Kids Yoga?
Often we hear the words kids yoga and our mind automatically pictures kids doing yoga like adults. While some kids may be compliant to such an approach it’s not something they’ll love. Prior to my kids yoga training that’s what I envisioned too, and tried to imitate with my then 6 year old. It was abysmal.
My goal is for kids to love yoga, not just tolerate it. So that when they become older and desire a more traditional approach they won’t have negative memories associated with it and can fully embrace it.
So, what does a kids yoga class look like? In truth they vary a lot by teacher and age group. The age bracket I’m beginning with is 7-11years old. For this age group I like a circle of mats and I generally start with some kind of interactive group warm up. Sometimes I let them create the warmup, sometimes it’s a game or a chance to get to know each other better. Then I like to move on to dynamic poses, poses that travel and build to more difficult poses. These can be done within the basic framework of games like Mother May I, Simon Says, Red Light Green Light. I also like to do games that teach poses, where they get to be silly and make the worst down dog or warrior or whatever pose we’re working on, and then make it better. Or letting them build poses together. From there it really depends on their energy, are they ready for relaxation? That is the main goal, helping them calm down. If they’re still pretty wiggly a high energy game followed with breathing exercises helps. I like to throw breathing exercises in where needed to bring the energy down again. And finally relaxation: my favorite go-to for relaxation is art, usually with calming music and plenty of space to do their own thing unobserved by their peers.
My goal is for kids to love yoga, not just tolerate it. So that when they become older and desire a more traditional approach they won’t have negative memories associated with it and can fully embrace it.
So, what does a kids yoga class look like? In truth they vary a lot by teacher and age group. The age bracket I’m beginning with is 7-11years old. For this age group I like a circle of mats and I generally start with some kind of interactive group warm up. Sometimes I let them create the warmup, sometimes it’s a game or a chance to get to know each other better. Then I like to move on to dynamic poses, poses that travel and build to more difficult poses. These can be done within the basic framework of games like Mother May I, Simon Says, Red Light Green Light. I also like to do games that teach poses, where they get to be silly and make the worst down dog or warrior or whatever pose we’re working on, and then make it better. Or letting them build poses together. From there it really depends on their energy, are they ready for relaxation? That is the main goal, helping them calm down. If they’re still pretty wiggly a high energy game followed with breathing exercises helps. I like to throw breathing exercises in where needed to bring the energy down again. And finally relaxation: my favorite go-to for relaxation is art, usually with calming music and plenty of space to do their own thing unobserved by their peers.
This kind of yoga is great for building friendships and increasing a child’s awareness of his/her world. They begin to notice how everyday activities affect them and the things that calm them. That is empowering.
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