The official start of summer is with the arrival of the summer solstice on June 21st. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, this marks the longest day of the year. This is the moment when the Sun reaches the Tropic of Cancer, which is its highest point. For those who live in the Southern Hemisphere, this is the shortest day of the year and the arrival of winter. The solstice happens at the same moment for everyone, everywhere on Earth.
What makes this day even more special is that June 21st is also International Yoga Day which is recognized around the world since its inception in 2015.
What better way then to recognize both of these celebrations than with some family-friendly outdoor yoga?! Check out some of our favorite yoga poses and games!
Do you love yoga and kids? Keep the fun of International Yoga Day going all year long! Introduce the joy and fun of yoga to children while instilling the benefits they will have for life. Enrollment is now open for our Kids Yoga and Mindfulness Teacher Training! Find out more here.
“Mother’s hold their children’s hands for a short while, but their hearts, forever…” –Unknown
Celebrate Mother’s Day with these Family Fun Yoga Ideas!
Back to Back Breathing:
Back to Back Breathing is a wonderful and relaxing way to connect with your children. It also builds mindfulness. Sit tall in a comfortable position with legs crossed. Slowly rest your back gently against your partner’s back. Encourage your child to try to notice your breath. Is it shallow or deep? Fast or slow? Can they feel your back move as they breathe? This is a really sweet partner exercise for any age and feels so comforting to lean against another person like that.
Family Trees:
Stand in a circle side by side and touch palms to help balance each other. Then take one foot and place it on our leg. Bring your branches (hands) up taller. Remember to switch legs. Notice how you are all stronger when you work together!
Legs Up the Wall:
Kids and adults both love this relaxing yoga pose! Scooch up close to a wall and lie flat on your back. Slowly raise your legs straight up against the wall which makes an L shape with your body. Keeping your legs together, flex your feet. Relax your arms to the side and keep your neck in a neutral and relaxed position. Close your eyes, and take a few moments and rest in this incredible restorative pose! This can also be done as Partner Legs Up the Wall Pose.
Toega:
Toega is the perfect yoga game to play with all different ages. What exactly is Toega? It is yoga for your feet! Kids love this simple exercise and it is good for them as well. All you need are some colored pom pom balls and bare feet! It is fun and easy to play. Find out how to play here.
Will it be an early Spring, or will there be six more weeks of Winter? The groundhog gets to decide with this fun yoga game for kids! Decide if it will be spring or winter with yoga poses such as Snowflake Pose and Warrior 2.
Select one child to be the lead groundhog. Have everyone begin in Child’s Pose with their foreheads to the ground as if they are hibernating groundhogs waiting for February 2nd.
The lead groundhog will emerge first from slumber, look around, and announce to the other groundhogs if it is Spring or Winter. Based on what the lead groundhog selects, then choose from the following poses:
Winter Groundhog Yoga Poses
Snowflake: Begin in Mountain Pose with arms outstretched above. Next dive forward and bring your arms to the ground as if you are a snowflake falling. Repeat this several times to represent lots of snowflakes falling.
Snowboarder: 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 as if you are a star snowboarder!
Snowball: Lie on your back and hug your knees into your chest. Rock and roll back and forth as if you are a snowball being rolled. Do this several times. It is almost like getting a back massage.
Spring Groundhog Yoga Poses
Tree Pose: Get your Spring tree ready for leaves! 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 is to focus on a spot on the ground that is not moving.
Butterfly Pose: Sit on your bottom with a tall spine, bend your legs, and place the soles of your feet together. Flap your legs like the wings of a butterfly. How fast can your butterfly fly? Then try to go as slowly as possible.
Frog Pose: Come down to a squat position and bring your arms to heart center. Can you hop like a frog?
Take turns being the lead groundhog so everyone can practice several Winter and Spring yoga poses. Finally for the final resting position or Savasana have the kids roll up in a yoga mat or blanket as if they are quiet slumbering groundhog.
Get ready for the winter holiday with these fun holiday yoga poses for kids. Become a snowball, hop in Santa’s sleigh, make Gingerbread cookies, decorate a tree with ornaments and much more.
Kids love this kids yoga lesson plan. It is filled with yoga poses, games and balance practice. As you watch the video, notice the gift box that I use. There is something about using a simple prop for holiday yoga that truly gets the kids’ attention every time.
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.
Stretch your body and your mind with Yoga Pose Memory! Help kids (and adults!) improve balance and flexibility while boosting matching and memory skills.
Learn and practice yoga poses as you search for matching yoga poses. Once a match is made, then the player must demonstrate that yoga pose. Once the cards have all been matched, the player with the most pairs performs all of the yoga poses in a sequence.
Learn and practice yoga poses with this fun and engaging Yoga Pose Game!
Check out some of our favorite yoga poses and games!
Kids and adults both love this relaxing yoga pose! Scooch up close to a wall and lie flat on your back. Slowly raise your legs straight up against the wall which makes an L shape with your body. Keeping your legs together, flex your feet. Relax your arms to the side and keep your neck in a neutral and relaxed position. Close your eyes, and take a few moments and rest in this incredible restorative pose! This can also be done as Partner Legs Up the Wall Pose.
bent. Try jumping and switching directions while landing in Warrior 2. Try to get a little hang time in your 180 degree jumps as if you are a star snowboarder!
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.
