Yoga for Kids

Kids need movement, exercise, entertainment, and fun! Yoga is an excellent choice for all kids.

It’s important to give kids space to play and learn at the same time as encouraging them to be healthy.

Yoga for kids is an excellent way to help kids stay active, learn patience, and persistence.

Check out these most popular articles for kids yoga to help you work on kids yoga poses, sequences, yoga games, movement breaks, brains breaks, yoga stories and more.

Mindfulness and meditation tips for kids are here as well!

Fun and Easy Kids Yoga Games to Play with Your Kids at Home

Having kids at home with you all day can be a lot, but playing yoga games at home can help. These yoga games are great for kids to learn how to do new yoga poses, or simply to get moving while stuck at home. In these current times of COVID-19, many of us are...

How to Start Practicing Yoga with Kids at Home

Can you practice yoga at home with kids? Yoga is supposed to be a calming, relaxing practice right? No interruptions, time to yourself, peaceful and full of good vibes only. Well…. Doing yoga at home with kids nearby (or completely in the way) can certainly make that...

Spring Themed Yoga Poses and Activities for Kids (with Mindfulness!)

Spring themed yoga for kids is so much fun With so many kids yoga poses based on nature and animals, it’s easy to find and adapt tons of kids yoga ideas for the springtime. Plus, when spring is finally here, all you want to do is take a step outside and breathe in the...

Kids Yoga Story Lesson Plan Based on the Book Not a Box

Kids yoga lesson plans can be hard to create. I know because I used to spend hours every week planning and rewriting lesson plans for my students aged 5-10. I teach nine 40 min lessons a day, 5 days a week. That was a lot of planning! Now I write up outlines of lesson...

Effective and Simple Ways to Add Mindfulness to Your Kids’ Day

Simple mindfulness activities can be a key tool in the life of an anxious person or child. Honestly, they are helpful in an average person's life, too! There are many ways to practice meditation and mindfulness. There are courses you take, retreats to go to and books...

Yogi Says: an Easy and Active Yoga Game for Kids!

I got an email from a subscriber recently asking for some ideas for the game, "Yogi Says." Now, I did not invent this game, either the "Simon says" version or the newer adapted version of Yogi Says... But I do enjoy the game and I have played it quite a bit with my...

How to Unite Yoga and Academics with a Growth Mindset

Teaching yoga and academics with a growth mindset I teach yoga in a public charter elementary school, and we have lots of standards for teaching, academic requirements, and plenty of standardized test seasons. Most of the time my Movement class is separate from all of...

Journey: An Active Kids Yoga Lesson Plan for Storytelling

Here's a way to get kids to move and be active while reading and being creative: a kids yoga lesson plan based on the book Journey Movement and literacy. Active kids and a love of reading. Yoga and storytelling. The first year I started teaching yoga at a K-4 Charter...

Fun Kid’s Yoga Poses for St Patrick’s Day

Everybody loves the Irish! (Well, maybe not the English… But here in the States we love them) My kids at school especially love celebrating holidays. Any excuse to get a little silly and excited, right? And when it’s March in Minnesnowta and there is no sign of warmer...

Yoga Games for Kids: Active Kids Yoga Group Games

We all know that it's super important to get kids moving and active; playing yoga games is one way to do that. Sitting all day is not good for much. Kids need: Movement Brain Breaks Yoga Breathing Activities and Active Games are all incredibly fun ways to get kids...

10 Quick Brain Breaks that Will Get your Kids to Focus

Brain Breaks are an easy way to give kids a little exercise without it seeming like work, and to give their brain a much needed break from the task at hand. Everyone knows how important it is to get up and move when you've been sitting. Not only for adults, but also...

8 Amazing Videos to Teach and Practice Mindfulness with Kids

Mindfulness is an amazing tool. It’s good for kids, and adults, and it’s quickly become a new catchphrase and a popular teaching strategy to incorporate into all classrooms and settings. Mindfulness is gaining some good research, too, on how it can be important for...

How to Make a Mindfulness Glitter Calm Down Jar

In this post: You'll find tips for teaching kids about mindfulness, how to deal with big emotions, and how to make a calming glitter jar with your kids. Calm down! Be quiet! Relax! Kids are constantly loud and noisy this is normal. It's nice to able to help them calm...

Enticing Partner Games that Teach Mindfulness for Kids

Teaching mindfulness to kids doesn’t have to be to just boring sitting still and breathing. In fact, mindfulness games for kids are an engaging and fun way for kids to get excited about practicing awareness. It should feel like it’s something they can relate to. I...

Kids Yoga Sequences that Keep Kids Engaged

When teaching kids yoga classes, most of the time you want to get the kids moving and keep them active. You also want to give them time to relax, breathe, and feel calm. Finding a balance between the two can be tricky when you are teaching little kids or very active...

Mindfulness for Kids: Clever Breathing Exercises for Kids to Calm Down

The use of breathing exercises for kids to help them calm down has been an absolute game changer in my teaching life. Kids need to breathe to calm down! Honestly, so do most adults, too. As a person who deals with anxiety and stress (like so many!!), I truly know the...

How to Play Engagingly Creative Yoga Games with your Kids or Students

Kids need to have fun but they also benefit from yoga. Do yoga games work? Kiddos need to be creative, active, and mentally stimulated. They love visuals, they enjoy being leaders (occasionally), and they like to try new things (sometimes!). How do I combine all of...

Animal Yoga ABC Poses for Kids! [VIDEO]

Kids love to pretend they are animals. There are plenty of kids yoga poses to help them in this endeavor. In my kids yoga classes, I try to teach with a weekly theme. Most often we start with several weeks of animal poses, and we use the ABC's to help guide us. Themes...

How to Teach Phenomenal Kids Yoga Classes with Simple Themes

Teaching kids yoga classes is hard. Yes I know, yoga is calming and fun... but kids are not inherently calm so the disconnect is sometimes very real. Flashback to four years ago, when I first started teaching Movement (Yoga at a public schools is becoming more...

The Most Fabulous Books for Teaching Mindfulness to Kids

Mindfulness books are a great tool for teachers and parents who hear themselves repeating these phrases often: "Calm down, settle down, take a deep breath, take a break..." Words that I hear myself say over and over to my students every day. Kids are so full of...

Group Kids “Yoga” Games With a Ball

Need some rainy day games with a ball or indoor recess activities for kids? Want to learn the magic of silent ball on a rowdy group of kids? Or have you worn out the tried and true silent ball and need a new challenge? I’ve been a Movement/Yoga/Mindfulness teacher of...

Winter Themed Yoga Poses and Lesson Ideas for Kids

Do you need some teaching ideas for winter and the holidays for your kids yoga classes? Look no further! I have a huge list of ideas for how to bring the joy and love of yoga during the cold months of the year. Winter is officially here! Well, in Minnesota it started...

Yoga Flow: Quick Yoga Sequences for Kids to Slow Down

SO you want to teach yoga poses and sequences to kids and help them learn to slow down, right? Kids need a little more FUN calm in their lives. Well, what happens when kids are just naturally moving and wiggling and jumping and crazy? When they move at the speed of...

How to Use Easy and Calming Guided Imagery with Kids

Kids need a mindfulness break sometimes. So does everyone, really. But it’s super important for kids in school especially and kids who need a little extra reminder to feel calm and relax. Mindfulness games, mindfulness breathing, and other practices can all help kids...

Kids Yoga Lesson Plan Ideas for Teaching Gratitude

Is gratitude a part of yoga? Absolutely. Can you teach kids gratitude with the help of yoga? I think so. Many folks who teach kids yoga in the United States use a very secular version of yoga, focusing mostly on the physical poses and the benefits of the practice as...

Teaching Kids Emotional Awareness with “My Many Colored Days” Yoga Lesson- with Video!

My Many Colored Days Lesson Plan for Kids Creating a kids yoga lesson based on a book or story is a great way to teach literacy, talk about specific themes, and bring movement to your classroom! It’s also an excellent way to come up with lesson plans for kids yoga in...

How to Set up your Kids Yoga Class for Success

How do you set up a kids yoga class for success in any space: a library, studio, a tiny classroom, an open gymnasium, or a classroom with desks? I have some great ideas and tools to help make sure your children's yoga class goes smoothly wherever you are located. The...

Rain Forest Themed Kids Yoga and Literacy Lesson Plan

Here is a kids yoga lesson plan based on the book, The Great Kapok Tree. This is a great lesson because you can encompass many themes based on The Great Kapok Tree: the jungle the rainforest South America environmentalism Earth Day indigenous cultures community giving...

How to use Positive Praise and Affirmations for Kids in a Yoga Classroom

Positive praise and affirmations are essential in helping kids feel good about themselves and learn in a safe environment. As a kids yoga teacher, I have been using mindful language, positive praise, and affirmations with kids for many years. All of these have...

Mindfulness Meditation Games for Toddlers

Want to know how to get toddlers to meditate or how to teach your toddler mindfulness? Or know if toddlers can even meditate? This is how I taught mindfulness meditation to my three-year-old! I'm happy to present this guest post written and submitted by Jamie...

How to Use Meddy Teddy Yoga Bear in a Classroom for Movement and Mindfulness

I don’t know if you have seen Meddy Teddy yet, but the most adorable new yoga tool on the market is even better than before. Meddy Teddy is a bendable, sturdy, and soft teddy bear that can do yoga! The first version that I got, last fall, was really cute and such a...

Why You Shouldn’t Believe these 5 Myths of Teaching Yoga to Kids

I hear this all the time: oh you teach kid’s yoga? How fun! They must love it and be so calm and flexible! You must be really good at the splits by now, huh? Yeah, no. I go to yoga for myself every morning and I teach 5 kids yoga classes every day and I still can’t do...

How To Make Beautiful And Affirming Mindfulness Rocks For Kids

When you can make a fun craft activity into a mindfulness craft with positive affirmations and teach kindness at the same time ... that sounds like winning! AND when that mindfulness craft costs you less than $10 a kid you have a windfall. Painting mindfulness...

Learn to Calmly Manage Crazy Classroom Behavior in a Kids Yoga Class

Classroom management is hard. It's hard for public school teachers, it's hard in a studio with kids, it's hard in camp settings. Managing large groups of kids is just tough. When I first started teaching yoga to kids, I had NO experience teaching in a general public...

The 5 Things You Need to Know to Teach Toddler Yoga and Have Fun

Teaching toddler yoga can be a real challenge, but is very fun and rewarding! Imagine doing animal poses and making animals noises and reading books and chasing 2 year old’s. The biggest issue is usually a diaper blow out. Ok, so maybe that doesn’t thrill, you, but...

Creative Halloween Yoga Poses for Kids

Halloween is the MOST popular holiday at my school, hands down. You can’t even say the word “October” without hearing squeals of excitement permeating the hallways. Needless to say, I used this Halloween excitement to fully take advantage of how motivated kids were in...

How to Start Teaching Yoga to Kids

Want to start teaching yoga to kids? How do you get started? Teaching yoga to kids has not always been a lifelong dream of mine. It was something that I kind of fell into on accident. I always knew I loved working with kids, but I also knew that I didn't want...

Must-Have Favorite Yoga Books for Teaching Yoga to Kids

Yoga books are a new and popular way to help introduce yoga to kids. I love using yoga stories in school, in my classroom, and at home with my nephew. Having an adorable and succinct story to teach kids how to do poses is a great way to introduce or spark an interest...

Follow the Drinking Gourd: A kid’s yoga lesson plan with an equity mindset

How do you teach yoga in schools in a way that is equitable for students of color? I'll be honest up front: this might be a tricky topic for you to read about, but it's important. *If you are just here for the lesson plan, scroll down, it's there! Just come back and...

The Best Yoga Games for an Amazing Summer Camp

Summer is a time for games! Indoor games, outdoor activities, and hopefully lots of active games learned from neighborhood kids or camp counselors. I remember the days when I would wake up late, eat sugary cereal, and immediately go outside for the whole summer day....

How to Teach Yoga to Active and Energetic Kids

Elementary age kids can be a loud and rowdy bunch. I never envisioned myself as a teacher, let alone one in a classroom of unruly, wild, and overactive children. Now here I am trying to teach them how to be calm by using yoga. The kindergarteners are tough… but for...

How to Effectively Teach Kid’s Yoga Based on Child Development

Yoga for kids is full of benefits. We know this already! It’s good for their bodies and their coordination. It’s helpful in keeping them calm and learning about self-regulation. Plus, it helps them focus in school, and be more active instead of just sitting all day....

Tips and Tricks You Need to Know for Teaching Kids Yoga

Are you interested in teaching yoga to kids, but don’t know where to start? Have you tried a few times and it went ok but not great? Finished your teacher training for adults but really you just want to hang with kids? Have a child at home who could really benefit...

How to Calm a Class (or a Child) Using Mindfulness

Does mindfulness for kids work? Can it stop a tantrum or chaotic explosion in kids? We've all seen and heard kids having a tantrum. The heart-stopping, blood vessel constricting panic it sends me into is unforgettable. Kids that are yelling, shouting at each other,...

How to Pick the Best Cards for Teaching Awesome Kids Yoga Classes

The first thing I ever got that inspired me to teach kids yoga was an adorable set of yoga cards for kids. It started me on the path to becoming a full time kids yoga and teacher which I have been for the past 6 years. Taking a kids yoga teacher training (where I...

5 Fun Ways to Teach Kids Yoga in a Class

Teaching yoga to kids was an unexpected blessing that I stumbled across 5 years ago. I took a few courses on Kid’s Yoga teaching after completing my 220-hour RYT training. I was teaching at a preschool at the time and had fun teaching it to them in small doses here...

How to Use Storytelling for Kid’s Yoga

Storytelling with Yoga? It works! Kids are hard to control in a group. Teaching kids how to move their bodies in a specific way (like yoga) with clear directions is really hard, too. Imagine you have a whole group of kiddos, active and moving, needing something...