om family
physically and mentally – promoted to
help kids accept and cherish themselves,
just as they are, and to encourage them to
become more tolerant of others. All this is
very true and can help build the same traits
in adults too!
How can you practically achieve this
in a kids yoga class? Competition or a
competitive spirit comes from within.
Teachers in schools know this and use it to
their advantage, giving extra points to the
group who tidy their desks first or the group
who sit quietly. We, as yoga teachers, can
very much promote that everyone is a star
but how can we get that message across if
the children are busy watching each other
and comparing themselves with the child on
the next mat. Every child wants to achieve
and compete with themselves to master
that challenging pose.
Here are some practical tips on how you
can encourage each child to be all they can
be and to love and accept themselves in
that moment.
Lesson 1 – We are all individuals
(acceptance of self and others)
Teach them that each of us has different
strengths and (as everything has an
opposite) weaknesses. Start the lesson
talking about opposites (i.e. the opposite of
small; opposite of light; opposite of strong).
Ask each child to demonstrate a yoga pose
that they feel they perform well. Then ask
them to demonstrate a posture they feel
weak in or feel it’s not one of their ‘best’.
Then explain to them why they are strong
in that pose. (i.e. you have amazingly long
arms so you can catch or you’ve got really
strong legs from your football). Explain also
why they are weaker (i.e. you are younger
than some of the others so you still have to
build your upper body strength etc.). What’s
interesting is the children will very kindly
join in to tell each other about the postures
they think their classmates are ‘brilliant’ at!
Encourage this group interaction and all the
children will leave feeling 10 feet tall (the
opposite to small!).
Lesson 2 – Our amazing
power within
Teach them about the power we all have
to change how we feel. Sitting in a cross
legged, slumped posture is not a ‘good’
posture. Change the posture to an erect
spine with open chest and long neck and
this becomes a ‘better’ posture. Ask them
to move between the two. Which posture
do they feel better in? Explain to them
they have more fresh oxygen entering their
lungs, travelling to their brains helping them
feel more alert.
It’s always great to ask them what their
younger siblings would do if they didn’t get
their own way. Most will automatically show
slumped shoulders, closed chest and petted
lip! Explain that their posture affects how
they feel – it’s hard to stay in a ‘bad’ mood if
you stand up tall and open your chest.Lesson 3 – Love and energy
Teach them that our thoughts can change
our energy. Let the children look at a cute
picture of a puppy, kitten or baby. Ask them
to close their eyes, think of the picture and
to feel any changes in their body. Most will
be able to describe a ‘hot’, ‘fuzzy’, ‘tingly’
or ‘happy’ sensation. Ask them to point to
their heart. Ask them to close their eyes and
imagine their heart glowing. Feel this glow
spreading through the whole body, spreading
to the arms, down to their fingertips and
now down their legs all the way to their toes.
Explain that this spreading of light is energy
spreading through their bodies. We are just
like a huge battery that can feel drained or
just run out of energy. If we visualise love
from our hearts, filling every part of our
bodies, then we can recharge our energy.Lesson 4 – Nobody is perfect
Teach them that everyone has a bad day
and to accept it as that. Balance postures
are perfect for this. Setting the class up in
tree pose and holding for two minutes..this
will bring out the inner competitor in each
child. When a child loses their balance or
their foot touches the floor then they sit
down and wait. Change legs and repeat.
Usually the results will be different for each
leg. Explain to the children that just as the
results for each leg are different the results
on another day will be different – some
days you have better balance than others
just as some days in life will be better than
others. Remember, every day is a school
day and in every lesson plan we can find a
life lesson!Veronica Greene founded Little Greene Yoga
and offers a certified children’s teacher
training package (3-5yrs; 5-8yrs; 8-12yrs &
teens) (littlegreenyoga.com)“Yoga is often
encouraged as a ‘non-
competitive activity’
where children can learn
many of life’s lessons.”