by sara | Aug 5, 2018 | Benefits, Breathing Exercises, Games, Kids Yoga Lesson Plan, Mindfulness, Presenting, Teacher Training, Yoga at School, Yoga Poses
It was such a pleasure to be invited to lead a Kids Yoga and Mindfulness in the Preschool Classroom workshop for early childhood educators about yoga for preschoolers in the Dallas, Texas area.
Our 2.5 hour teacher workshop included tips and resources for teachers to be able to implement right away into their classrooms this school year.
Here are just a few of the topics we covered:
- Breathing and calming exercises that truly work with this young age group
- How to utilize movement and yoga during classroom transition times
- The best yoga poses for these young growing bodies
- Incorporating yoga and mindfulness into existing preschool themes
- Classroom yoga games and mindfulness exercises
- The best read aloud books for this early childhood age group
- How to bring about stillness and relaxation within the classroom
These teachers were engaged, enthusiastic, and ready to bring mindfulness into yoga for preschoolers.
All attendees received a copy of Go Go Yoga for Kids: Yoga Lessons for Children and The Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards.
If you liked this, you may enjoy learning about our Kids Yoga & Mindfulness Online Teacher Training.
Learn more here.
I know that you are passionate about reaching children through yoga and you are in the right place! Creating kids yoga lesson plans is one of my favorite things to do. It must be the teacher in me, but I love putting what kids are interested in and tying in yoga poses, games and mindfulness exercises to help teach yoga to children while providing moments that they will remember.
I want to help you be successful, confident, and ready to enrich children’s lives through yoga. We can do this together! Our FREE Kids Yoga Lesson Planning 101 Training begins with the heartbeat of kids yoga which is how to plan an engaging and memorable kids yoga class.
You can have all the desire in the world to teach yoga to children, but if you don’t have a plan in place then there will be opportunities missed and it will not be as impactful for your children.
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by sara | Jan 10, 2018 | Benefits, Games, Mindfulness, Yoga Poses
It is no secret that kids need yoga now more than ever. In our technology and screen-focused world, yoga provides many benefits that kids might have difficulty receiving elsewhere. Physically, yoga enhances flexibility, strength, coordination, and body awareness. Mentally, it improves the sense of calmness, concentration, and relaxation. Introducing yoga poses for kids at an early age can help them learn healthy lifestyle habits and set the foundation for a fit future.
The following three yoga poses were selected for their physical and mental health benefits in young growing bodies. These poses are also wonderful for getting kids fit, flexible, and focused. Keep in mind that these are also adult yoga poses, so some of them may already be familiar to you. This is all the more reason to do them together with your children! You do not need to have a lot of space to practice these poses, and they only take minutes a day to generate results.
Read the rest of the article here from our guest post at Des Moines Parent to learn more yoga poses for kids.
Get 40 more yoga poses for kids with our Kids Yoga Challenge App. Now available in your App Store.
by sara | Nov 13, 2017 | Kids Yoga Lesson Plan, Mindfulness, Presenting, Yoga at School, Yoga Poses
Affirmations and mantras can be an important tool to help children develop positive foundations on which to grow. A positive self-belief system built in childhood will hopefully stay with a person throughout their life. While attending the National Kids Yoga Conference, I got the pleasure of meeting Erin Hurley, an elementary school guidance counselor from Virginia. Erin was also named “School Counselor of the Year” for her school district.
She is the kind of guidance counselor that any of you would love to have your children work with and learn from. Erin has a kind and creative spirit and truly cares about children. Plus she definitely understands the importance of introducing yoga and mindfulness to children so they will have these skills for life.
Erin shared with me how she uses the Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards when she works with students in her elementary classrooms. She has loved using these pose cards with her students as they are visual, age-appropriate, and include simple yet memorable mantras.
Each yoga pose card has a corresponding empowering mantras for success such as “I am strong” or “I am fair and equal.” This ensures that the students are not only receiving the health benefits of each pose, but also the mental and mindfulness benefits as well.
Erin shared with me one incredible activity and lesson plan that she did with her students that I wanted to pass along. This lesson could be done anytime throughout the school year, but would tie in nicely with the beginning of the school year, Thanksgiving or a kindness theme.
Mantras and Mindfulness Kids Yoga Lesson Plan
This lesson would work well with children 
ages 5-11.
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. 
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Want more kids yoga lesson plans?
by sara | Oct 20, 2017 | Mindfulness
The fall season means getting back into a schedule and creating new routines for you and your family. No matter where you are in your day, these mindfulness tips will help parents and kids feel calmer and better able to handle whatever comes your way.
Begin the Day with Calm
Starting a brand new day at a frenzied pace is not an ideal way for anyone, adults or children, to begin the morning. Instead, spend a few moments doing some Sun Salutations and mindful breathing.
Begin by standing tall with your arms at your side. On your inhale, reach your arms up to the sky. On the exhale, relax and bring your arms back down to your sides. This simple movement along with deep, cleansing breaths gently awakens your body and calms your mind. Notice how you feel calmer and more prepared to embrace the day.
Take a Mindful Break
By the end of a school or work day, your mind can reach information overload. Instead of rushing immediately into the next thing you have to do, recognize this transition time between your day’s activities and home by taking a mindful break. This will help you set a more mindful tone before you begin your after-school activities, dinner preparations or other endeavors.
We are honored to be featured in Yoga Iowa’s latest issue. Get Your Yoga and Mindfulness Tips for the Whole Family. Continue reading the full article here.
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by sara | Oct 5, 2017 | Kids Yoga Lesson Plan, Mindfulness
How to Teach Yoga to Kids Using Mindfulness Picture Books:
Learn about the secret power of reading aloud to children while doing yoga poses to help give the greatest benefit to kids. As a teacher and reading specialist, I understand the importance of reading aloud to children while keeping kids mindful, active, and learning to achieve great benefits. When you read aloud to children and combine it with yoga poses, you have children that are becoming mindful, fit, and literate! In this video you will discover some of the best books to read aloud to children and learn how you can easily incorporate movement and yoga poses into these read aloud times. A full kids yoga lesson plan that you can use with kids at home or school will also accompany this video.
Benefits:
Children who are read aloud to get a head start in language and literacy. It increases their vocabulary and opportunity for comprehension practice. Combine that with yoga and you have children moving and stretching their bodies while increasing their focus and balance while having fun! When kids are moving it helps enhance their understanding and retention of what they have learned. This is called kinesthetic learning and it is perfect to use with those busy wiggly kids that need to move their bodies during or after those long school days of sitting.
Find your copy of the
Brown Bear Brown Bear Kids Yoga lesson plan
here.
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by sara | Aug 20, 2017 | Benefits, Breathing Exercises, Kids Yoga Lesson Plan, Mindfulness
As a mom of three and a teacher for over 18 years, I frequently see a recurring theme of anxiousness in children, and it is completely normal. Kids get nervous or stressed. Any different event such as starting a new school year, taking tests, trying new activities, and meeting new people can bring about uncertainty, unease, and worry. Luckily yoga for anxiety can give kids the tools the handle the stress.
When we worry, we take short, shallow breaths which continue to ignite the feeling of unease in our bodies. Slowing down our breathing and taking long, deep breaths naturally brings on a sense of calmness and peace.
Try these three breathing exercises with your kids. These calming techniques are effective for any age, and can be done anywhere – in the morning, during a car ride, sitting in school, or before bedtime. Yoga for anxiety can be done anytime, anywhere.
Shoulder Shrugs
Roll your shoulders back and down so they are away from your ears. Breathe deeply in through your nose as you raise your shoulders up by your ears. Breath out and lower your shoulders. Repeat movement 3-5 times and feel the tension melt away.
Darth Vader Breath
This is a favorite with children as they associate an image with this breathing exercise. Breathe deeply in and out while exhaling strongly through an open mouth.
Ocean Waves
Close your eyes and imagine you are an ocean wave. Breathe in and out deeply as if you are an ocean wave crashing on the beach. Alternate the frequency of your breath to become shorter and longer waves.
By introducing yoga for anxiety to kids, you will be giving them lifelong skills to become calm and focused, and better manage their anxiety when facing new situations.
Hop over to Mindful Teachers to read our guest post on the Top 3 Breathing Exercises for Kids. These can be done anywhere and are great for kids.
Are you interested in learning more about how to effectively teach yoga and mindfulness to children? Learn more about our new online Kids Yoga & Mindfulness Teacher Training.
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