Are you looking for a fun way to engage with your kids and get them active? Look no further than kids yoga! Yoga is an excellent way to improve strength, flexibility, and coordination while also fostering mindfulness and relaxation.
Plus, it’s a fun activity that can be done together as a family.
Incorporating yoga into your child’s routine can have numerous benefits, such as improving focus, reducing stress and anxiety, and promoting better sleep.
Not only that, but practicing yoga at a young age can also instill healthy habits that will stay with them throughout their lives.
So why not give it a try? Here are some fun and easy kids yoga poses that you and your kids can try out today!
Yoga Poses For Kids – Top Tips
Before we get down to yoga poses for kids, it’s important to note that the postures and movements act as inspiration. You can encourage your child to be creative with their movements to suit their needs.
Many yoga poses for kids can be interpreted in a range of ways, and those included today are taught to mimic a child’s natural surroundings.
Bear in mind, though, that practicing yoga with children will typically be different to practicing poses with adults. Therefore, there are a few factors to consider before doing so:
- You can change or adapt the yoga poses to suit yours and your kid’s needs.
- Make sure you engage with the children and follow their interests and passions. Incorporate these into yoga and you will make it a lot easier.
- Focus on having fun whilst you all move, rather than try and practice perfectly aligned postures and poses.
- Cater to the children’s different learning styles and energy levels.
- This should be an experience to cherish, so try and create a meaningful, authentic experience for the kids.
- Play different yoga games. This will help engage the kids and make them want to learn more about the different poses.
- Wear comfortable clothes and go barefoot for the most authentic yoga experience.
- Be as creative as you like and simply enjoy yourselves.
- However creative you are, the number one rule is to be safe whilst doing so. Don’t move in uncomfortable ways that could cause injury.
Keeping all of these important factors in mind, let’s take a look at the best yoga poses for kids below!
Yoga Poses For Kids To Try
1. Bridge Pose
One popular yoga pose that you can try out is the Bridge Pose. To get started, lie on your back with your knees bent, and your feet planted firmly on the ground.
Let your arms rest down alongside your body, then tuck your chin into your chest and lift your buttocks and back off the ground, creating a bridge-like shape with your body.
This pose can also be referred to by other names, such as Ramp, Boardwalk, Overpass, or even Whale. Whichever name you use, Bridge Pose is a great way to improve circulation and relieve stress and tension in the body.
2. Boat Pose
Also called Canoe, Ship, or Kayak, the Boat Pose is another fun and challenging yoga pose to try out. Begin by balancing on your buttocks with your legs lifted, forming a V-shape with your body.
Once you’re in position, you can rock back and forth in the “water” like a boat, engaging your core muscles and building strength and stability in your abdomen and hips.
This pose can also help improve your balance and coordination. So, if you’re ready for a nautical adventure, hop into Boat Pose and set sail on your yoga mat!
3. Child’s Pose
The Child’s Pose is a gentle and calming yoga pose that can be a great way to start or end any yoga practice for adults and kids alike.
It’s sometimes known by other names, such as Mole, Mouse, Rabbit, Hedgehog, Turtle, Seed, Urchin, Rock, Snail, Ladybird, Curling Leaf, Hippo, or Cloud. Whatever name you think your kid will love most, go with that!
To get into this pose, start by sitting on your heels with your knees together. Slowly lower your upper body down to rest on your thighs, and stretch your arms forward, palms facing down.
Rest your forehead on the ground or a yoga block and take a few deep breaths, feeling your back muscles release and your mind calm.
Child’s Pose is a great way to relieve tension in the neck and shoulders. It can also be a restorative pose to come back to anytime you or your kids need a break during yoga practice.
4. Cat Pose
Here’s one most kids are bound to enjoy. The Cat Pose is a popular yoga pose that kids can enjoy and mimic their favorite pets.
To perform the Cat Pose, get on all fours and round your back, while tucking your chin in towards your chest. Easy!
Also known as Tiger Pose, Sheep Pose, Lion Pose, Leopard Pose, Jaguar Pose, and Cougar Pose, this can be a fun way for children to engage their imagination and pretend to be their favorite feline.
5. Puppy Pose
From one favorite pet to another, the Puppy Pose is another fun yoga pose inspired by animals.
Also known as Puppy, or Diving into a Pool, this pose begins on all fours. Then extend your arms forward while lowering your chest toward the ground. Keep your arms straight, with your elbows lifted off the ground, and rest your forehead between your hands.
Allow your spine to naturally curve, as if diving into a pool like a playful pup or seal. Woof, woof! This is a great, simple yoga pose to start off with.
6. Downward Facing Dog Pose
We’re sticking with dogs as we have a go at the Downward Facing Dog Pose, also referred to Bear, Wolf, and Coyote poses.
To get into the pose, start in a standing position, then bend down and place your palms flat on the ground. Step your feet back to create an upside-down V shape with your buttocks high in the air.
Keep your legs straight, your head and neck relaxed, and look down between your legs. You’re now doing one of the most famous yoga poses!
7. Staff Pose
You may have heard of the Staff Pose before under various guises, such as Rowing a Boat (great to sing “Row, Row, Row your boat” with the little ones as you do the pose), Sledding, Train, Driving a Bus (“The Wheels on The Bus” song works well here), and Bobsledder.
To start the Staff Pose, sit with your spine stretched and tall. Your legs should be straight out ahead of you, and your hands should mimic a train’s wheels as they go round and round.
This is not only excellent exercise for your arms and a great way to stretch the back, but it’s also extremely fun!
8. Bow Pose
Have your kid deep dive into the ocean as a fish or a whale and then rise up to the surface in a beautiful bow. The Bow Pose is a fun, creative yoga pose that will surely get your kids giggling and wanting to do more yoga poses.
Let your children’s imaginations run free with the Bow Pose as they lie on their tummy, bend their knees, lift their chest, reach their arms back towards their toes, and hold onto their feet. The result? The perfect Bow Pose!
9. Cobbler’s Pose
Also known as the Butterfly Pose, this yoga position is another wonderful way to get creative.
For this, your kid can pretend to be a butterfly. Start by sitting on the floor with your back straight and bend your legs. Put the soles of your feet together and gently flap your legs up and down like butterfly wings.
You can also imagine you have a book, a basket, and an oyster beside you as you fly around, hence the pose’s other names of Book, Basket, and Oyster.
10. Cobra Pose
Time to make some hissing noises with the Cobra yoga pose. Or, your kids can pretend to be a seal, an elegant swan, or an Egyptian Sphinx.
Start this pose by lying on your tummy with your palms flat beside your shoulders. Now, press down into your hands and lift your head and shoulders from off the floor. Finally, hiss like a Cobra snake!
11. Dancer’s Pose
Have you got a little one who loves to dance? If so, the Dancer’s Pose is the yoga pose to try right now!
Start this fun yoga pose by standing up straight like a mountain. Stand on one leg and reach your other leg out behind you. Grab your foot with your hand on the same side and bend forward a little.
Stretch your other arm out in front of you to help you balance. Yes, this is a little more challenging than some others on this list, but can help your little one become a great dancer and yogi with practice.
Kids can also pretend to be a flamingo, a superhero, an ostrich, an emu, or a crane with this pose. As we said, it’s all about having fun and being creative!
12. Dolphin Pose
Now it’s time to be a dolphin and try the Dolphin Yoga Pose! This is a wonderful pose for any kids who are fans of the sea and sea animals, and it also helps to stretch the back and loosen any tight muscles.
To do the Dolphin Pose, get down on your hands and knees, and then bend your elbows to rest your forearms on the ground. Make sure your palms are flat on the floor.
Then, lift your knees up off the ground, so your legs are straight. Finally, look forward and hold the pose. Now, you can pretend you are swimming in the ocean just like a dolphin!
13. Wide-Legged Forward Bend
Kids can act like a fierce Gorilla, a spooky bat, a headbanging wood chopper, or a powerful elephant with this Wide-Legged Forward Bend pose.
Start by standing up tall in Mountain Pose. Next, step your feet out wide and then bend your upper body forward.
Clasp your hands together and pretend they are the trunk of an elephant! You can sway side to side like an elephant while you hold the pose. Have fun and keep practicing!
In Summary
There are our 13 fun kids yoga poses to try at home today. All of these are perfect for beginners and kids who want to be creative with their yoga poses.
Let us know which ones your children enjoyed doing the most!
I created this website to help newcomers to yoga and enthusiasts alike, and to share our common passions for yoga.
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