Adorable Animal Yoga ABC Poses for Kids! [VIDEO]

Fun Alphabet Yoga Poses for kids

Kids love to pretend they are animals, and yoga is the perfect way to encourage movement and mindfulness at the same time as being creative.

Yoga for kids is very different than yoga for adults. Kids need to learn new ways to move their body safely, and they also want yoga to be fun.

Using a fun theme, like animals, jungle, desert, farm, or the ABC’s are all great ways to teach kids yoga classes, or to start introducing yoga to kids.

Here’s a list of kids yoga themes that work great for teaching kids yoga of any age.

Themes are beneficial to teaching kids new information, and alphabet yoga is a great stepping stone to many other themes!

There are many Animal Alphabet Yoga benefits for kids:

• fun to pretend to be animals
• easy to match animals to most letters in the alphabet
• a fun way to add physical activity to a lesson plan
• gives them a chance to be a little noisy
• helps spark creativity in creating new poses
• requires a little mental challenge to think of new animals and shapes for each letter
• develops literacy growth in your youngest students
• allows them to try new movements and body positioning to develop coordination

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Why teach kids yoga with the ABC’s?

Kids love learning new things, and the alphabet is often one of the first things they learn in school. Combining yoga with the ABC’s allows them to apply their knowledge in a fun and engaging way, making learning more enjoyable and memorable.

Getting a little movement and physical activity during the day is hugely beneficial for kids’ learning. When they can move and stretch their bodies while learning, they are more likely to retain the information and have better focus.

Additionally, ABC yoga poses can help strengthen children’s muscles and improve their balance, coordination, and flexibility. By using different animals for each letter of the alphabet, kids are encouraged to use their imaginations while also developing physical skills.

Finally, teaching kids the alphabet yoga can also help improve their literacy skills. As they learn to associate each letter with a specific animal yoga pose, they are also learning how to read and recognize letters. This can be especially beneficial for younger children who are just beginning to learn the alphabet.

Overall, incorporating animal alphabet yoga into a child’s learning experience can have numerous benefits, making it a valuable and enjoyable addition to any curriculum or classroom.

There are lots of ways to teach an ABC yoga lesson plan for kids.

The first is by starting with this Alphabet Yoga poster.

You can get the whole matching set of ABC Yoga cards, book, and coloring book.  These work great in a school, especially just to teach them how to do yoga poses.

Go through each yoga pose and hold your body still in the pose for about 10 seconds.

Say the letter, the animal name, and sometimes the sound the letter makes.

Then try the same thing with a couple of other yoga pose decks. My next favorite alphabet yoga set is here. It’s a great way to give them exposure to lots of different poses and shapes.

However, none of those sets are JUST animal poses, so eventually, we decided to make up our own ABC’s of yoga poses that are just animals, since animals are the best!

Here is an outline for an Animal themed Alphabet Yoga lesson plan:

• Check-in with a mindful moment like a singing bowl
• Sing or say the ABC’s
• Do a quick Yoga Flow
• Read an ABC yoga story
• Name or find all the poses in the ABC book that are animals
• Who thinks they can help make up more animal poses to match the other letters?
• Reminder: poses are STILL like statues, not moving around the room. We need to make the shape of the animal to make a pose.
• Write the ABCs on a chart or board
• Start with “A” and choose an animal and a yoga pose to match
• Get as far as you can that day, and come back to it another lesson!
• End with a few deep breathing exercises
• Rest in savasana with a guided meditation
• Review all the yoga poses up to where you left off each time you visit the lesson

Check us out on Instagram to see the kids doing each yoga alphabet pose too!

Scroll down for a printable version of each alphabet yoga poses with an image to go with it.

The best list of alphabet yoga poses for kids

A: armadillo

Sit on your knees, and reach back to grab your feet. Lean forward and rest your head on the floor gently, lifting your hips off your heels and stretching your back like a round armadillo’s shell.

B: butterfly

Sit up straight on your bottom and place the soles of your feet together. Open your knees wide, hold your ankles, and flap your knees like wings.

C: cat and cow

Kneel on hands and knees, starting with a flat back. Look down, and round your back, pushing against the floor with your hands to press your spine to the sky. Meow!  Then lower your tummy, and look up towards the sky, arching your back. Moo!!

D: downward facing dog

Start on hands and knees, with your hands shoulder-width apart. Press your hips up and back, straighten your legs as much as you can. Keep your head between your arms and your back straight, looking back towards your knees.

E: eagle

Stand with your feet hip-width distance. Wrap up your arms in front of you, then one leg over the other as you bend your knees. Survey the land beneath your tree, then open your wings and reach your leg back to fly!

F: frog

Squat low with your feet hip-width distance. Place your hands in front on the floor. Do a few big frog hops!

G: gorilla

Stand with your feet wider than hip distance, toes pointing straight forward. Bend forward with a flat back and let your arms swing low and back and forth. Beat your chest like a mighty gorilla!

H: horse

Stand with your feet wide apart, toes pointed out. Bend your knees deeply and place your arms out to the side. bounce up and down like horse galloping across the prairie!

*Alternate pose: downward dog with one leg up!

I: iguana

Place your forearms on the floor, and balance on your toes, coming into a low plank pose. Stick out your tongue and creep back and forth!

*Optional to bring one leg forward at a time in a low runner’s lunge

J: jaguar

Stand with your feet wide apart, and fold forward over your legs. Sway all the way to one side, bending a knee, and then the other, like a jungle cat getting ready to pounce!

K: kangaroo

Stand with feet together, and bend your knees, keeping your back straight.  Put your arms up, or out in front of you and take a few big kangaroo hops!

L: lion

Kneel on your knees, sitting on your feet. Bring your hands to a claw shape and place them on your knees. Take a deep breath, and then exhale forcefully out of your mouth, sticking out your tongue and giving a big “ROAR”!

M: mouse

Sit on your feet with your knees together.  Bend over and lay on your knees, bring your head close to the floor. Rest your head on your hands, fists, a block, or the floor. If your head is on the floor, tuck your arms beside your, or let them rest on the floor above your head.

N: narwhal

Lay on your tummy. Reach back for for one foot, grabbing hold of your ankle if possible. Press your foot back away from your head, and lift your other arm straight forward like a narwhal horn.

O: otter

Lay on your tummy. Press your hands into the floor and lengthen your arms. Wiggle back and forth like you are slithery down some slippery rocks into the water.

P: peacock

Sit on your bottom with your legs wide. Try to spread them apart and reach for your toes, sitting up as straight as you can like a proud peacock.

Q: quail

Start in downward facing dog. Bring one knee up to the same hand and rest your leg on the floor, bending your knee and sitting with your shin parallel to the top of your mat, if possible. Your back leg should be straight out behind you. Sit up tall like a strutting quail.

R: rainbow fish

Make a rainbow with a partner! Sit on your bottom, facing your partner with your knees bent. Reach for each other’s hands first, then press your feet together, and lift them up one at a time. Try to make a rainbow shape and lean back like a slippery fish!

S: swan

Lay on your tummy and put your hands on the floor in front of you. Press your hands into the floor to straighten your arms, and bend your knees. Reach your feet towards your head and you look up or back

T: t-rex

Stand with feet together. Step one foot back a big step and bend your front knee. Bring your arms out in front of you and roar like a giant dinosaur!

U: umbrella bird

Stand in star pose with legs wide and arms out to the side. Tilt to one side, bringing one leg up as you reach the other arm down. Pretend to soar through the air with your arms reaching open to catch the breeze!

V: vulture

Stand tall and bring one foot up to rest on your ankle or your calf. Press your hands together in front of you and gaze forward and down like a vulture watching for prey from its tree.

W: whale

Start in plank, hands under shoulders, and feet close together. Open up to side plank, reaching one arm up to the sky. Step your top foot down on the ground behind your other leg and keep reaching up and back into wild thing pose. Flip to full wheel or bridge if you are up for it!  Pretend to splash into the water like a breaching whale.

X: x-ray fish

Sit on our bottom with your legs together, toes pointed. Keep your arms by your sides and lean back so your elbows touch the ground but not your back. Pop your chest up towards the sky and look up or back. Purse your lips like an X-ray fish!

Y: yak

Stand with your feet wide and toes pointing forward. Lead forward and reach your head towards the ground, pretending to eat grass like a furry-haired yak.

Z: zebra

Start laying your back.  Either try this from a traditional bridge with your shoulders on the ground and arms by your sides or go to full wheel. Once you lift your hips up and steady yourself, bring a leg up like a kicking zebra!

I hope you enjoyed this set of alphabet yoga for kids. Try each pose safely, but be sure to come up with your own as well, that’s half the fun and imagination of it!

Get a FREE download of the Animal ABC Yoga poses that I came up with in a class with my students:

Or, get the full-sized ABC Kids Yoga Poses here!

Each alphabet yoga pose is on its own page and has a mantra on the front plus a description that is easy for kids to follow.

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