Admit it – there are days when your kids are wild with energy. Maybe they’ve been stuck inside, hiding from nasty weather. Or, they spent their entire school day having to sit still. And all you want them to do is calm down before they destroy your house! Tap into...
Connecting with Teens through Yoga
Teaching teenagers can be difficult but extremely rewarding! The traditional “How was school?” question often results in the typical “fine” answer. How can we connect with teenagers? Utilizing yoga techniques in a fun and engaging way can be a great solution....
Love is an Ocean. And Cotton Candy.
What is love? Don’t worry, no one can see you dancing to the familiar tune (now playing in your head) “What is Love” from the 1998 film Night at the Roxbury. In February the world’s attention turns to hearts, cupids, flowers, and gifts or ways to show our love for...
Can You Build Literacy Skills Through Yoga?
We all know that a yoga practice builds strength, flexibility, and co-ordination. Did you know you can also use the ancient practice to build literacy skills for even our youngest yogis? Yoga teaches sequential thinking and planning: Listening to and following...
The Yoga Olympics
The Olympics in Japan may be for the athletes, but the Olympic spirit can still be alive and well in your Kids Yoga class. With a mat, some music, and a lot of imagination, your students can all be Olympic medal winners. Musical Mats: Played just like Musical Chairs,...
Baby, You’re a Firework!
Celebrating holidays and special events with fireworks is a common practice worldwide. Bright colors, loud pops and bangs, excitement, and awe accompany a fireworks display. We can incorporate the fun and festive feelings of fireworks in our children's yoga practices....
Salutations to the Sun – Serious Fun
NAMASTE! When I took my Kids Yoga teacher training with Kidding Around Yoga, the fun and energetic Sargeant Saluations (their version of Sun Salutations) quickly became a favorite part of the curriculum. And then I attended my first weekend of 200-hour yoga...
Focus Your Super Powers
When I taught 4th grade, common refrains in the classroom were, “Pay attention!” and, “Focus on what you’re doing!” And then it hit me – of course the kids’ attention was scattered everywhere. With 20 other kids fidgeting and making noise, shenanigans in the hallway,...
What is a Hoberman Sphere?
A Hoberman Sphere: lights up children and adults’ eyes alike is a great teacher’s assistant catches your student’s attention (especially when nothing else can) shows how our lungs expand and contract (and showing always works better than telling, doesn’t it?) was...
My Favorite Prop: Pinwheels
Yoga classes do not need props, but boy are they fun! There are so many props to choose from that it is hard to narrow down my favorite. After teaching for a few years, I have a better idea of which I tend to use the most and why it is my favorite. Maybe that will...
Choosing Teams Without Tears
While yoga is often celebrated as a non-competitive activity, there are certainly times that groups and teams need to be formed in order to play a game or complete a task. As you would guess, this process sometimes leads to hurt feelings and frustration of being "left...
Drum a Drum Yoga
My very first job out of college was teaching science and remedial math in a middle school in inner-city Denver. Many of my students were not English-speakers. Several were children of migrant farm workers that only attended this school during the planting and/or...
Yoga + Math = Fun!
According to Dr. Roger Sperry, 1981 Nobel prize winner for brain research, “90% of the stimulation and nutrition to the brain is generated by the movement of the spine.” If this is the case, why in the world are we making kids sit still to learn? To that end, I’ve...
Growing Up as a Yogi’s Kid
*Today's blog article was written by Whitney, a third year student at Elon University and lifelong yogi's kid* My mom has practiced yoga for as long as I can remember. When my brother and I were very young, my parents would sneak off to yoga class, leaving us in the...
Meditation in the High School Classroom
On the first day of my second year teaching high school French, I knew that my sixth period was going to need some serious magic to get them to calm down. The bell rang for class to begin, and I looked around at 35 boys (yes, 35 BOYS) who were bigger than me, all...



