Love is in the air, and now is the time to let your heart shine. Yes, flowers and candy are a lovely thought for adults this season, but it is also a good time to open your heart and show acceptance and compassion for others.
These heart-opening exercises are especially beneficial for kids and adults who spend the majority of their day slouched in desks at school and work or with their heads bent over screens and books. These exercises take only minutes and will help improve posture and release back and neck tension as well as create openness in your body and mind.
1. Cat to Cow Pose: Begin on your hands and knees. Next round your back and tuck your chin into your chest as if you are a cat. Then look up, arch your back and open your chest into Cow Pose. This is a great way to strengthen your spine and begin to feel your heart opening.
2. Updog Pose: Lie on your tummy. Place the palms of your hands next to your shoulders and look up. Slowly straighten your arms and open your chest. It is okay to keep arms bent as well.
3. Bridge or Wheel Pose: Kids love trying to get into Wheel Pose, but this huge heart opener is not easily accessible for all. For an easier but still effective heart opener, try Bridge Pose. Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the ground. Rest your arms alongside your body, tuck your chin into your chest, and lift your back to create a bridge.
4. Camel Pose: Take this pose slowly and feel your heart open. Get on your knees, lean back slowly, and place your hands on your lower back or ankles. Tilt your head back, open your chest, and breathe.
5. Bow Pose: Lie on your tummy, bend your knees, and lift your chest. Reach your arms back toward your toes and hold onto your feet. Let your heart shine!
Show the little ones you care about and give your own body some love by trying these 5 kid-friendly heart opening yoga exercises. These poses will help you open your own heart and mind, and by practicing them with kids you will also help them let their heart shine!
If you are like me, you like to use lots of visuals to help show the children what yoga poses look like. The Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards are our favorites! These yoga pose cards include 40 yoga poses and different affirmations for each pose. The kids yoga deck also includes a 15 Bonus Yoga Games to play with the cards. They come in a fun drawstring burlap bag.
Cold weather is keeping kids inside during school recess this winter. With recess and PE time already being decreased in schools, this definitely is a growing concern. Kids need to have the opportunity to move and be active during an otherwise mostly sedentary school day. Instead of turning on a movie or staring at an Ipad try some fun Yoga Stations.
Try these 5 easy to implement Yoga Stations for the next indoor recess to get your kids fit, focused and flexible. Yoga stations are perfect for school and home and require no materials. Set up your 3 Yoga Stations in your classroom or home, turn up some music and have kids rotate stations every five minutes.
Station 1: Plank Pose Challenge
In one corner of the room have students partner up and take turns holding the perfect plank position with a straight line from head to feet. Their partner can watch the clock for 15 or 30 seconds. Have them switch positions and slowly work up to one minute.
Station 2: Tree Pose
Balance needs to be practiced in order to be maintained. Tips on holding that can be tricky tree pose is by focusing on a spot on the ground that is not moving. Bring your foot to your calf and hands at heart center. As you become more steady, try bringing your foot to your thigh and your hands overhead.
Station 3: Warrior 2 Jumps
Kids love this and is a great way to get the heart pumping and healthy. Stand strong in Warrior 2 with arms outstretched and front leg bent. Try jumping and switching directions and landing in Warrior 2. It is almost like snowboarding, but much warmer!
Station 4: 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 hamstring muscles. While in Down Dog pose move your arms in a push-up form. You probably won’t be able to get as close to the floor, but students will work their arms and legs in a whole new way!
Station 5: Human Knot
This is a perfect opportunity for kids to work together in a small group to accomplish a goal. Stand in a circle and grasp one another’s hands across from you. Try to untangle yourselves without letting go of hands. This requires patience, communication and some flexibility. It is a great way to build teamwork in your home or classroom
With these simple exercises, kids are working together on balance, focus, core strength while getting their heart healthy and happy! Those are all good things for home or school!
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Grab your copies of these kids yoga books now. Share with a friend. They will thank you!
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Get ready for the holidays with these quick, fun and easy winter yoga poses you can do with your kids this season. Learn how to practice your Winter Breath during our breathwork exercises. Then go sledding, bake gingerbread cookies. decorate the tree, be like Santa and his reindeer, and finally become a melting icicle. All of this with yoga poses! Definitely lots of fun for kids of all ages.
Are you ready to learn how to teach yoga and mindfulness to children?
You are in the right place. Kids yoga lesson planning is my jam. After nearly 20 years of classroom teaching experience and preparing over a thousand kids yoga classes, I know a thing or two about creating engaging and effective lesson plans. Having a plan in place will help your class run seamlessly with a flow and a purpose.
I used to spend hours planning just one kids yoga class before I felt ready to teach it. For those of you who love going to adult yoga classes, you may be wondering, how hard can it be to plan a kids class? It seems like it should be easy enough. Teach the kids some poses, flow them together, and then everyone ends up on their backs in a peaceful bliss known as Savasana. That’s all you need to know, right?
Wrong. Well, not entirely wrong. Kids yoga and adult yoga are similar in that they both include breathing, practicing poses, and end with relaxation, but that is where the similarities stop.
Kids yoga is busy. We are moving, breathing, and interacting with one another pretty much the entire time. That’s why it would take me hours to plan a single kids yoga class. First, I needed an age-appropriate theme, creative breathing exercises (to make breathwork NOT boring), movement, games, challenges, and relevant mindfulness exercises. That was just the beginning!
Don’t forget that you also have to keep everyone engaged, on task, and having fun while practicing yoga and mindfulness. This was never an easy task.
I have cracked the code on the exact proven method of how to effectively teach yoga to children. With this step-by-step guide in place, your kids yoga classes will be fun, engaging, memorable, and effective.
And you can begin lesson-planning right from the comfort of lotus position, downward-facing dog, or your couch because it’s all online.
Kids love partner yoga poses! Partner yoga poses help teach children the importance of teamwork and working together plus they are fun to do and build trust and community with one another within the group. These partner poses can be done at home, school, camp, yoga class or anywhere you have kids ready to try something new and have fun.
I do try to incorporate partner or group poses in every kids yoga class as it gives everyone a common goal to work toward and builds confidence when mastered. I kept this in mind when I created the Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards, I purposely incorporated partner poses for some of the yoga challenge poses. The partner poses are built on progression so gives the children a goal to work toward and it makes it so much fun to achieve together!
Tips on working with partners in a kids yoga class
Try to have kids partner up with those of similar size. All partner poses can be modified, but it is a good idea to start this way.
Have the partners get to know one another before practicing the poses. Take a moment for them to introduce themselves to one another and pose a few questions that they need to answer as something they are good at or a favorite game to play.
Have one pair of partners demonstrate the Partner Pose before everyone tries it. As the partner pair is demonstrating, this is a good time to talk about proper form and any safety concerns. Although yoga partner poses are safe and fun, it is still a good idea to remind kids to take it slow. They will naturally be excited to get right into the pose so this will help them remember.
After the partners have practiced the featured yoga pose for 1-2 minutes. Have one group demonstrate the pose one last time. Kids love to show off the poses with their partners.
Kids Yoga Partner Class Lesson Plan
I recently taught an All Partner Poses kids yoga class and the kids loved it. Here is a little taste of how I broke down the lesson plan.
First I had the students get into pairs. It is helpful to have a partner of similar size, but not necessary. Modifications can be made for any of the partner poses.
Have the partner pair get to know one another (if they don’t already) and think up a Team Name. They love doing this. Refer to their team name throughout class. They LOVE this and will absolutely motivate them.
Explain to the students that they will be working through a series of partner poses. Talk about how being safe is the number one priority and how they need to look out for their teammate.
l used the Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards for this kids yoga class because these yoga cards include leveled partner poses. It is important to begin with the easier “one starred” levels and work your way up to level 5. 5.
I began with See Saw Partner Pose and showed the students an example pose card. This Partner Pose is perfect to begin with because it really warms up your legs and truly allows the children to work together. I invited a pair to come and demonstrate it to the group. I had them model how you begin nice and slow in a see-saw fashion. Legs can be made into a diamond shape or bent if you have some children that are taller or different heights.
I allowed a few moments for the children to practice this first partner pose before moving on to the next pose with the Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards. Each time, have a pair model the partner pose as you explain to the students about how to safely get in and out of it. You could also use the Kids Yoga Challenge App for pose visuals, but keep in mind that they poses are randomized for fun with the app.
Happy Fall! This is one of my favorite seasons! As a classroom teacher, I appreciate how it is full of new beginnings and fresh starts. ⠀The opportunities to learn, grow, and try new things doesn’t apply just for kids!
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Learn how to effectively teach yoga and mindfulness to children in our easy to follow step by step proven format.
1. Cat to Cow Pose
accessible for all. For an easier but still effective heart opener, try Bridge Pose. Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the ground. Rest your arms alongside your body, tuck your chin into your chest, and lift your back to create a bridge.
it. For those of you who love going to adult yoga classes, you may be wondering, how hard can it be to plan a kids class? It seems like it should be easy enough. Teach the kids some poses, flow them together, and then everyone ends up on their backs in a peaceful bliss known as Savasana. That’s all you need to know, right?
Kids yoga is busy. We are moving, breathing, and interacting with one another pretty much the entire time. That’s why it would take me hours to plan a single kids yoga class. First, I needed an age-appropriate theme, creative breathing exercises (to make breathwork NOT boring), movement, games, challenges, and relevant mindfulness exercises. That was just the beginning!
d the code on the exact proven method of how to effectively teach yoga to children. With this step-by-step guide in place, your kids yoga classes will be fun, engaging, memorable, and effective.
