Children’s Yoga! 4 Games for Little Yogis

Jade! Our editor's niece in a lovely prayer pose...

4 Games For Little Yogis

Teaching children’s yoga can be tricky. In order to keep their attention, I’ve had to come up with ways of re-framing asana, meditation, and pranayam as games. Here are four of my favorite ways to “play yoga.”

1. Camel Contest: (Camel Pose)
Why: Competition is a great motivator! I usually give the winner of this “contest” an extra sticker during final relaxation. Camel teaches strength with an open heart.

How to: Show the children step by step how to get into camel pose. First they come into rock pose. Then they sit up off their heals. Next they put their hands on either side of their waist and stretch their spine back like a rainbow. Then they can start to take one hand back to touch their foot, and then the other. (Some children will stay with their hands on their waist, or spend the contest trying to balance. That’s fine!) Set your timer and they’re off!

How to end: Some children can stay in this pose a long time, so you have to gauge the level of your students. 4 minutes is a good cut-off usually. Once, a boy kept the contest going for 7 minutes until I finally said “game over.” Yogi Bhajan said children should do this for 31 minutes a day and they would never have to worry about gaining weight in their life!

2. Row, Row, Row Your Bow (Bow Pose)

Why: Children can sometimes feel vulnerable when they step into a new environment like a yoga class. Heart-openers can be scary, but this game makes it fun! While it is for all ages, make the cut-off with respect to how much can lift!

How to: Have the children lie on their stomach and grab the outside of their ankles so they are in bow pose. Put one foot on each side of their body so you are towering over them and stable. Hold onto their left ankle/hand (together as a unit) with your left hand, and their right ankle/hand with your right hand. Lift them up and gently swing them back and forth. Tell them to look up towards the sky, so they don’t reverse the bend in their spine.

Music suggestion: I usually play the nursery rhyme “Row, row, row your boat” during this game.

Disclaimer: It’s advisable to practice this one on your own child first! Remember to lift from your legs, not your back. Some children have a tendency to look down, but you want their head up when you place them back on the ground.

3. Riding through the Desert (Spinal flex & Sitali Pranayam)

Why: Spinal flex is a great warm-up. Without a story behind it, kids will probably not want to do it for very long though. Sitali Pranayam is a cooling breath that can help them when they are over-heated or angry.

How to: Here’s the story: “Ok, sit in easy pose and grap your knees with your hands. We’re going for a camel ride through the desert. Breathe in through your nose and come forward, and breathe out through your nose and go back. (Demonstrate.) The desert is really hot and we’re not used to it, so let’s go really slowly at first. (Continue flexing slowly). Ok. We can pick up the pace now. (Go a little quicker). Don’t forget to breathe in and forward, then out and back. (Continue flexing). Wow! It got really hot. I need some water. Oh, look! There’s an oasis in the distance! We’re almost there... almost there... Yes! Now that we’re here, make a straw with your tongue and sip up the water. Here we go. (Demonstrate Sitali Pranayam)

How to end: You can repeat this “adventure” by leaving the oasis, flexing a little while longer, and then seeing another oasis or body of water. Also, I vary the location of the water. Sometimes it’s below us so we tilt our head down and drink. Sometimes it’s beside us, so we drink to the left or right. Sometimes it’s a waterfall, so we tilt our head back and drink.

Notes: Some children won’t be able to make their tongue into a straw. This isn’t something you can teach. It’s genetic. Show them how to stick their tongue out and bite it gently with their teeth. They’ll still get the cooling effect from the air passing through the sides of their tongue.

Discussion: “How did it make you feel when you breathed in through a straw like that?” “Did it feel cooler or warmer?” Most children will notice that the air inside their mouth felt cold. If they don’t, have them try it again and then ask.

4. Quiet as a mouse (Baby Pose)

Why: Children can have a difficult time settling down before the final relaxation or before a meditation.

How to: Have them come into baby pose from rock pose. Forehead is on the floor, hands stretched out in front of them. Tell them you are going to time them for a minute. If they are quiet the whole minute they win. If there is talking, the game starts over from the beginning. The game continues until they “win.”

Music suggestion: Play soothing mantra music so they can really relax.