by sara | Jun 17, 2016 | Kids Yoga Lesson Plan
Here are 3 easy Kids Yoga Poses that you can do with your kids. Anywhere! Anytime!
When many people think of yoga they imagine standing very still, holding a pose, and attempting to breathe. That is yoga, yes, but yoga is also full of active movement and strength building!
Plank Challenge:
Holding Plank Pose can be a love/hate relationship. With regular practice, endurance does build up and it can be a lot more tolerable. Plank Pose is truly the perfect exercise as every muscle in your body is working and will get stronger including your arms, core, and legs.
Begin by making sure you and your children are holding that perfect Plank Pose. This means having a straight line from the top of your head and all the way down your back. I like to tell my yoga students to pretend they have an imaginary glass of water on their back and they do not want it to spill. Hands should be directly below the shoulders.
Begin by holding The Plank together for 15 seconds. Count and make it fun. Build up to 30 seconds and finally, work up to a minute. This will happen over time and will become easier with daily practice. I like to give tips such as squeezing everything tight on your body including your legs and stomach. This will make you feel lighter and be able to hold the pose longer. Remember to breathe!
Plank Challenges are a wonderful exercise to do with someone else as we are better and stronger together!
Down Dog Hover:
This is another great exercise that will work many muscles. Hold a Down Dog Pose, then bring your knees to a hover without touching the ground. Next, extend out to Plank Pose, hold and then find your way back to Down Dog. Repeat this several times and notice the difference in how your body feels each time.
Wheelbarrow Races: 
Remember these from long ago? Kids love them it and it is certainly an exercise that has been forgotten over time. Is this exactly a yoga move? Not entirely, but it incorporates the Plank Pose and is lots of fun! Have your child go into Plank Pose. Hold their legs and start walking. If you want, attempt to switch positions. This exercise is sure to bring a few laughs.
Have fun with yoga poses with your kids and being active together!
Looking to do more yoga with your kids? Try some of our calming yoga poses yoga poses for kids.
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by sara | Jun 14, 2016 | Benefits, Mindfulness
Adults aren’t the only ones who are stressed. Yoga can also be used to help anxious kids and achieve many healthy benefits in the process . Learn simple poses and ideas to introduce and practice yoga at home with your kids.
Yoga for kids is becoming increasingly popular. It is showing up in school classrooms, daycares, sports, in addition to yoga studios and other health clubs. The physical benefits of yoga are lifelong and include flexibility, strength, and coordination. Yoga is also recognized as a relaxation technique and used to help combat anxiety in kids as well as adults.
Here is what Today’s Parent had to say on helping to calm little minds while practicing yoga.
by sara | Jun 12, 2016 | Kids Yoga Lesson Plan
Maybe the word “sneaky” sounds too conniving and calculated, but after an energetic and fun-filled kids yoga class or a busy day out and about, there is nothing better than settling children into a state of relaxation or savasana. Anyone who has ever worked with or been around kids for approximately 30 seconds, knows that quieting kids is not always an easy task to do. These calming yoga moves for kids at home or in a kids yoga class!
Read on for some simple tips that can make that important last bit of a kids yoga class all the more refreshing and relaxing. This is the perfect time that children can reap the benefits of the yoga moves for kids working and moving their bodies in such a good and healthy way.
- Turn the lights down low if possible.
- Play slow and calming music.
- Have children begin to lie on their backs as slowly as possible while counting down from 10.
- Have them bring their knees to their chest give themselves a big hug. They love this!
- Allow the kids to lay however they feel most comfortable; on their back, stomach or curled into a ball.
- Use phrases like, “be as still as a statue, ” or “quiet as a mouse” to help give kids a mental picture of how to pose and act.
- Depending on the situation, lightly rub the children’s’ backs. It is amazing the calm it brings and how much they respond to this little touch.
Call it a success, if you get stillness for even 10 seconds from your class or child at first! Savasana is something to build on with kids. Over time the duration will lengthen. It really does become a favorite part of class or nightly routine at home as they get to lie there and “do nothing.” The act of being totally present brings about so many benefits for kids.
by sara | Jun 10, 2016 | Kids Yoga Lesson Plan
Parents are busy. Kids are busy. Here is how you can get your yoga workout in AND have fun making memories with your kids. Sounds like a win-win situation to me! If you want more easy ideas on getting your kids involved with yoga see here.
Partner Up
There are many fun child yoga poses that can be done with adults and children. Look here for fun Partner Pose ideas that can be done with your kids.
Watch a Video
Not feeling too creative or need some fresh ideas? Check out a You Tube video. There are some fun videos you can find related to kids yoga. While there Subscribe to Go Go Yoga Kids for updates. We will be up and running there soon!
Use a Story:
This is one of my favorite ways to practice yoga with kids. I love reading aloud to my kids and I know how important that is. By reading a story to them they will receive the benefits of reading aloud AND practicing yoga! Here are some of my favorite read alouds that allow opportunities to try some yoga poses.
Feel like you have those ideas mastered or need some additional inspiration? For more ideas look at our post on even more ways to incorporate yoga, kids, and home.
by sara | Jun 8, 2016 | Benefits
Why should children practice kids yoga? There are so many reasons to introduce kids to yoga and the benefits keep rolling in! Be sure to check out our previous Fab Four Benefits of Yoga for Kids. Here are even more that you don’t want to miss.
1. Yoga Boosts Confidence
Yoga makes you feel good which increases confidence. I see this all the time in my kid yoga classes when a child is able to master a pose they have been working on or see their flexibility and balance improve, it is amazing what it does to their confidence. You can literally see them step out of the kids yoga class, standing up straighter and more self-assured. They are also more calm, poised, and self-assured in their abilities for not only in the next class but throughout their daily activities. The more you practice yoga, the better you feel.
2. Promotes Health and Stress Management
Yoga is a physical activity that releases happy endorphins. When you leave a yoga class you feel good inside and out, and you want to maintain that feeling. Yoga also improves your digestive system with the twisting, moving, inverting, and holding poses. Breathing exercises also help calm kids which gives them the tools to use when they are feeling overwhelmed, stressed and anxious. Instead of kids logging more hours in front of a screen yoga promotes health and positive activity.
3. Builds Positive Peer and Social Interactions
Everyone is unique and special in their own way, and we all come from different places and backgrounds. No yoga pose looks the same from person to person, child or adult. With yoga, we celebrate and respect the differences as we try new postures and poses. Kids enjoy working with each other in partner and group poses and achieving success together. Yoga is also about encouraging one another and promoting acceptance, trust, kindness and empathy.
4. Sparks Creativity and Expression
Yoga Kids classes are fun and engaging as we move in and out of games, stories, and songs while learning new poses and practicing as a group. Often yoga kids classes are centered on a theme to help them learn about new places and concepts. Yoga also helps kids be free, creative, and express themselves. Not only is this fun, but yoga also encourages kids to use their imaginations to try new things in a safe environment and to not take themselves too seriously.
