This simple yoga experience uses relatable poses that the children can explore and benefit from in many ways. They can develop body awareness, manage stress and breathing, build concentration, increase their confidence and have an opportunity to tune out in a busy early learning environment. You can find more about this experience in Music & Movement Reflecting The EYLF.
Children can gain enormous bene ts from yoga. It can enhance their exibility, strength, coordination, body awareness and concentration. It can also help them connect more deeply with their inner self which may contribute to their sense of Being, Belonging and Becoming.
During yoga exploration, remind the children to slowly breathe in and out promoting a relaxed state of mind. Below are a few basic poses the children may like to try.
Downward Dog: Begin on hands and knees, with their knees underneath their hips. As they press into their hands and feet, straighten legs, and lift the pelvis into the air. The children might like sticking one leg in the air, or placing their head on the oor. See how many different dogs they can imitate from tiny little yappers to big woofers.
The Tree: Stand with both feet together. Bend the knee of one leg (right) and place the sole of the foot on the other leg (left). Press palms together above their head, they can then practice swaying their branches in the wind trying not to blow over.
Educators can encourage children to try new poses such as; the boat, the sandwich, the bow or the aeroplane. This can be done through utilising yoga cards or researching yoga poses through search engines. Try and watch an online video demonstration on how to do the pose.
• Take a yoga journey by making up a story with or about the poses.
IDEAS FOR REFLECTION
• How were the children’s opinions included?
• Were the children able to achieve and maintain focus?
POSSIBLE FRAMEWORK LINKS
*The Early Years Learning Framework is open to interpretation. It is up to the Educator to utilise their own understandings to create links between the children’s learning and the EYLF outcomes. We have chosen to react upon five potential Learning Outcomes from each experience to show some of the possibilities. Each time an experience is implemented the children may change their reactions, actions and involvement in the experience. Therefore, creating a new learning journey and in turn the possibilities of different learning outcomes.
Identity – Children develop their emerging autonomy, inter-dependence, resilience and sense of agency – Demonstrate an increasing capacity for self-regulation.
Yoga For Youth can provide the children with tools on how to calm themselves and regulate their emotions. The relaxed breathing techniques used in yoga can be considered the most bene cial self-regulatory tool that can be given to a child. It is something that can be used anytime and anywhere. The weight bearing poses can give a strong, deep pressure feeling in the muscles and joints. This may give the children a sense of tension release.
Community– Children become aware of fairness – Are empowered to make choices and problem solve to meet their needs in particular contexts.
In Yoga For Youth, the children are encouraged to participate, but it should not be compulsory. The decision to participate and for how long should be up to each individual child. The children are also invited to input their ideas and suggestions into the yoga session. They can request certain poses, games or suggest that relaxing music to be included. The children may need to compromise their ideas to ensure that it is fair for all involved.
Wellbeing – Children take increasing responsibility for their own health and physical wellbeing – Are happy, healthy, safe and connected to others.
Children can gain enormous bene ts from yoga. Physically, it can enhance their exibility, strength, body awareness and coordination. They are also encouraged to respect and pay attention to their bodies, making sure each pose feels good and coming in and out of positions when they feel ready. As the children participate in yoga, they can exercise, play and connect more deeply with their inner selves.
Learning – Children develop dispositions for learning such as curiosity, cooperation, con dence, creativity, commitment, enthusiasm, persistence, imagination and reflexivity – Follow and extend their own interests with enthusiasm, energy and concentration.
Each yoga pose has a name that the children may be able to relate to e.g. aeroplane or dog. This may result in a new interest or rekindle an old one. The children may want to extend their interest through exploring different animal habitats or by adding transport related resources to their block play.
Communication – Children engage with a range of texts and gain meaning from these texts – Listen and respond to sounds and patterns in speech, stories and rhymes in context.
In Yoga For Youth the children are encouraged to listen to the instructions of their Educators and peers. This is in relation to determining which pose they will be undertaking. The instruction may be simple and direct or the children may need to listen closely to the name of the pose mentioned in the story.