by sara | Jan 19, 2017 | Free, Free, Games, Yoga Poses
Does the Winter gray weather got you and your kids feeling cooped up? In just 5 minutes, I promise you will be feeling more fit, flexible and focused while having fun with your kids.
Five Ways to Cure Kids’ Cabin Fever with Yoga
Cold weather during the winter months can keep kids cooped up inside. It is important for kids to move and be active during these winter months. Physical activity helps stimulate those happy endorphins and keeps your body healthy and strong. So next time your kids have been cooped up and need to burn off some energy, turn on some music, and try these fun kid-friendly yoga poses to get fit, focused, and flexible together. No props or materials needed!
Tree Pose
This pose is a favorite of kids and parents! Tree Pose in yoga also has many benefits. It is a perfect way to practice balance and focus! Bring your foot to your calf and place your hands at heart center. As you become more steady, bring your foot to your thigh and move your hands overhead for tree branches. A tip for holding tree pose in yoga is to focus on a spot on the ground that is not moving.
Warrior 2 Jumps
Kids love this pose. It is a great way to get the heart pumping and keep it healthy. Stand strong in Warrior 2 with arms outstretched and your front leg bent. Try jumping and switching directions while landing in Warrior 2. Try to get a little hang time in your 180-degree jumps. It is almost like snowboarding but much warmer!
Plank Pose
This pose will work every muscle in your body. Hold a plank pose with your body forming a straight line from head to feet. Try to hold this pose for 15 seconds. Squeeze your stomach and legs together and it will make you feel lighter. Can you hold this pose for 30 seconds? Try to work up to one minute for an extra challenge!
Down Dog Push Ups
We have all done push-ups and feel the effects in our arms. Down Dog push-ups work not only your arms but 
also increase the length of your hamstring muscles. Move your arms to a push-up form while in the Down Dog pose. Kids probably won’t be able to get as close to the floor, but they will work their arms and legs in a whole new way!
Row Your Boat
Balance on your bottom and bring your legs up to make a “V” shape. Try to move your arms from side to side as if you are rowing a boat. This is fun for kids and wonderful for building good core strength.
Keep practicing these yoga poses and notice how your body changes. With these simple exercises, kids are working together on balance, flexibility, focus, and core strength while making their hearts and minds healthy and happy!
***this post originally appeared as a guest post at Des Moines Parent.
Want more kids yoga poses? Check out our popular Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards available on Amazon or in our store.
40 progressive yoga poses for kids and adults to practice and master. Each pose card includes a mantra to incorporate mindfulness and meditation. Each card deck com
es in a sturdy burlap drawstring bag and is 4×6 inches big.
Find The Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards here.
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The Power of Partner Yoga Poses for Kids
How to Teach Yoga to Children
The Most Important Part of a Kids Yoga Class
by sara | Jan 11, 2017 | Kids Yoga Lesson Plan
I am always on the lookout for new kids yoga products and fresh ideas to implement in my school and yoga classroom. When I first met Kerry Wekelo at the National Kids Yoga Conference, I knew immediately she had creative ideas and a huge passion and heart for kids and for making our world a better place.
Kerry Wekelo is the creator of the Zendoway Cubes and the author of several children’s books that facilitate learning and enhancing your body each and every day. Just wait until you hold some of these fun squeezable cubes in your hands! They are the perfect addition to school and home for nourishing your mind and body.
Kerry created the Zendoway Cubes based on her knowledge of meditation, intuition, insight, and community. Her company, Zendoway, is about incorporating the lessons and community from thousands of year old practices into modern daily life through her products and coaching support.
Kerry is constantly developing and creating new and different products and she definitely knows that creative process cannot be forced. Being active and balanced in her business, community, and family has helped Kerry place priorities where they matter.
Please check out Kerry’s amazing and squeezable Zendoway Cubes and award winning children’s books.
by sara | Jan 8, 2017 | Kids Yoga Lesson Plan
Yoga is fun! Get kids fit, flexible and focused
For 30 days, The Kids Yoga Challenge by Go Go Yoga Kids will improve your kids’ balance, flexibility mindfulness and more. This challenge is adult friendly as well so please join in!
Each challenge day will showcase a You Tube video including:
- an introduction of the yoga pose
- how to do each pose correctly
- health benefits associated with this pose
- a mantra to recite to help create mindfulness and meditation
Please subscribe to the Go Go Yoga for Kids You Tube Channel for updates.
We will also be using the Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards to help in this challenge. This Kids Yoga Challenge Card Deck includes 30 poses with partner poses, confidence building mantras and more fun games to play together using the Kids Yoga Pose Cards.
The Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards include:
- 30 progressive yoga poses
- Empowering pose mantras for beginners and meditation
- Poses rated from 1-5 stars based on difficulty
- Easy to flow poses for your own yoga routine or flow
- Tested and proven yoga poses to bring most mental and physical benefit
- Use of only minutes each day to gain lifelong skills and health benefits
These Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards will soon be available for purchase.
Questions or wanting to be part of the initial review team? Contact us here.
Wanting more kids yoga lesson plans, poses and ideas? Get your copy of Go Go Yoga for Kids: A Complete Guide to Using Yoga with Kids.
by sara | Jan 2, 2017 | Kids Yoga Lesson Plan
If I ever had my own bookstore, I would love it to be just like this! Plot Twist Bookstore is such a cozy and charming gem. Our new kids yoga mats fit in perfectly and the kids had so much fun learning new yoga poses and playing games. If you are ever in the area, it is definitely worth a stop!
Go Go Yoga Kids Class at Plot Twist Bookstore.
by sara | Dec 30, 2016 | Kids Yoga Lesson Plan
Here is a peek at our fun kids winter yoga sequence at Athleta over winter break.
What fun we had making Snowflake Salutations, sledding with our yoga mats and making Gingerbread men. That was just the beginning! There were so many plush snowballs to select from which featured a different winter yoga poses to learn and practice. We became snowball buckets, snowballs, ornaments and holiday trees.
It is great to work together to accomplish a goal and we did that with our partner poses of Icicle and Snow Castle. We also loved the game Blizzard in the Forest which is perfect in our winter yoga sequence for working on balance and concentration
Find out how to play this yoga game and much more in our bestselling Go Go Yoga for Kids books.
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Holiday Kids Yoga Poses Video
Want to see a video of this Go Go Yoga Kids class in action? Check out it here.
by sara | Dec 28, 2016 | Games, Kids Yoga Lesson Plan
Looking to try something new and active with your children? Yoga games are a great way to get kids moving, working together, and improve their communication skills. Kids yoga games also provide the perfect opportunity to learn new poses and increase balance and flexibility.
The following kids yoga games can be played with different age levels with simple adjustments. These kids yoga games can also be used anywhere as they don’t need any preparation or materials. Just put on a smile and have fun playing these games on the go!
Mirror Mirror
Choose one partner to go first. The first partner will slowly move through a sequence of yoga poses or movements while the other person mimics the movements. After a couple of minutes switch roles so the other person takes the lead.
Pose Challenge
This game will help children realize how all of their body parts have advantages and can make them stronger. Call out two different body parts that should be touching the floor or yoga mat and have them show that pose. For example “Two hands/Two Feet” could mean the children could show down dog, plank, cat, cow, standing forward fold, or a new pose that they invent. There are no wrong poses. It is just a fun way to get your body moving in different ways. Using visual such as with the Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards can really help children out.
You can also find the Digital and Printable Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards here.
Yogi Yogi Go (similar to Duck Duck Goose)
Children sit in a circle and one child moves around the circle tapping children on the head saying, “Yogi, Yogi” and picks someone by saying “Go.” The first child will jump, hop, gallop, etc. around the circle trying to make it back to his/her seat without getting caught. If caught they then hold a yoga pose in the middle of the circle.
Body Shapes
Draw a shape on a whiteboard or a piece of paper and everyone must try to make that shape with their body. This can be done individually, in pairs, or in small groups. A fun challenge in pairs or groups is to see if they can make the shape while working together silently. Good figures to use are circles, lines, and certain letters.
Sea/Shore/Shells
This is an active game that allows lots of movement while practicing yoga poses that the children know or have learned. Have a long jump rope or some other way to divide your room in half. When the leader says, “sea”, everyone jumps to the “sea” side. If the leader says “shore”, they jump to the other side. When the leader says “shells”, the participants must make a yoga pose. Try going quickly and mix them up. The kids will love it!
Looking for more kids yoga games? Our bestselling Go Go Yoga for Kids Books are filled with complete lesson plans, yoga games, poses, and mindfulness exercises for kids.
