It was such a pleasure to be invited to lead a Kids Yoga and Mindfulness in the Preschool Classroom workshop for early childhood educators about yoga for preschoolers in the Dallas, Texas area.
Our 2.5 hour teacher workshop included tips and resources for teachers to be able to implement right away into their classrooms this school year.
Here are just a few of the topics we covered:
Breathing and calming exercises that truly work with this young age group
How to utilize movement and yoga during classroom transition times
The best yoga poses for these young growing bodies
Incorporating yoga and mindfulness into existing preschool themes
Classroom yoga games and mindfulness exercises
The best read aloud books for this early childhood age group
How to bring about stillness and relaxation within the classroom
These teachers were engaged, enthusiastic, and ready to bring mindfulness into yoga for preschoolers.
I know that you are passionate about reaching children through yoga and you are in the right place! Creating kids yoga lesson plans is one of my favorite things to do. It must be the teacher in me, but I love putting what kids are interested in and tying in yoga poses, games and mindfulness exercises to help teach yoga to children while providing moments that they will remember.
I want to help you be successful, confident, and ready to enrich children’s lives through yoga. We can do this together! Our FREEKids Yoga Lesson Planning 101 Training begins with the heartbeat of kids yoga which is how to plan an engaging and memorable kids yoga class.
You can have all the desire in the world to teach yoga to children, but if you don’t have a plan in place then there will be opportunities missed and it will not be as impactful for your children.
Spring has finally arrived! It was a perfect day to celebrate with Kids Yoga in the Park with Go Go Yoga for Kids and Des Moines Parent. Over 50 kids, parents, and caregivers joined in the outdoor yoga fun.
First, we warmed up our bodies with Sunrise and Sunset Salutations followed by some Sunflower exercises. Next, we selected surprise poses from the Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards. We practiced and perfected our yoga poses by showing how strong we were with our Warrior 2 jumps, rowing in our Boat Pose, Down Dog kick ups, and the Tree Pose balance challenge.
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We practiced our poses with a fun Musical Mats game and completed the class with a very peaceful and relaxing Stillness and Savasana while listening to the sounds of nature all around.
Check out our Kids Yoga in the Park preview below. It was a windy (but sunny!) day. The audio isn’t perfect and we were able to get just a little glimpse of this fun class with video, but will give an idea of the fun we had!
Want to learn more about How to Plan a Kids Yoga Event and Class Like a Pro? See our best tips and article here. No it does not include fully charging your video camera 😉 These tips are very hands-on and practical.
I was honored to speak at the Opening Minds Conference and Expo in Chicago. It is one of the biggest early childhood events of the year and I was so excited to be a part of it. I presented on How to Easily Incorporate Yoga in Your Preschool Classroom with Poses, Games, and Mindfulness Within Your Existing Curriculum.
I may have slightly overpacked, but I had so many props, resources, and ideas that I couldn’t wait to share with fellow educators, counselors, parents, child care providers, and healthcare professionals about the importance of introducing yoga to young children.
An hour and a half can be a long time for a session so I made sure to break it up with some breathing exercises, poses, yoga games and videos that everyone seemed to enjoy. A few favorites were Birthday Candle Breath, Balloon Breathing, how to effectively teach Tree Pose to children and ways to instantly incorporate yoga into the classroom in minutes. We used the Kids Yoga Challenge Pose Cards for some of the exercises, but any yoga pose cards could work.
One of my passions is definitely helping children get fit and literate. One easy way to do this is by incorporating quality read aloud books along with yoga poses. I took the opportunity to walk through some of my favorite children’s books and explain how to incorporate yoga poses and games with them. Kids love this and they retain what they are learning all the better if they are moving as well.
I so enjoyed meeting the attendees. They had wonderful questions and feedback. It was definitely a joy to be able to share my passions of kids, teaching, and yoga with others.
As a mom of three and a teacher for over 18 years, I frequently see a recurring theme of anxiousness in children, and it is completely normal. Kids get nervous or stressed. Any different event such as starting a new school year, taking tests, trying new activities, and meeting new people can bring about uncertainty, unease, and worry. Luckily yoga for anxiety can give kids the tools the handle the stress.
When we worry, we take short, shallow breaths which continue to ignite the feeling of unease in our bodies. Slowing down our breathing and taking long, deep breaths naturally brings on a sense of calmness and peace.
Try these three breathing exercises with your kids. These calming techniques are effective for any age, and can be done anywhere – in the morning, during a car ride, sitting in school, or before bedtime. Yoga for anxiety can be done anytime, anywhere.
Shoulder Shrugs
Roll your shoulders back and down so they are away from your ears. Breathe deeply in through your nose as you raise your shoulders up by your ears. Breath out and lower your shoulders. Repeat movement 3-5 times and feel the tension melt away.
Darth Vader Breath
This is a favorite with children as they associate an image with this breathing exercise. Breathe deeply in and out while exhaling strongly through an open mouth.
Ocean Waves
Close your eyes and imagine you are an ocean wave. Breathe in and out deeply as if you are an ocean wave crashing on the beach. Alternate the frequency of your breath to become shorter and longer waves.
By introducing yoga for anxiety to kids, you will be giving them lifelong skills to become calm and focused, and better manage their anxiety when facing new situations.
Kids can do yoga too! One of my passions is teaching yoga to kids and helping others learn how to use yoga with kids in fun and engaging ways. Kids yoga doesn’t need to be overly complicated or time-consuming. You just need a sense of humor and willingness to have fun!
You don’t need to have many supplies or materials to teach yoga to kids, but being knowledgeable of some different items and having a few tricks up your sleeves, helps with keeping the interest level high with kids. Shorter sessions and having a few props that accompany the poses are very beneficial. Child size equipment is also useful for children practicing yoga, and child size mats, balance balls, and accessories will enhance their practice.
I always enjoy highlighting a few favorite props and resources that I use while teaching yoga to kids including a breathing ball and great read aloud books that inspire yoga poses and movement with kids.
I am also a new fan of grippy socks or sticky socks for kids. These inexpensive little accessories help with balance, stability and allow young yogis to practice anywhere–even without a mat.
When I teach my kids yoga classes, I always have the students remove their shoes and socks. Normal socks are slippery and make it difficult to hold poses. It can sometimes be a slow process of helping preschool aged children put on their socks again after class, but if they had these yoga socks it would definitely go faster because they could leave them on for the whole class.
One of my new favorite items to use in teaching kids yoga is the Breathing Ball or Hoberman Sphere . It provides a great visual for teaching kids to slow down their breath, and take long and even inhales and exhales. We also talk about how the Breathing Ball is similar to the the work our lungs or diaphragm does.
How to Use a Breathing Ball with Children:
As a teacher or leader, model using it together as a whole group. As you stretch the ball out, take a deep long breath, together as a group. Then as you squeeze the ball together, let out a long deep exhale. You can experiment with the pace and show what happens when we breathe in and out too quickly. Talk about the difference in how your body feels when you take short quick breaths compared to long deep breaths.
If it is a smaller group, pass the ball around the circle and let each child take turns opening and closing it in time with their breath.
The ball is also fun to toss around the circle as it opens and shuts. Have the children participate in a team building and cooperation exercise to see how many times they can catch the ball without it dropping. This is also a good exercise in building mindfulness.
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I was honored to speak at the 
