Yoga provides an opportunity for children to exercise, learn something new, and develop self-discipline. Beginning yoga practices with children may provide them with a lifelong form of exercise and relaxation for the body and mind. Developing and implementing creative games to get children interested in yoga provides them with an understanding of a new activity that they can perform alone or with friends and classmates. Practicing yoga can give children the freedom and skills to stretch their bodies and their imaginations.
Visualization and Breathing Activities
When engaging in yoga relaxation exercises assist children in visualizing calm or serene places, such as the beach. Use sound effects or soft music to aid in setting the scene. As deep yoga breathing can often create sounds, this could be symbolic of the sound of the ocean breeze, or waves breaking on the shore. For a more active pose, have children visualize birthday candles while sitting with legs crossed. The children can blow the candles out with a strong breath, and then breathe in again while raising up their arms. Add new games and allow kids to participate by providing ideas about activities or places they want to visualize while relaxing, breathing or posing.
Animal Games
Many yoga poses are either named for animals, such as cat or cow, or resemble some kind of animal, such as tree pose resembling a flamingo. Have children practice these poses, making animal sounds along with them. Go through the alphabet having kids name animals that start with that letter and either practice a related pose, or develop a pose of their own. To incorporate more physical activity, create animal relay races, such as a crab walk race.
Story Games
Start off by telling the children a story that contains movements. Incorporate yoga poses into the story, but don't let the kids know what the poses are called, or even that they are "doing yoga." Combine visualizations and animal poses. For example, the story may be about an archer climbing over a mountain and going through the desert to rescue a princess. Incorporate poses that coincide with the story, holding a related pose while the story develops. For example, as you describe the archer, have the child hold a warrior pose, then as he travels across the desert, have them simulate a camel by sitting with their legs crossed and alternating arching and curving their backs to show the camel traveling. After the story, go back through the moves teaching the children about the poses, their names, and proper form.
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