partner and group poses.
We got into out Partner Poses using our Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards.
The yoga cards were perfect as we worked on mastering the 4 challenge levels with the included partner poses.
We continued with some fun team building group yoga poses with our Down Dog Tunnel. The kids loved it and did great!
We closed class with a Stillness and Savasana and with a few deep cleansing breaths. If you are looking to try out some more partner poses, see our tips on partner poses here.
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by sara | Jun 15, 2017 | Kids Yoga Lesson Plan
What a blessing it has been to lead yoga and art therapy classes this summer with the Children and Family Urban Movement. CFUM’s mission is to create a community that 
supports the potential of children, youth and families through educational success, healthy living, and community engagement.
Introducing the kids to yoga and mindfulness has filled my heart. The children had so much joy in trying new things.
We practiced kid friendly breathing exercises, learned yoga poses, played yoga games, demonstrated partner poses, and everyone loved the stillness and savasana at the end of each session.
As a special treat, each child was able to personalize their very own donated yoga mat. At the end of the summer they will be able to take home their own yoga mat to continue their practice.
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by sara | Jun 13, 2017 | Yoga Poses
Bring a buddy and join the fun for our Kids Yoga Partner Class with Go Go Yoga Kids at Athleta, Jordan Creek on Thursday, June 15, 2017 at 8:30 AM. No buddy, no problem. We got you covered! See you then!
Stay after class for some light refreshments.
See more fun partner pose ideas and tips here. Get even more partner yoga poses with our Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards.
by sara | Jun 11, 2017 | Kids Yoga Lesson Plan, Teacher Training
Below is a portion of the transcript of the:
How to Teach Yoga to Kids
Online Teacher Training
Section 4 – Yoga Poses for Kids
How to Teach Age Appropriate Yoga Poses
Now we’re getting to the yoga poses for kids. After you utilize your breath work and get your body centered and focused you’re ready to work on some yoga poses. I’m going to show you some fun ways to engage students with poses. Kids love to learn new yoga poses.
Yoga poses are also a great way to differentiate and accommodate for the varied needs and abilities of the kids you’re working with. I like to choose 3 to 5 yoga poses and group them together with a common theme so kids will remember them.
As you introduce each pose ask children what parts of their body they feel working. In your course resources part, I have an illustrated kids yoga pose guide. It’s got 45 yoga poses that you can see if you’re not familiar with the yoga poses yourself.
Join our Online Kids Yoga & Mindfulness Teacher Training and get your illustrated yoga pose guides.
I also love using, the Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards. These are a deck of 40 Yoga Pose Cards. They’re 
bright and colorful. They include partner poses too that the kids can use and see how the poses are made.
I also love props to introduce yoga poses. Our online Kids Yoga & Mindfulness Teacher Training shows favorite yoga props which help introduce the yoga poses with and create anticipation.
Kids love themes while practicing yoga. In the course, I will show you some themed yoga poses that you would do if you were learning about the ocean, jungle or the zoo. It is fun to see how the poses fit together with the theme which helps the kids better remember and practice the poses.
Included in our Kids Yoga & Mindfulness Teacher Training are kids yoga lesson plans that are all themed with yoga poses, the breath work and everything that you need to teach yoga to kids.
For more kids yoga lesson plans please see our bestselling books Go Go Yoga for Kids: A Complete Guide to Using Yoga with Kids and Go Go Yoga for Kids: Yoga Lessons for Children.
Join our online Kids Yoga & Mindfulness Teacher Training and receive your bonus kids yoga lesson plans.
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by sara | Jun 10, 2017 | Breathing Exercises
Begin with Breath
Breathing Exercises For Kids
Let’s begin with breath. Why is breath important? Deep breathing helps calm us if we’re nervous or anxious. With yoga it helps us hold the poses longer and center ourselves. This is especially important for kids who are maybe nervous or anxious at home or at school. We’re going to show you some kid-friendly ways to practice breath work from our kids’ yoga teacher training.
We’re going to learn eight breathing techniques that kids can remember and use in the home, at school, any time they’re feeling anxious, nervous, or upset. So why is breath important? Deep breathing helps calm us if we’re nervous or anxious. With yoga it also helps us hold the poses longer and center ourselves. I’m going to teach you some fun kid-friendly ways to practice that deep breathing and breath work.
First is our Belly Breathing. You can place your hand right on your belly and go ahead and breathe in and breathe out and you can actually feel the breath moving inside. Another fun way to do it that kids love if they know each other is lay on their tummies and breathe deeply and see if they can feel their friend’s breath work as well.
Next is Window Fog. Pretend like you’re trying to fog up a car or maybe you’re stepping outside in the cold air and you’re kind of seeing your breath. Go ahead and breathe deeply in and out as hard as you can. Put your hand there so you can feel your breath moving.
Blowing out the Candle is especially fun too. Put your index fingers together and then you’ll breathe in then and breathe out as if you’re blowing out those birthday candles.
These Breathing Balls are another great visual to see your breath actually working. 
The training video shows you how the ball expands and decreases. Kind of how your diaphragm would work with your breath.
Feathers are a great tool for breath work as well. You can blow your feather up and down your yoga mat. You can blow it across the room. These are inexpensive ways to actually see your breath in action.
Pinwheels are another great resource. You can take it outside, you can take in the house and practice blowing it fast or blowing it slow. You can practice different ways of utilizing your breath.
Bubbles are a great way too to see how your breath is actually working. 
Finally, we must remember Sun Salutations. These are important with yoga to connect this movement of reaching up high to the sun and then diving forward towards your toes. Go ahead and breathe in as you rise up and exhale as you fall down. That really helps you connect the movement with the breath and really warms up your whole body.
Ready to dive deeper with teaching yoga and mindfulness to children? Learn more about our online Kids Yoga & Mindfulness Teacher Training here.
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