Welcome to our Go Go Yoga for Kids: Kids Yoga Lesson Planning 101 Free Training! Throughout this training, we have learned how to put together engaging, successful, fun, and memorable kids yoga classes. Now we will answer what is savasana.
Video 8:Building Community comes toward the end of your kids yoga class. Everyone has had fun, learned a lot, and now it is time to bring the energy level down a little.
Stillness & Savasana
Miss Sara, I can’t wait to do the “sleeping pose” again!” That is what I hear time and time again at the end of our Kids Yoga Classes.
The children begin class so eager, excited, and full of energy. After moving and working their bodies in such good and healthy ways, they are truly ready for rest and relaxation. I tell my students that their bodies deserve this rest and that taking this time helps them repair and build the muscles they just worked.
Please do not get the idea that I simply call out, “Everyone get into Savasana,” and that the kids readily roll onto their backs, shut their eyes, as they go into deep stillness. Instead, slowly get kids into Savasana.
Savasana comes at the end of your class after you have practiced breathing exercises, learned yoga poses, played yoga games, practiced balance, built community with one another, and are now ready for a bit of stillness, relaxation, and time for some mindfulness.
Yoga is about movement and poses and postures but it is also about being still and quiet and mindful in savasana. This is such an important skill to learn in our busy lives and especially a wonderful one to model with children
Here are a few ways to help promote stillness and mindfulness with kids.
Change the Mood
I like to begin to speak in quieter tones and if possible turn the lights down lower. It’s also easy to play calming music or nature sounds. This change in their surroundings signals to children that a change is coming. As you build this into the class flow, children begin to recognize the signs and signals leading to Savasana.
Be a Melting Ice Cube
As Stillness & Savasna follows our Building Community component of class we are already seated in a circle. I like to challenge the kids to lie down as slowly as they can as if they are an ice cube melting into the ground. When they get down to the ground have them stretch out as long as they can with their toes pointed and their arms up overhead. See how long they can get by taking deep breaths.
Squeeze and Relax
While kids are lying down on their yoga mats preparing for savasana, I’ll sometimes have them squeeze a body part as hard as they can. Let’s say they squeeze their hands for a few seconds and then they relax it. Or also squeeze their shoulders up by their ears and then relax it. They’re actually able to physically feel the difference their body makes from holding it so tight and then relaxing.
Use Memorable Phrases
I challenge the children to stretch as “long as a pencil” or have them be “as still as a statue” or “as quiet as a mouse.” This gives the children a mental picture of how to pose and act.
Be Comfortable
I allow the children to lay however they feel comfortable. It could be on their backs, on their stomachs, curled up into a ball, but have a realistic expectation for how long the kids can lie still. 15 to 30 seconds is good for the preschool ages while older children can stay longer. The more they get used to Stillness and Savasana at the end of class, the longer they can stay still.
Bring Them Out Slowly
When it’s time to come out of this relaxation, I like to ask them to roll over on their side and use their arm as a pillow. Then they sit up and you can quietly lead them through a couple of big, deep, cleansing breaths while bringing arms up overhead, breathing in, and breathing out and placing your hands at heart center. We’ll do that a couple of times.
Be Encouraging
I like to give a few positive closing words that unite the class and set their path for the remainder of the day or the week. I also like to thank them for coming to yoga, taking care of their bodies, working together, and having fun.
150+ Fun Yoga Games, Activities, Poses, & Challenges for Successfully Teaching Yoga to Children.
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If you want to fully engage children in the overall practice of yoga, Go Go Yoga for Kids: Yoga Games & Activities will help you successfully merge the life lessons that can be learned from play with the lifelong benefits of yoga. By using the games, activities, and suggestions included in this book, you will find that incorporating breath work, yoga pose review, and mindfulness in these fun and active ways will help children learn while they play. This winning combination is perfect for kids yoga classes, schools, camps, and more.
Go Go Yoga for Kids: Yoga Games & Activities Includes:
Over 150 yoga games, activities, poses, and challenges broken into categories and easily modified
Detailed descriptions for all activities including suggested age groups, needed props, ideal group size, and leader notes
Suggestions for organizing engaging kids yoga classes and incorporating games
Benefits children can receive from yoga, games, teamwork, and mindfulness
Characteristics of age groups and the types of games that best fit each level of maturity
Ways to incorporate challenges for older kids
Teaching tips for tweens and teens
Breathing exercises for relaxation, mindfulness, and stress reduction
Secrets to successfully teach yoga to children
Ideas for yoga-inspired crafts that can be used both inside and outside of class
Ways to incorporate yoga into family time
Game and yoga pose illustrations
Downloadable yoga pose memory game
In an easy-to-follow, step-by-step format, Go Go Yoga for Kids: Yoga Games & Activities is a complete resource that details everything you will need to help you successfully teach yoga to kids of all ages and to inspire them in life-long healthy ways.
Welcome to our Kids Yoga Lesson Planning 101 Free Training! Throughout this training we have learned how to put together engaging, successful, fun, and memorable kids yoga classes. Now we will learn how to build community.
Get all caught up here with the Most Important Parts Every Kids Yoga Class Needs:
Building Community comes toward the end of your kids yoga class. Everyone has had fun, learned a lot, and now it is time to bring the energy level down a little.
How to Build Trust and Community in Your Kids Yoga Classes: Building Community
As a teacher, I know that it can be tempting to skip or rush this portion of class if you are feeling short on time. I encourage you to really make time for this building community portion of class. It is a very important part for your students as well as for you, their teacher.
As you begin to bring your yoga class to a close, it is important
and beneficial to reflect on all that you have learned and accomplished during
class. It makes the students feel stronger and more united as a class.
This is personally one of my favorite parts of class as it ties everything
together. The children share what they have learned and what they have enjoyed.
I love hearing about their favorite parts and often times I am surprised. Many
times it is not what I think such as mastering a difficult pose, but instead it
might be how they felt or how they connected with another student and maybe
made a new friend.
Here are a few of our favorite ways to Build Community in your Kids Yoga Classes. Give them a try. They love it and it truly begins to bring your class to a close.
Join Go Go Yoga for Kids for a fun, energetic, and free Kids Yoga Class!
Go Go Yoga for Kids, Girls on the Run, and Athleta Girl all together to celebrate and encourage our young female athletes!
Go Go Yoga for Kids at Athleta Girl
Have fun with yoga, make your own trail mix, enjoy an educational lesson from Girls on the Run of Iowa, and leave with some goodies from Athleta!
When: February 8th, 8:30 AM
Where: Upper level of Jordan Creek Mall by Finish Line
What to Bring: A yoga mat and be ready for fun
Why: Celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day! We believe in the positive power of sports to help build girls’ confidence. Nothing should stand in the way of making your body and mind healthy and happy.
We need yoga now more than ever in our world today. Are you ready to know more about how to teach yoga to children in kid-friendly and effective ways? Our Go Go Yoga for Kids resources are perfect mindfulness books for kids.
Now you are able to easily download your Go Go Yoga for Kids book on ANY device. This means your iphone, computer, tablet, kindle, ipad. Any of these places! You can also easily transfer it from device to device. This is also extra exciting because you are able to easily print out sections that are important to you. I know how much you love the kids yoga lesson plans!
Now you can easily find which lesson plan you want to use and print it out for your personal use. This is also true for our lesson plan templates, guides and games that are found in our books! Thank you for directly supporting me as the author. This increases our personal connection and you will receive your Kids Yoga Lesson Plan Books in lightning speed!
Now you are ready for Part 7 of the Kids Yoga Lesson Planning 101 Training:
The Kids Yoga Challenge!
Congratulations! Now you are well over halfway through with your yoga class. Your students have moved, breathed, learned a lot and had fun! Now it’s time for Part 7 of your Kids Yoga Class with The Yoga Challenge!
The Kids Yoga Challenge: Yoga Lesson Planning 101 Part 6
With the Yoga Challenge portion of your kids yoga class, your students will have the opportunity to work on a challenge by themselves or together with the group. Select one of the options below and spend 7-9 minutes having fun with the Yoga Challenge.
The Yoga Challenge Options:
1. Balance Poses:
Select a single balance yoga pose for the children to work on. This could be Airplane Pose, Dancer Pose, Tree Pose or may others. We like to use The Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards to help provide a visual. When placed on the floor, they also provide a wonderful focal point.
Kids love to work on balance in yoga class because it is fun and challenging. They often don’t realize that they are acquiring a skill that improves each time they practice. This is good news because studies have shown that our balance decreases as we age beginning at age 7. With practice, we can maintain this balance.
2. Inversions:
I understand that Inversions can sound scary to try…especially with kids. The great news is that Inversions do not need to be difficult to do and the benefits are enormous. Find out how to practice our favorite Kids Yoga Inversions here.
3. Partner Yoga Poses:
Kids love partner yoga poses! Partner yoga poses help teach children the importance of teamwork and working together plus they are fun to do and build trust and community with one another. Check out our all-time favorite Kids Yoga Partner Poses here.
4. Group Yoga Challenge:
This type of yoga challenges are some of my favorites. Do not overthink this, it can be anything from standing in a circle and passing a hula hoop without letting go of hands. It can also be a Group Tree Pose or a Down Dog Tunnel. The point is to get the children working together to achieve a goal while having fun!
Down Dog Tunnels are always a hit for The Yoga Challenge.
The Yoga Challenge is an important part of your kids yoga class for differentiation and meeting the varying needs of your students. Everything can be modified.
This challenge allows the children the opportunity to work on more difficult poses by themselves or within the group. This builds trust and community.
