By Donna Freeman
Originally published in Yoga Bridge - AUTUMN 2024 VOLUME 24 ISSUE 3
Imagine infectious laughter, curious minds, and uninhibited joy in a yoga class. These delightful qualities of kids yoga are part of what makes teaching children so rewarding. There also are significant challenges when teaching children yoga and mindfulness. Diligent effort and cultivating specific teaching skills are necessary to understand and guide their energy and enthusiasm to achieve the desired results.
Yoga has long been a source of rejuvenation, inner peace, and self-exploration for adults. However, yoga’s benefits extend far beyond grownups, expanding to all ages. From infants to teens, kids yoga has a tremendous potential for positively influencing both body and mind. Though the benefits and practices may be similar, the approach to teaching adults differs vastly from that of teaching children.
Welcome to the vibrant world of kids yoga— an incredible blend of movement, mindfulness, storytelling, and imagination that nurtures minds and bodies. Kids yoga embraces and celebrates child-like wonder and youthful enthusiasm.
For adult yoga instructors curious about sharing yoga with children, the journey into kids yoga offers an incredible opportunity to foster creativity, playfulness, and connection for yourself and the next generation of yogis. Some key qualities and expertise have proven especially valuable over nearly three decades of teaching children, from babies to teens.
Celebrate the Joyful Noise
At the heart of kids yoga is a celebration of energy and expression. Here, yoga is so much more than movement, stillness, poses, or breathwork. It transforms into a journey of discovery of the world and the self. Engaging children through games, songs, literature, and interactive activities, helps them to connect with their bodies, fosters creativity, and teaches emotional regulation.
Kids yoga classes will not be quiet and are not meant to be. Celebrate the happy sounds of children playing, exploring, and learning. Roaring like a lion, barking like a dog, asking questions, singing songs, and laughing together are common. A key element to successful kids yoga classes is knowing how to harness and direct this joyful energy.
Takeaway: Embrace the natural energy and noise of a group of children, learn to work with it, and gently lead them toward quieter, calmer practices.
Mastering Classroom Management
Transitioning from adult yoga classes to kids classes requires a special skill set, primarily learning to manage a lively group that likes to hijack your class plan. Effective kids yoga teachers learn quickly how to weave structure with flexibility. Lesson plans that contain a predictable framework and routine provide a foundation of trust and security.
Techniques such as clear expectations, visual cues, and anticipated transitions, taught by an engaging and energetic teacher foster confidence in children to explore the world and develop new skills. Balancing this structure with spontaneity, curiosity, and a generous dose of playfulness encourages inquisitive young minds and maintains engagement. As a teacher learning how to balance fun with serious is a challenging and beautiful way to apply shtira and sukha.
Takeaway: Both structure and flexibility are essential in kids yoga classes. Have fun and be spontaneous while maintaining organization and predictability.
Tailoring Yoga for Young Minds
Adapting yoga for children means more than simplifying asana and adapting pranayama to be ageappropriate. A solid knowledge of developmental growth and stages helps tremendously when planning and executing kids yoga classes. Understanding and working with the science behind play increases success. Encouraging self-expression, sharing, and questions combined with a creative exploration of numerous yogic practices helps children cultivate emotional resilience and self-awareness. Truly it is a whole-child practice.
In addition, knowing what resonates with and interests children of different ages is key. From animal and nature themes to trending movies, music, and video games, kids yoga teachers pull ideas from a wide variety of child-friendly themes and inspirations. Specific themed lesson plans are essential to fostering interest and engagement in children. It’s about crafting classes that resonate with children’s imaginations and curiosities and meeting them where they are physically, emotionally, and mentally.
Takeaway: Lesson plans need to be based upon an understanding of the ages and stages of development combined with children’s interests.
Nurturing Lifelong Benefits
Beyond the mat and the fun had in class, kids yoga teaches lifelong skills that extend into daily life. As mindfulness, movement, breath work, and body awareness are fostered from a young age, children develop tools for managing stress, improving focus and concentration, and cultivating self-esteem and understanding. Yoga helps children learn to be in the present moment while gaining a peaceful state of mind, which improves their emotional regulation and awareness.
Through yoga, kids realize they are strong and then take that strength, confidence, acceptance, and compassion into the world. The activities taught in yoga classes are often shared at home, at school, and during extracurricular activities. The benefits ripple outward to family and friends in authentic and incredible ways. It is amazing to see so many lives impacted as children are empowered with the skills and confidence to navigate life’s challenges with resilience and grace.
Takeaway: Kids yoga teaches lifelong skills that promote health and wellness far beyond the kids yoga class.
Embrace the Journey
Whether you are new to teaching kids yoga or want to broaden your expertise, the journey begins with a willingness to embrace the unique joys and challenges of working with young minds and bodies. The world of kids yoga invites us to rediscover the joy of movement, the wonder of imagination, and the boundless potential of young minds.
Sharing your passion for yoga with the next generation is incredibly fulfilling. It is uniquely rewarding to know that you are planting the seeds for a lifelong love of an ancient, helpful, healthfilled practice that fosters well-being through life’s myriad challenges. Yes, there are hurdles, frustrations, and days you wonder if you are making any kind of a difference. And then, after class, the kids crowd around wanting to hug you, or someone calls down the hall “Yeah, it’s yoga day!” when they see you coming and the challenges are forgotten as you bask in the moment of knowing you are impacting young lives on a foundational level.
Takeaway: By embracing the unique joys of kids yoga the challenges are minimized and the rewards become more fulfilling.
The world of kids yoga invites us to rediscover our love of play. As adults, we have the privilege and responsibility to guide children on this journey, fostering not only physical fitness but also emotional resilience and lifelong well-being. Join me in embracing the joy of kids yoga—a journey where each pose is a step towards nurturing a brighter, more mindful future for our children.
By Donna Freeman, YAA 750, E-RYT 500, RCYT, founder Yoga In My School, author Once Upon a Pose: A Guide to Yoga Adventure Stories for Children, cell: 780-903-6544, email: moc.l1732231618iamg@1732231618kcihc1732231618agoy.1732231618moh1732231618 https://yoga.ca/ places/donna-freeman/