yoga poses for kids Archives - Go Go Yoga For Kids

Yoga Poses for Children: Kids Yoga Lesson Planning 101 With Yoga Themes

by sara | Jan 3, 2020 | Free, Free, Kids Yoga Lesson Plan, Yoga Poses

Hello and welcome! I am so happy that you are joining us for our Kids Yoga Lesson Planning 101 Training. You are in the right place!

Get All Caught Up Below:

Why you need a Kids Yoga Lesson Plan before you even think about teaching yoga to children.

Part 1: The Welcome: How to engage your students right from the start.

Part 2: Breathing Exercises: Made Relevant and FUN for Children

Part 3: Sun Salutations Made Simple: Connect Movement with Breath

Part 4: The Importance of Active Movement: Get hearts pumping, build strength, and get wiggles out.

Kids Yoga Lesson Planning 101: Yoga Themes for Poses (Part 5)

Congratulations! You have made it to the main part of your yoga class where you can introduce and teach poses to your students. Kids enjoy learning new yoga poses and often get excited about adding new ones to their repertoire.

boat pose — Boat Pose at the Park: Yoga is a Great Exercise for All Ages

How to Teach Yoga Poses to Kids

When teaching yoga poses to kids, I have found it helpful to group the yoga poses together by a theme. It is also helpful to only introduce 4-6 yoga poses per class. This really gives children the opportunity to practice the yoga poses and remember them outside of class.

I have found that concentrating on fewer poses in class allows the children to truly focus, pay more attention to correct form and achieve success. They will feel themselves getting stronger, longer and more flexible as they become more comfortable with the poses. Your theme-related yoga poses are also a great way to differentiate and accommodate for the varying needs of your class.

How to Introduce the Yoga Poses

When introducing the yoga poses, it is important to be excited about the poses and build anticipation. This is a great technique and you will have the kids in the palm of your hand and so excited to learn what the next pose will be.

Gather the children in a circle
Have some sort of seasonal bag or prop (colorful gift bag, basket, stocking cap, sand pail) that you have placed the 4-5 pose card visuals. I use The Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards.
Call on a child to come and “draw out” the next pose.
Everyone practices the pose. Discuss what parts of your body you feel working and getting stronger.
Call on another child to draw out the next pose and practice.
Continue in this format until all of the poses have been drawn.
I like to give the students a “test.” Since I am a teacher they find this highly interesting and engaging. I call out a pose that we have learned and the students must get into it as quickly as they can. For younger ages, it is fine to show the Kids Yoga Pose Card to help them find success.

yoga pose app — The Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards include 40 yoga pose cards. Partner yoga poses, yoga games, and mantras for mindfulness are included.

How to Teach Yoga Poses to School-Aged, Tweens, and Teens

After learning and practicing the yoga poses with older students, we will flow the poses together. Our yoga mats are already placed in a circle and I then place the yoga pose cards (that we just learned) in the center in the center in the circle and also order that we will flow. The children really enjoy this and they feel very grown-up.

They are definitely not too grown-up, however, when the Yoga Flow ends and it is time to practice the poses with a Yoga Game! Kids never ever want to pass up a yoga game!

Stay tuned for our favorite Kids Yoga Games in our Kids Yoga Lesson Planning 101 coming up next!

yoga games and activities for children — Kids Yoga Games & Activities for Children

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Practice These 4 Yoga Poses Every Day for Your Body and Mind

by sara | Feb 2, 2017 | Yoga Poses

Trying these four progressive kids yoga poses and easy-to-remember mantras will give your body many physical and mental benefits.

Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards

Yoga can be done with all ages and has numerous benefits for your body both inside and out. Trying these four progressive kids yoga poses and easy-to-remember mantras will give your body many physical and mental benefits.

These fun and family-friendly progressive poses only take minutes each day. By consistently pairing these poses with saying the given mantra, you will begin to feel many physical and mental benefits take place.

Child’s Pose
This still and quiet centering pose is a perfect one to begin with. Sit back on your heels, slowly bring your forehead to the ground, and stretch your arms out overhead. Take a few deep breaths in and out of your nose.Mantra: I am calm and centered.

Down Dog

Place your palms flat on the ground and step your feet back to create an upside down “V” shape. Keep your head loose and look between your knees. This is a great pose for building arm and leg strength. Kids love to hear how this pose lengthens their hamstring muscles and can make them seem taller.

Mantra: I am strengthening and lengthening.

Trying these four progressive kids yoga poses and easy-to-remember mantras will give your body many physical and mental benefits.

Boat Pose

Balance on your bottom, tighten your stomach, and bring your legs up to make a “V” shape while maintaining a flat back. Try to move your arms slowly from side to side as if you are rowing a boat. This is fun for kids and wonderful for building good core strength.

Mantra: I am strong and balanced.

Plank Pose
This pose will work every muscle in your body. Hold that perfect plank position with your body while forming a straight line from head to feet. Try to hold this pose for 15 seconds. Squeeze your stomach and legs together to feel lighter. See if you can hold this pose for 30 seconds. Try to work up to a minute which is definitely an extra challenge!Mantra: My body and mind are strong.

Trying these four progressive kids yoga poses and easy-to-remember mantras will give your body many physical and mental benefits.

Practice these five poses every day and notice the changes you feel in your body and mind. These brand new pose cards will challenge you and your family with balance, flexibility, mindfulness, and more. It will only take minutes each day to gain lifelong skills and health benefits. This yoga card deck includes thirty poses including partner poses, confidence building pose mantras, and fun games to play together using our Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards.

The Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards include:

40 progressive kids yoga poses with colorful illustrations
Empowering pose mantras for beginners and also for meditation
15 Bonus Yoga Games to play with pose cards
Poses rated from 1-5 stars based on difficulty
Easy to flow poses for your own yoga routine
Tested and proven kids yoga poses to bring the most mental and physical benefits

Looking for more kids yoga lesson plans and games? Get your copy of Go Go Yoga for Kids books here.