fbpx

Yoga Inversions for Kids

Change Your Perspective: Try an Inversion

turtle pose yogaWant to try something different with your dad this Father’s Day? Try an falling pose together. Do not worry, there are many types of inversions and all have health benefits.

Inversions to Try:

  • Legs up the Wall
  • Shoulder Stand
  • Crow Pose
  • Side Crow
  • Tripod
  • Headstand
  • Handstand

Benefits of Inversions:

1. Boosts Your Brain: When your body is upside down and your feet are higher than your heart, the normal pull of gravity on your body is revered, which helps blood return to the heart.

2. Makes you Happy: Endorphins are released and your frown will literally be turned upside down.

3. Helps Digestion: Inversions release trapped gas and keeps things moving along.

4. Strengthen Your Body: Your muscles are turned on and your core engaged so this creates strength and balance throughout your body

5. They are fun! Be like a kid again! Kids are usually pretty good about trying anything and getting right back up again if they fall. There’s nothing wrong with trying a falling pose.

Remember that some inversions do require great strength and balance, so take things slow. You will get the same benefits from  Down Dog or Legs up the wall  as you will from a headstand, so there is no need to rush your body.

Read our 6 tips on getting into a headstand here.

Bonus tip: There is nothing wrong with using a wall. Same benefits are achieved.turtle yoga pose

Partner Yoga for Kids Class

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.

You May Also Enjoy:

Partner Poses Kids Love to Show Off

Tips for Working in Partners in a Kids Yoga Class

How to Teach Yoga to Children

Yoga and Art Therapy in the School

Yoga and Art Therapy in the School

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 yoga and art therapy for kidssupports 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.

You May Also Like:

Teach Mindfulness to Kids With These Tips

How to Really Get Children to Listen

Learn How to Teach Yoga to Children

How to Teach Yoga to Kids: Yoga Poses for Kids

How to Teach Yoga to Kids: Yoga Poses for Kids

Below is a portion of the transcript of the:

How to Teach Yoga to Kids

Online Teacher Training

kids yoga 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.

You May Also Like:

How to Play the Listening Game with Children

How to Keep Your Students Engaged Throughout Class

Kids Yoga Teacher Favorite Props and Resources