yoga for children
- Lobster pose
Standing with your legs wide, toes pointed out, bend your
knees and squat. Take your arms out to the sides and bend
your elbows so your hands point up towards your head and
snap your hands like lobster claws.
In adult yoga this is goddess pose but for fun we give the
kids something to do with their hands. With that lovely deep
squat, it tones the whole lower body. The lift in the arms and
across the chest makes this a great ‘power pose’ too. It helps
the kids feel super strong and confident. - Dancer pose
Standing tall, take hold of one leg and try not to wobble. Lifting your other
arm up to the sky, kick your back foot into your hand and tilt forwards. Looking
graceful like a dancer if you can. And the other side too. One to practice.
This is a tricky one for balance but is great for teaching kids to focus on a
spot in front of them to find a point of balance – it works wonders for getting
them to learn how to concentrate. If it’s just not happening though, have the
children use a wall or desk to steady themselves – then they get to feel that
gorgeous stretch in their hip flexor, a little back bend and enjoy the grace of
the pose. - Shark pose
Lie on your tummy, clasp your hands behind your back and lift up your shark’s
fin. Rock side to side making a shark noise (think Jaws soundtrack).
In grown-up yoga, this is locust pose. But when you clasp the hands together
behind your back it gives you an awesome shark fin. This pose strengthens the
back and opens the chest and shoulders. Rocking or ‘lolling’ as I call it from
side to side keeps the movement fluid and will help avoid any strain in the lower
back. I am a child of the 80’s so I can’t help adding a Jaws sound effect in this
pose. Obviously kids today have no idea of this connection but that ominous
soundtrack still has the same effect. The genius of John Williams. - Cat pose
In adult yoga we call this cat cow. In kids yoga we make the arched
back with our head up a ‘happy cat’ pose where we can wag our tails
and purr and with the spine arching over it becomes the angry cat,
because it looks...well...like an angry cat. Great for getting the spine
moving and stretching the torso.
Sequence by Jaime Amor of Cosmic Kids Yoga (cosmickids.com)- Crab’s pose
Sitting on your bottom, with your knees bent, feet
flat and hands behind you. Lift your hips up and digga,
digga digga over to one side, then the other (maybe
kicking a leg up at the end).
This is also table top (as it is often in adult yoga),
bridge and bed pose. It’s most fun when we’re being
crabs though since you can walk on your hands and
feet side to side and kick a leg up every now and again
if you are a crab playing football. Crabs play football on
the beach in kids yoga.