Ship’s ahoy! Boat pose (navasana) is a simple –yet challenging – yoga pose that builds abdominal, hip and lower spinal strength. Practicing Boat pose also enhances digestion, stimulates the thyroid and aids in kidney, prostate and intestinal function. Plus, for kids,...
Bullseyes and Breathing Games – Teaching Children to Focus with Yoga
When most people think of yoga, they typically picture stretching the body in funny shapes and chanting OM in Lotus pose. But as you may know, there is so much more to yoga than that. In our own practice, including the time we spend teaching kids, we can bring in the...
Light is Every Color of the Rainbow
This lesson plan is perfect to use with in-person classes or in virtual classes! “An example is a clear bulb or a colored bulb. If the bulb is colored, it gives colored light. But you wouldn’t say the electricity inside is also colored.” -Swami Satchidananda, The...
Lumberjack Life- Paul Bunyan Yoga Themed Class
Paul Bunyan, the legendary giant lumberjack, is a folkloric hero of North America. Tales of his great strength and success spread wide across the continent; with rumors of his beginnings varying from the Pacific Northwest to Maine and just about anywhere in between!...
Glow Yoga Party – Light It Up!
Turn down the lights and turn up the fun! With a little planning and a lot of creativity, you can create a memorable yoga experience for the whole family. • Decorations: Of course, this means glow sticks! You can get them at most dollar stores, so load up. Some can be...
Add Color to Your Class with Paint Chips!
I am a scavenger - I love to find the treasures within the junk. I think of myself as an educational MacGyver. Give me some random object and I'll figure out how to teach with it. This habit (gift?) started when I was a student-teacher, finishing up my Elementary...
Scarves in Kids Yoga
“Miss Julie, did you bring those things that cover our eyes today?” This question is often the first thing asked from at least one of the kids when they see my “bag of tricks” at the start of our Yoga class. My “bag of tricks” is fully-stocked and contain my staples:...
Three Cheers for Pompoms!
Pompoms might just be the perfect kids’ Yoga prop. They are inexpensive, colorful, lightweight, and have innumerable creative uses. I always bring a big baggie filled with pompoms to my kids’ Yoga classes to use in many ways: Pompom Poppers: Cup your two hands...
DIY Yoga Props
First of all, why do we use yoga props? That's easy! Props help us have better alignment without hurting or forcing our bodies. Props are also a way to make yoga accessible to all practioners, regardless of experience and ability. In kids’ yoga, we can also use props...
One Yogi’s Trash is Another One’s Treasure
The transformational power of imagination Have you ever seen a kid play happily with a simple cardboard box for 30 minutes? What about kids who love to drum on anything from empty Quaker oats canisters to cookie tins? When it comes to props, so much can be done with...
Be Warned! If You Send Your Kids to Yoga…
Be warned! If you send your kids to yoga... · They may come home shockingly calm, and ready to do their homework That’s right, after an hour in a specially designed yoga program, your child will have jiggled and giggled their...
Staying Active in a Winter Wonderland
Kids are inherently more active in the summer due to the freedom from school and, of course, the summer weather and the activities it brings. Depending on where you live, keeping them active in the winter months can be challenging due to the cold weather...
Breathe Like an Elephant…or a Train!
Take a big breath. Inhale, blow up your belly like a balloon. Exhale, pop your balloon. Breathe with your diaphragm…. Whether teaching adults or children, there is a big focus in every yoga class on the breath. So, what’s the big deal? Pranayama is the word we use...
Bastón de la Palabra
Una técnica increíble que aprendí en mi entrenamiento de profesora de yoga para niños, fue la de el “bastón de la palabra”. No sólo se trata de una manualidad infantil sencilla y muy divertida, sino que además resulta una útil herramienta para ayudar a mantener el...
Classic Games…Yoga-fied!
It’s the end of summer and kids are likely BORED. Encourage them to take a break from screen time, grab some friends and teach them some of these classic games, revamped yoga style. Yoga Four Corners: At a recent kids’ yoga summer camp the kids begged to play Four...