Teaching Kids Yoga Kids Yoga can be very fun and inspiring, but it can also be very challenging. You will learn quickly that Kids Yoga is not quite the same as an adult Yoga class. You need to think in and outside the box, and be flexible in more than one way in your classes. A Kids Yoga class needs to fun, dynamic, creative and engaging for the children. Grown-ups never understand anything for themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them. ~ Saint- Exupery, The Little Prince, 1943 Benefits: Children gain many of the same benefits from Yoga as adults. In today s fast paced world, children are suffering from the stresses of busy lives and the pressures of school and even organised sport. Yoga can help alleviate some of the stresses and benefit the children in many other ways. - Enhancing Concentration - Body Awareness - Improving General Wellbeing - Boosting Confidence and Self Esteem - Relaxing their minds - Building Strength - Reducing anxiety - Improving coordination Class Structure: - Class size ideally 10 20 kids (good to have an assistant) - Age groups: 3-6, 6-9, 9-12 or even 3-12 - Have a flexible basic structure for each lesson, be open for change - Mats in circle, semi circle or line, depending on the children, numbers and space - Length of class 45 minutes, older children up to 1 hour is ok - Classes can be held at a school, in an after school care program, Yoga school, community centre - Make sure to have a working with children s check card Content, Topic and Themes: - Good to have an intention or theme for the class - Possible themes: Alphabet, Animals, Nature, Shapes, Ocean, Farm, Magic Gardens, Storytelling, Partner Poses, Mindfulness - Possible intentions and topics: balance, creating confidence, listening skills, memory development, respect, strength building, team work, Yamas and Niyamas, Teaching Tips: - What to include in a class: warm-ups, poses, relaxation, breathing exercises, games, reading stories, visualisations, singing songs - Be very encouraging, give positive feedback to the children - Keep the class dynamic and the kids engaged, but also be sure to include calming exercises
- Hold the poses for a short time, older children can hold poses for longer periods - Alignment instructions very simple for 3-6 year olds, for 6-10 year olds instruction can be more in depth with a bigger focus on correct posture - Help children come into posture, but they do not need to be perfect - Encourage sound with the postures - Relaxation times 2 10 minutes depending on age and children - Encourage creativity by asking questions (eg colour of butterfly in butterfly pose, what kind of tree in tree pose etc) or having children create new poses - Have a sharing time, let kids share what they are experiencing - If children don t want to participate it is ok, as long as they are not disrupting Props: - Props are great tools in a kids yoga class - My favourite prop is the singing bowl or magic bowl (very good for crowd control) - Rubber duckies (breathing buddies), can use other items as well - Cards with poses on them - Bells or other instruments - Drawing pencils or crayon, lots of paper - Music Child Development: Child development refers to the biological and psychological and emotional changes that occur in human beings between birth and the end of adolescence, - This process involves learning and mastering different skills such as walking, talking, skipping, and balancing. These skills are learned in a predictable time period, called developmental milestones. - Children develop in 5 main areas: Cognitive, Social and Emotional, Speech and Language, Fine Motor Skill and Gross Motor Skill - Important to take in consideration these developments in your class planning - No need to adjust children to deepen them in postures in these developmental stages Behaviour Management: - Set up guidelines and rules for the class - Have kids help you set up the rules - Very important to have consequences for actions, it is ok to be firm in a Kids Yoga class - Reward and complement good students, eg have them ring the singing bowl, get them to demonstrate on your mat, give stickers
Example Class Plans: Example 1 Example 2 Relaxation with Duckies Breathing Exercise - Balloon breath Warm up body and joints Warm up song Do My Yogi Warm Up Sun Salutations Game- children lie on each others bellies and then start laughing (connectedness) Learn 5 new poses, then put them in a sequence Game using singing bowl and new poses (Memory game) Yoga music statues Relaxing breath Relaxation Safe Place Visualisation Start with relaxation- hands on belly Breathing exercise- hot air balloon Shake the body and unwind, rag doll (with music) Sun salutations Practice a few poses that will be uses in story Story - Out to Sea Adventure (theme of team work and being brave) Relaxing breath - have kids cover ears and pretend they are sea shells let them listen to there own breath Sharing Circle talk about Story Relaxation Breath in 3 out 3 with hands on belly Relaxation Loving Kindness Meditation Example 3 Example 4 Relaxation with duckies on belly Breathing exercise Bunny Breath Rotating all the different parts of the body including eyes Walking up and down the mat with the different parts of the feet Sun salutations Trip to the zoo- do a whole bunch of different animal posturesdog, cat, cow, lion, camel, dolphin, eagle, snake, turtle, stork, fish, monkey, elephant, frog, lizard (plank) etc Yoga Musical Statues with animal poses Finish Game - childs pose or mouse pose Peace breath exercise Relaxation- start with lemon toes- where we squeeze all parts of body and then release Relaxation Body scan using a butterfly visualisation (Mindfulness) Hugging knees then stretching out 5 times fast Bicycling on the back slow up the mountain and then fast down the hill Tarzan Thymus Tap Sun Salutations Warrior Series Brave Warrior, Strong Warrior, Bold Warrior (Warrior 1-3) Om a little tea pot trikonasana Row row row your boat in Navasana Make a veggie mite sandwich (pascimottanasana) Using the telephone, bring foot to ear from posture before Game Yogi Says Candle stick- I come around and blow out the candles Take 5 Breath Relaxation with Music
Story Examples: Out to Sea Adventure A little boy and girl got on ship (boat pose) to go sailing to see their Grandma who lived on another island. The trip would take them 2 days. They were very excited, as they have never been on ship before. There were many people on the ship, little people and big people (childs pose to standing up very tall). As they started to sail they saw many cool things in the ocean- birds, dolphins, fish (do poses for each). They even got to meet the captain of the boat (warrior I). He showed them the very top of the boat where there was a look out (staying in warrior look out to sea). He even had a pet eagle (come into a eagle pose). The children were very excited to be on the boat and that they would soon see grandma. It was now night and you could see the moon (ardha candrasana) and millions of stars (coming into a star shape) in the sky. All of a sudden the wind started to pick up and the boat was rocking (bending from side to side). Some dark clouds rolled in and it started pouring down rain and thundering (using the hands to pretend it is raining then coming into dancing shiva). There was so many waves coming onto the boat (cat and cow) and the boat was going up and down, up and down (bow pose). Everyone on the boat was getting tossed around. The two children were very scared at first (childs pose). They looked at everyone on the boat and saw how scared they were too. They thought to themselves we have to help everyone, so they came up with an idea. If everyone could stand up and hold on to each other (warrior II holding on to each other), while the people at the end hold onto the rope. All of the people on the ship came together and held on tight to one another. Soon enough the waves started to slow down and the rain stopped and then the clouds started to clear. It was now morning and the sun was shining bright (making ourselves into the sun). Everyone was so happy that the storm was over. The captain shouted to everyone to look to the left and there was a beautiful rainbow (up bow). And just under the rainbow was the island they were heading too. Everyone cheered and celebrated dancing around the boat (put music and let kids dance). They little boy and girl were given an award from the captain for being so brave. Even though they were scared too, they had the courage and strength to help everyone on the boat. A Beautiful Sunny Day I took a walk on a beautiful sunny day. Hello Sun! (Wave hello to the sun with both arms). I saw a tree(tree Pose) with big green leaves. Then I saw an Apple tree. I reached up high to pick an apple. I cleaned the apple with my shirt. I looked at it, smelled it and took a bite. I chewed and chewed. A bird (bird pose) came over and took a bite. Another bird (different variation) came over. (The children shared what kind of bird was eating their apple). I liked sharing my apple. A butterfly flew on my shoulder! Then it flew off to a flower. I decided to smell the flower. (Again, the children shared what type of flower they saw). A bumblebee was also next to the flower. It buzzed and buzzed. (Children make buzzing sounds). I was tired so I decided to take a short nap. Breathe in and breath out. Ahhhh.. I woke up and stretched. When I looked around, I wasn t at the park. I was in my own bed. It was all a dream!
Mindfulness Activities: Turtle Relaxation Walk Let s begin by wiggling our toes. Really wiggle them and get them moving right where you stand. Now pause and pay attention to how your toes feel right now. Do they tingle a little from all that movement? Do they feel tired? As we walk today, we are going to pay very careful attention to our feet. What is it like to be your feet? How do they feel right now? [This helps children to bring their energy level down so that they are grounded and ready for the activity] Today we are going to walk like turtles. Turtles are very silent, so we will practice silently. Let s begin by walking slowly in a big circle. As we walk today, we are going to walk very slowly like a turtle. Let s see how slowly we can walk with our attention on our walking. Feel the grass, (or cold floor), beneath your feet. Is it soft or hard? As we walk we are feeling very relaxed and calm, like a turtle that is stepping slowly on the garden path. If your attention wanders away, that s okay. Just simply return it to your walking. Feel your legs go up and down, up and down. In your mind you can talk to your feet and legs. Let s try. As you walk, think: Lifting. Moving. Stepping. Switch sides. Repeat this over and over with each step you take. Lifting. Moving. Stepping. Feel your legs go up and down, up and down. One step at a time. Now, let s try it even slower. Think Lifting. Moving. Stepping. Switch. Lifting. Moving. Stepping. Repeat until the energy feels calm and centred. Wow, you have been excellent turtle walkers! Thank you for practicing such wonderful attention. Meditation on the Bubble Begin by sitting in a comfortable position, with your back straight and shoulders relaxed. Softly close your eyes. Imagine bubbles slowly rising up in front of you. Each bubble contains a thought, feeling, or perception. See the first bubble rise up. What is inside? See the thought, observe it, and watch it slowly float away. Try not to judge, evaluate, or think about it more deeply. Once it has floated out of sight, watch the next bubble appear. What is inside? Observe it, and watch it slowly float away. If you mind goes blank, then watch the bubble rise up with blank inside and slowly float away.