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!
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 comes in a sturdy burlap drawstring bag and is 4×6 inches big.
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.
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.
Looking for something active and fun to do with children this winter?
Children love this Snow Much Fun Kids Yoga Lesson plan. All you need are some names of yoga poses that you want to teach, some plush white balls, and some pose card visuals which make it helpful for children to see and understand what the pose looks like.
Before plying with kids I attach a small sticker or tape to the snowballs with the name of a yoga pose on each one. Fun poses to include that children always enjoy learning and practicing are Star Pose, Warrior 2, Boat Pose, Chair Pose, and Triangle Pose.
Select just 4-6 yoga poses for the children to learn and practice for each themed cold yoga class. It is best to focus on practicing a few yoga poses during a class instead of many yoga poses.
I like to use a present box or holiday gift bag to put the snowballs in. It creates a lot more anticipation when the kids take turns drawing the pose (snowball) out of a box or bag.
After one snowball pose is drawn, all of the children practice that pose before drawing out a new pose.
I model the poses myself or use the Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards or the Kids Yoga Challenge App to help demonstrate the pose. After all of the snowballs have been selected, then it is time to play some yoga games to practice the poses.
Kids also love practicing balance with their snowballs. I like to line the children up on one end of the room. Slowly they try to walk and balance their snowball on their outstretched hand, in their elbow, under their chin, or on top of their heads. Ask the children where else they could balance their snowball. They are sure to have ideas.
Children can also use their snowball for a breathing exercise called the Snowball Race. Students line up their snowball at the back of their yoga mat. On your mark, get set and go! They try to use their strong breath to move the snowball to the end of their mat.
At the end of class, have the children slowly melt into their mats, and place their snowball on their bellies. As they breathe deeply, they can notice the rise and fall of their breath with the snowball.
Thanksgiving is all about family, friends, food and being thankful. Go Go Yoga for Kids shows fun Thanksgiving yoga poses that can be done to prepare your mind and body for the holiday.
First is our fun Turkey Breathing that will help get your mind and breath connected. Next we lead you into our Planksgiving Challenge. Enjoy!
Ready for more? Get our free Let’s Give Thanks Kids Yoga Lesson Plan
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This mindfulness and thankfulness activity for the classroom.
First, brainstorm with the students about positive qualities that they see in themselves. For example being kind, honest, hardworking, caring, strong, etc. Write these qualities on the board.
Next, the students took the “hand template” and wrote qualities that described themselves. They did this by writing around the hand template.
Finally, the students were able to put the yoga poses and mantras for success together to practice and perform. This absolutely made the lesson even more memorable as it ties together so many different types of student learning such as visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning.
Summer is in full swing. If you’re looking for something different to do with your kids this summer, skip the pool for once and try some yoga poses instead. They will love it.
Kids yoga is on the move! Washington’s Lifestyle news has excellent ideas on how to enjoy some summer yoga with your kids. They will get fit and have fun!
“Yoga has become increasingly popular among children. According to a survey from the National Institutes of Health, 1.7 million American youth practiced yoga in 2012 (that’s up 429,000 from 2007). Research has shown that yoga can improve mental and physical health in children, and because of this, more schools are introducing elements of the ancient practice in their classrooms.
“One of the main benefits is that it increases their focus and concentration … holding those yoga poses really helps them get that laser focus,” said Teresa Anne Power, an internationally recognized children’s yoga expert and author of “The ABCs of Yoga for Kids.”
Yoga also helps strengthen fine and gross motor skills in children, while increasing body awareness and self-control.
Want to introduce your little ones to yoga? Power says there’s no better time than the summer, since the activity can be done indoors on hot days, in the backyard on cooler nights and even on the beach during a family vacation. Here are her top tips for familiarizing your family with yoga”
