Children are like little sponges, and they will soak up all the good stuff if you share it with them! Getting the girls to relax is always a challenge for me so we started doing some basic yoga at home and the girls have been loving it!
Yoga with your kids will look almost nothing like what your more traditional practice looks like, and that’s okay because they will understand it and appreciate it in different ways too. What’s pretty amazing about kids yoga is seeing how it benefits them and impacts their mood and behavior.
Here is how you can introduce yoga to your kids
Kids are not mini-adults, and as much as we sometimes wish we could explain things the way we understand them, it just doesn’t work that way! You may appreciate yoga for some of the more intricate ways it has impacted your wellbeing or mindset, but kids are always just looking to have fun, so it’s essential to set the more serious aspects of yoga aside and allow the benefits for them to come naturally.
So, when you set out to introduce yoga to your kids, they likely won’t want to hear about where the word “yoga” came from or how it’s one of the oldest physical disciplines in the world. Actually…I wouldn’t use that word at all, or it might send them running towards the door!
Instead, here is what you can say:
“Yoga is an activity where we will make shapes with our bodies to keep our minds and bodies healthy!”
“Yoga is an activity that helps us feel calm and happy.”
“Yoga helps us learn about who we are, and it is a time where we can move freely!”
Here are just of few of the benefits of yoga for kids
- Yoga helps them manage anxiety and stay calm
- Yoga helps reduce their impulsive behaviors
- Yoga boosts their self-esteem
- Yoga encourages non-competitive play
- Yoga improves their focus and memorization skills
- Yoga enhances their body awareness
- Yoga connects them to the natural world
Try teaching these three simple poses to get started and demonstrate them as you go:
Tree Pose
Have your kids stand tall and rest one foot on the calf of their standing leg.
Have them pretend to be a tree and explain that their feet are the roots.
Invite them to stretch out their arms like branches and encourage them to work on their focus and balance by having them pretend that the wind is blowing their branches around outside.
Repeat this on the opposite side.
Cat-Cow Pose
Cat-Cow pose or any pose with an animal name, for that matter, is a great go-to for kids.
Instruct them to come onto their hands and knees, like a table. Guide them through dropping their belly and turning the head up toward the sky for cow pose and then rounding their back and looking down at the floor for cat pose.
You can also introduce some breathwork in this pose, having them inhale in cow and exhale when they get to cat. Encourage them to move slowly.
Butterfly Pose
Have your kids sit on the floor and bring the soles of their feet together to touch. As you instruct them through pressing their thighs down to the floor (they can use their hands too), have them take a big breath in at the same time.
Let them imagine that they are a butterfly, and if they want to, they can flap their legs up and down like wings! You can help guide them through the pace here and have them work up to flapping their wings quickly, then gradually slow them down.
Once you are done with this pose, have them straighten their legs out in front of them, lie down, and relax. Move from here to Savasana if you’d like and have them focus on the rise and fall of their bellies as they take big breaths in and out.
Not only is yoga something your kids can have fun doing, but it will provide them with a sense of inner-fulfillment and have them feeling more relaxed at the end of the day!
