5 Simple & Relaxing Classroom Yoga Exercises for School Kids
Find simple, effective methods to help maintain focus and calm.
In a classroom, kids' energy can often take over in unexpected ways. Sometimes, their creativity and spontaneity bring joyful moments and connection, but at other times, things can become a bit chaotic and difficult to manage.
For teachers, it’s important to find simple, effective methods to help maintain focus and calm, without taking too much time away from the lesson plan. That’s where incorporating classroom yoga exercises can be incredibly helpful.
These exercises don’t have to involve a full yoga session—just a quick 2-3 minute practice can make a significant difference. By allowing students a short moment to breathe, stretch, and ground themselves, you can help them reset and refocus, creating a more balanced and peaceful learning environment. These mini-breaks are easy to fit into the school day and won’t take away from valuable teaching time.
Read this article until the end and you’ll discover 5 easy and fun classroom yoga exercises that you can easily introduce to bring calm and concentration to your students, while still having plenty of time to cover the rest of the lesson.
Introducing Yoga and Mindfulness in The Classroom?
If you’re part of the Yogi Beans community of yogis, teachers, and parents, you’ve likely already read our article, “How Does Yoga Affect School Children?” In that piece, we emphasized that yoga and mindfulness go beyond simply helping kids relax—they have a deep impact on emotional well-being and body awareness, ultimately empowering children to navigate both school and life with greater confidence and emotional intelligence.
While introducing full yoga sessions in schools can be a gradual process (click on the link for more info), you don’t need to commit to a lengthy routine to bring a sense of mindfulness into your classroom. A simple 3-5 minute breathing exercise is often enough to create a calming and joyful atmosphere, helping students reset and refocus.
If you’re looking to go beyond a quick practice and dive deeper into the benefits of kids' yoga and mindfulness, we invite you to explore our various training options. Whether you prefer joining one of our live online programs or learning at your own pace with our video-on-demand course, you'll find everything you need to integrate yoga and mindfulness into your classroom effectively.
5 Yoga Exercises for The Classroom
Here are five easy yoga exercises that can help bring calm, focus, and balance to your classroom without requiring much space or time:
1 - Breathing Anchor
The Breathing Anchor exercise is a simple yet effective way for children to connect with their breath and enhance their mindfulness. This practice encourages awareness of different areas of the body, helping students find calm and focus in the moment.
Instructions:
Have children sit comfortably with their hands resting on their bellies.
Instruct them to take three deep breaths, focusing on expanding their bellies as they inhale and deflating as they exhale.
Next, slide hands up to the sides of the ribs. Encourage children to send their breath into their ribs, allowing them to expand like an accordion with each inhale.
Finally, place hands on the chest and invite them to send their breath into their heart.
At the end of the exercise, ask children where they felt their breath the most. Remind them that there are no right or wrong answers—each experience is unique!
2 - Lion’s Breath (Simhasana)
This fun and energizing breathing exercise helps release tension and can bring laughter and joy to the classroom. It also encourages deep breathing and mindfulness.
Instructions:
Come onto your knees, sitting up tall with a straight spine and puffing out your chest like the "King of the Jungle."
Pretend to scratch your lion "paws" to get into character.
Take a deep breath in, filling your lungs with air.
When exhaling, let out a big "roar" while sticking your tongue out as far as possible. You can also try a quieter lion roar or a purr, as if the lion is stealthily hunting in the jungle.
Explain that this breathing exercise helps release frustrations and can be useful when feeling angry, upset or frustrated.
3 - Tree Pose (Vrksasana)
Tree Pose is a great way for students to ground themselves and reset their focus. To enhance this experience, encourage creativity by allowing kids to choose the type of tree they want to embody that day. For example, they can raise their arms high like a tall pine if they’re happy, bring hands together like a calming cactus for peace, or lower their arms if they’re feeling sad or angry. This imaginative approach fosters emotional awareness and playful exploration of their feelings in a safe space.
Instructions:
Start in mountain pose (tadasana), press feet firmly into the ground, close your eyes and take 3-5 deep breaths, feeling your connection to the ground.
Gently shift your weight onto your left or right foot and find a point in front of you to focus on, which will help with balance.
Lift your right or left foot and slowly position your ams.
Avoid pressing your foot into your knee during Tree Pose; instead, place it above or below.
Ask students how it felt to balance on one leg and what strategies they used to stay steady.
4 - Centering in Pairs
This calming partner activity encourages children to become more aware of their breath while also fostering a sense of connection with a classmate. Through synchronized breathing, children not only enhance their focus and relaxation but also build trust and mindfulness in their interactions. It's a simple yet powerful way to promote calm and connection in a shared space.
Instructions:
Find a partner and sit back-to-back on the floor with legs crossed.
Start mirroring your partner's breath, inhaling and exhaling together.
Start ask them to alternate their breathing, where one child inhales while the other exhales.
Encourage the children to reflect by asking, "How did it feel to focus on your own breath? And how did it feel when you shifted your attention to your partner’s breath?"
5 - The “Loving Kindness” Meditation
Have you ever heard of the enchanting “Loving Kindness” meditation? At Yogi Beans, we cherish this practice so much that we’ve dedicated an entire article to exploring its benefits and techniques.
Rooted in traditional Buddhist teachings, this meditation invites participants to cultivate love and compassion, both for themselves and for others. It's a beautiful way to foster positive emotions and deepen connections, making it a beloved part of our curriculum.
Self-Love: Ask children to send love to themselves by silently repeating the mantra, “May I be happy. May I be healthy.”
Sending Love: Have them picture someone they love and send that person love with the mantra, “May you be happy. May you be healthy.”
Community Connection: Encourage children to visualize someone they see often but don’t know well (like a bus driver or crossing guard) and send that person loving thoughts.
Transforming Annoyance: Guide them to think of someone who annoys them, perhaps a bully or a sibling. Ask them to recall a fun moment shared with that person and send loving thoughts their way.
Global Love: Finally, invite children to extend their loving thoughts to the entire city, state, country, world, and universe.
These simple exercises can seamlessly integrate into your classroom routine, helping students achieve balance both at school and in their lives. By incorporating these mindful practices, you create an environment that supports emotional well-being and enhances focus, allowing children to navigate their day with greater ease and confidence.
Yogi Beans Programs for Schools and Teachers
If you enjoyed reading this article, we have more for you! Yogi Beans is proud to be an approved vendor for the New York City Department of Education and a registered service provider with the Nassau BOCES Artists in Schools Program.
We take great pride in providing our programs to over 60 private and public schools throughout New York City, Long Island, Westchester, and New Jersey. Our reach doesn’t stop there; we also cater to a variety of learning environments, including homeschool settings, preschools, nurseries, special needs schools, youth organizations and summer camps.
Whether you’re a school administrator or a teacher looking to introduce more mindfulness into your classroom, we offer a diverse range of programs tailored to meet your needs. Our pillars hold the formula for a healthy, happy, and thriving child!
We invite you to explore our “Education” page to discover the various offerings we have available and how we can support your community in fostering mindfulness and connection.
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Yoga Stories for Kids: Combining Imagination with Relaxation
Finding ways to help children unwind and relax can be challenging. Yoga can help!
In a world where children are constantly bombarded with stimuli from screens and schedules, finding ways to help them unwind and relax can be challenging.
Yoga, a practice that combines physical postures with mindfulness, offers an excellent solution. But how do you keep kids engaged in yoga? The answer lies in combining yoga with storytelling. "Yoga Stories" create a magical blend of imagination and relaxation, making yoga not just an exercise, but a captivating adventure.
Read until the end to discover 3 effective ways to turn your kids' yoga class into a magical journey. For a more in-depth exploration of kids' yoga and storytelling, check out Yogi Beans’ beautiful training programs. Whether you're a parent, childcare professional, or a yoga teacher, we offer training options designed to fit your needs and help you create unforgettable experiences.
The Power of Storytelling in Yoga
Children are natural storytellers. They love creating worlds with their imagination and living out the adventures within them. By integrating yoga poses into these stories, children can fully immerse themselves, making the practice fun and educational. This method helps kids associate yoga with positive, enjoyable experiences, encouraging them to return to the mat.
Benefits of Yoga Stories for Kids
Enhances Creativity
Yoga stories stimulate children's creativity by inviting them to visualize different scenarios and characters. Whether they're pretending to be a majestic tree or a playful puppy, their imaginations are given free rein.
Promotes Physical Health
Through the poses embedded in the stories, children improve their flexibility, strength, and coordination. Each pose helps to develop their motor skills in a gentle, supportive manner.
Boosts Emotional Well-being
The mindful aspect of yoga, combined with the soothing nature of storytelling, helps children manage stress and emotions. It provides them with tools to calm themselves, fostering social and emotional resilience.
Encourages Focus and Concentration
Following a storyline requires attention, and when combined with yoga poses, it enhances children’s ability to concentrate. This improved focus can translate to better performance in school and other activities.
Creating Your Own Yoga Stories
Crafting yoga stories doesn't require a professional storyteller. With a little creativity, parents and teachers can create engaging narratives that incorporate yoga poses. Here’s how to get started:
Choose a Theme
Select a theme that resonates with children. It could be an adventure in the jungle, a trip to outer space, or a journey under the sea. Themes that involve animals or nature tend to be particularly engaging.
Integrate Yoga Poses
Identify yoga poses that can be seamlessly integrated into the story. For instance, a jungle adventure could include poses like tree pose (standing tall like a tree), cobra pose (slithering like a snake), and downward-facing dog (stretching like a dog).
Build the Narrative
Create a simple plot that includes different settings and characters. As the story progresses, introduce yoga poses that align with the narrative. For example, as the characters encounter a mountain, the children can do the mountain pose.
Encourage Participation
Invite the children to contribute to the story. Ask them to suggest what happens next or to describe their surroundings. This involvement keeps them engaged and makes the experience more interactive.
If you want to learn how to learn how to practice yoga with kids and create amazing stories, have a look at Yogi Bean’s Training. We have training for everyone, even for parents who just want to have fun with their little ones!
Storytelling Techniques for Kids' Yoga Classes
Start with a wonderful setting
The setting and atmosphere are the foundations of a great story. Most Disney movies start this way!
Whether it's an enchanting forest, a wild jungle, or a mystical underwater world, start by imagining the ambiance. This will guide you in selecting your story, characters, and Asanas.
For instance, in a jungle theme, you might include poses like the lion, tree, and monkey. In an underwater adventure, poses such as the dolphin, fish, and starfish would be ideal.Pick 5 poses and let them create
Choose five kid-friendly asanas and encourage the children to create a story using these poses. If they find it challenging to start, give them a helping hand by initiating the first pose.
For example, demonstrate the downward dog pose and the cat pose, and have all the kids in the downward dog posture chasing after the cat (you are the cat). This fun and interactive approach will spark their creativity and make the session more engaging.
Use your favourite children’s book
What was your favourite childhood story? Teaching with the heart always makes a difference. Take your favourite kids' book, or story, and adapt it to your next yoga class.
Feel free to modify the story to fit a yoga context by incorporating some poses and perhaps even a meditation session. You could even read the story, or just a chapter, before Savasana.
The kids will leave your class with a new story and heroes in their minds, full of adventure and likely with a beautiful moral at the end.
There are countless ways to incorporate children's stories into your yoga sessions. To truly make a difference and master the art of creating enchanting kids’ yoga classes, consider joining one of our training courses. We also provide a curated list of the finest kids’ yoga stories.
To give you a taste of what’s out there, one beloved choice among yogis like Yogi Beans is Zen Shorts by Jon J. Muth. This exquisite picture book is filled with captivating stories that inspire and engage children.
And for those looking to deepen their teaching practice, Yogi Beans' book offers a complete guide on how to craft amazing yoga and meditation lessons for kids.
Let’s go on a yoga adventure!
Let your imagination soar as you become a bouncing Frog 🐸, a magical Mermaid 🧜 or a soaring Rocket Ship! 🚀
Whether you’re using classic books or crafting your own tales, storytelling in yoga can transform each session into a unique and exciting journey of self-discovery. As you explore what resonates with your students, remember that teaching from the heart brings authenticity and depth to your practice. When your classes come from a place of genuine connection, they become not only engaging but truly impactful.
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Yogi Beans is a yoga and wellness company for children. Come make the world a brighter place with us!
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How to Explain Yoga to a Child: A Guide for Parents and Teachers
Yoga, with its calming influence and myriad health benefits, is a wonderful practice for children.
Yoga, with its calming influence and myriad health benefits, is a wonderful practice for people of all ages, including children. However, explaining yoga to a child requires a gentle and engaging approach that aligns with their natural curiosity and imagination.
Embarking on a journey to explain yoga to children can be a delightful and enriching experience.
In Sanskrit, the ancient language of India, the word "yoga" translates to "union." But what does this union signify? Why do we meditate and do all these poses?
Take a ride with us to discover the best and most fun ways to explain yoga to kids! Yogi Beans is a leading kids' yoga company that offers yoga lessons and wellness education to kids, parents and teachers.
1. Start with a simple definition
Children understand best when things are kept simple. Start with an easy explanation in one sentence.
One of Yogi Beans’ most favorite definition of yoga is:
“Yoga makes you feel good: it is exercise for your body, mind and heart”
This definition helps children understand that yoga isn't just about physical movement; it also nurtures their emotional and mental well-being.
2. Make it fun from the start
Children learn best through play and fun! While explaining yoga to kids, it’s important to use language that sparks their interest. You could tell them yoga is a fun way to move their bodies and feel great. You could say:
"Yoga is like a special game where we move our bodies in different shapes to feel strong, happy, and calm."
This definition sets the stage for children to see yoga as a fun activity rather than a structured exercise routine.
3. Use storytelling and imagination
Children have vivid imaginations and love stories! Use this to your advantage by incorporating storytelling into your yoga sessions. Create imaginative scenarios for different poses. For example:
"Imagine you're a tall, strong tree with roots deep in the ground and branches reaching up to the sky. This is called Tree Pose. And now an Eagle comes to rest on your branches, let’s do Eagle pose!"
By turning yoga poses into elements of a story, you make the experience engaging and relatable.
Interested in learning how to practice yoga with children? Check out our on-demand online training designed for anyone wanting to share yoga with the kids in their life! Our development course allows you to learn at your own pace, providing you with the skills to practice yoga with children in a safe and fun environment.
4. Incorporate animal yoga poses
Children relate well to animals. They naturally have a strong connection with them and enjoy exploring this connection. Indeed, explaining yogi concepts through animal poses can make the practice more relatable and fun. Name and demonstrate animal poses:
Cat Pose: "Pretend you're a cat stretching its back."
Cobra Pose: "Now you're a snake; lift your head to look around."
Frog Pose: "Can you squat like a frog? Ready to jump?"
5. Give children a bit of history
At Yogi Beans, we encourage you to share some of yoga's stories with your child, even if it's just a short line. To keep things interesting, engage them by asking questions. You might ask if they've heard of the continent of Asia, or a country called India. Explain that this is where yoga originated from.
If your child is curious to learn more, you can add that yoga began in India thousands of years ago, and many of the words used in yoga classes come from an ancient language called Sanskrit.
If your little beans are still curious, you can introduce some yoga philosophy. Explain that yoga is about uniting the body, mind, and heart to express our true selves. The self is the unchanging part of us that makes each of us special!
6. Explain the benefits of yoga in kid-friendly terms
Instead of talking about flexibility or mindfulness, try using terms that children can better understand such as:
Feeling Happy: "Yoga helps us feel happy and less grumpy."
Strong Bodies: "Yoga can make our muscles strong like a superhero."
Calm Minds: "Yoga can help us feel calm and not worried."
7. Make it interactive
A good way to introduce yoga to children is to engage them in simple and interactive yoga activities and games (e.g., animal poses, stories, dance, etc.)
Breathing is a fundamental part of yoga. You can teach children basic breathing exercises in a playful manner too:
Bunny Breath: "Pretend you're a bunny and take quick little sniffs like you're smelling a flower."
Balloon Breath: "Imagine your tummy is a balloon. Take a big breath in and blow it up; then let the air out slowly."
8. Introduce relaxation and mindfulness
Introducing children to relaxation can be both fun and calming. Describe it as a special "quiet time" where children get the opportunity to lie down, listen to soothing music, and imagine a peaceful place. Encourage children to think of relaxation as a way to rest both their bodies and minds. You can explain it like this: “Relaxation is a quiet time for your body and mind. It's when you lie down, listen to soft music, and imagine you're in a calm, happy place.”
Be creative and use guided imagery to make the experience more engaging. Lead them through a simple exercise such as: "Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Imagine you're lying on a warm, sandy beach. Feel the sun on your skin and hear the gentle waves of the ocean. Or picture yourself floating on a fluffy cloud, feeling light and free as you drift through the sky." Using vivid descriptions and imagery helps children fully immerse themselves in the experience, making relaxation more effective and enjoyable.
9. Use visual aids
Children are visual learners. Use books, videos, and posters that illustrate yoga poses and practice sequences. There are many children’s books that incorporate yoga stories and poses, making it an enjoyable learning experience.
Looking for a fun and creative kids’ yoga book? Yogi Beans’ own masterpiece, 108 Awesome Yoga Poses for Kids, offers tons of playful yoga positions that will show you and the children in your life how to move your bodies in fun and novel ways.
Let’s go on a yoga adventure!
Let your imagination soar as you become a bouncing Frog 🐸, a magical Mermaid 🧜 or a soaring Rocket Ship! 🚀
10. Foster connection
Yoga transcends personal practice; it's about building connections and fostering unity!
Introduce children to the concepts of community, compassion, and kindness through yoga. Demonstrate how yoga can help them connect with others, appreciate nature, and discover their inner selves. Encourage them to share their experiences, listen to one another, and offer support throughout their yoga journey!
Conclusion
Explaining yoga to a child is all about making it fun, engaging, and relatable. By using simple language, storytelling, animal poses, and interactive activities, you can introduce yoga as a delightful and beneficial practice. Encouraging them to explore yoga will not only help them grow physically, but it also teaches them valuable skills for positive emotional well-being, self-regulation and self-awareness.
Connect with us!
Welcome Friends!
Yogi Beans is a yoga and wellness company for children. Come make the world a brighter place with us!
On Demand Development Course
Happy new year!
Wishing everyone sweet new beginnings and a healthy and happy 2022!
Wishing everyone sweet new beginnings and a healthy and happy 2022! Stay turned for exciting new announcements and offerings coming this year. We are most grateful for your involvement in our yoga and wellness programming for kids!