Yoga (yg) means to connect our bodies and minds. It is an ancient practice which means that people have been doing yoga for a very long time – over 4,000 years! In yoga we use physical activity (exercise), breathing techniques, and relaxation to help us to connect our bodies and minds.
Did you know? People who do yoga are called “yogi’s” (pronounced yo-Geez)
What kind of physical exercise do we use in kid’s yoga?
- Traditional ones like sun salutations or individual postures
- Non traditional ones like boulder rolls and dancing… You don’t need music to dance, but if you’d like, click here for a list of our favorite songs. Ask your parents to download a song for you to dance!
How do we exercise our minds in Yoga?
- Sometimes with our voices by saying affirmations… Check out our affirmations here
- We also play games like Yoga Memory or Yogi Says. And Flashcards help us remember the names of the poses until we have them completely memorized.
How do kid yogis connect their mind & bodies?
- The simple answer is that we breathe! Breathing exercises help us to focus on what’s going on right here and now, clear our minds, and make good decisions.
- Practice some of our kid-friendly breathing techniques with this YouTube video.
- How does breathing this way make you feel?
How do we relax in kid’s yoga?
- We color Mandalas. Do you have crayons, markers, chalk, anything to color with? Click here for printable Mandalas that you can color on your own at home
- We listen to relaxation stories & lay quietly for a few minutes after the story has ended.
- We practice a pose called “Savasana” (pronounced sha-VAH-suh-nuh) In this pose we keep our bodies still, our minds quiet, and “let everything go” until our body says it’s time to get up. The hardest part of this pose is to try and stay awake! Give it a try!
- Writing. We encourage our students to keep journals to write what’s on their mind. We also have fun and silly YoKid Libs fill in the blank activities in our YoKid Activity Book.
(Coming Soon… YoKid Activity Books to help you with all of the above activities)