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Cultivating Family Yoga Time
7 Steps for Practice Success
I
magine how different the world would be
if families regularly engaged in mind-
body awareness and integration practices,
like yoga and meditation. This could
create time for everyone to be themselves,
without judgement, in an holistic way. While
it is admirable to want to develop a family
yoga practice, it’s not always easy. Sure, there
are those unicorn families who have their yoga
lifestyle so dialed in that family practice just
magically happens. For most of us, a few help-
ful pointers can guide our thinking and lead us
to start developing family yoga moments.
As parents or guardians, the most practi-
cal and sustainable way to integrate yoga and
meditation into family life is to be true to our
own practice. Our balanced presence in daily
life provides the foundation for yoga to grow
in our families. And in our own practice, we
enjoy at least some degree of control. For a
family practice, it may be helpful to relinquish
the need to control and enter the experience
with an attitude of allowing and encouraging.
I hope the following considerations will help
you guide your family to a peaceful experience
of yoga together.
- Drop expectations. If your intention is
to create a peaceful family dynamic through
yoga and meditation, start by releasing specific
expectations that could cause you any stress. For
instance, let go of needing family yoga time to be
of a certain length or to follow a regimented plan. - Create customs around your own
practice. Whether it’s an asana practice on
a mat or sitting practice on a cushion, or both,
let your family know that this is a special time
in your day or week. Invite your children to
join by being on their own mat or cushion.
They can participate or simply be present
in a respectful way. You can offer books or
coloring supplies near you. If you don’t mind
them climbing on you like a jungle gym during
downward facing dog pose, let them. If it’s
bothersome to you, set the boundary lovingly
that you are connecting with your own body.
Encourage them to do the same. - Seek out experienced children’s yoga
and meditation teachers via classes,
apps or DVDs to introduce the idea and
then build on that. It’s a funny thing, but
some kids are more drawn to practicing when
they know yoga and meditation exist beyond
their own parents. As a kids’ yoga teacher, I
found it super helpful to have my own sons par-
ticipate in classes with other teachers to learn the
basics. Then we were able to call on that experi-
ence at home. You will also pick up ideas on how
to approach the practices in child-friendly ways.- Resources including books and card
decks are helpful for young kids. A
couple of my favorite decks: Mindful Games
by Susan Kaiser Greenland and Move With Me
Yoga Adventures by Leah Kalish. Both sets are
loaded with simple, family-friendly yoga and
mindfulness activities. Animal medicine cards
or nature-based cards are also helpful. Allow
your kids to choose a card and play out the
animal or force of nature. For younger children
up to age six, stories are wonderful. Let the
practices start to grow organically from reading
a book or engaging with a deck. - Purposeful Timing and Setting. When
you are ready to create a more focused time for
family yoga, a few considerations can be helpful.
PRACTICE
by abby wills