Easy Yoga Tricks to Calm Kids’ Nervous System
Children’s nervous systems are sensitive, fast-moving, and easily overwhelmed.
Children’s nervous systems are sensitive, fast-moving, and easily overwhelmed. Big emotions, transitions, noise, tiredness, or too much stimulation can quickly tip them into stress or agitation.
The good news?
A few simple yoga-based tricks can help children regulate their nervous system almost instantly, without needing long explanations, perfect silence, or a yoga mat.
At Yogi Beans, a leader in kids’ yoga and wellness, we see every day how these simple practices help children feel safer, calmer, and more connected. And because our mission is to share the magic of yoga with as many children as possible, we’re sharing them with you today.
These practices work best when offered as playful invitations, not as tools to “fix” a child. Think of them as ways to help kids come back to their body, their breath, and a sense of safety.
Breathing exercises to calm children’s nervous system
Breathing is one of the fastest ways to calm the nervous system, for kids and adults alike. Keep it light, visual, and fun.
A. Balloon Breathing
Invite your child to place one hand on their belly and imagine a balloon resting inside.
As they inhale through the nose, the balloon slowly fills and rises.
As they exhale through the mouth, the balloon gently deflates. You can invite your child to make a long, soft “schhhhh…” sound, letting the belly empty completely.
This slow, deep breathing sends a message of safety to the nervous system, helping the body soften and settle.
If your child has a stuffed animal nearby, they can place it on their belly and watch it rise and fall, imagining they’re helping their little companion relax too.
❤️ Best for: anxiety, restlessness, before sleep
B. Lion’s Breath
This one is perfect for releasing frustration or big emotions.
Invite your child to take a deep breath in through the nose.
As they exhale through the mouth, encourage them to open wide, stick out the tongue, and make a strong “haa” sound.Let the face relax afterward, noticing how the body feels once the breath has been released.
You can make it playful by imagining you’re both lions letting out a big, freeing roar.
❤️ Best for: anger, tension, emotional overload
2. Yoga practices to help your children relax.
Simple postures that bring the body closer to the ground help children feel supported and contained.
A. Legs against the wall
This posture has a deeply calming effect on the nervous system and helps the body unwind after a busy or stimulating day :
Invite your child to lie down on their back and gently rest their legs up against a wall, couch, or bed.
Arms can relax by the sides, palms facing up, or resting on the belly.
Encourage slow, natural breathing and a moment of stillness.
❤️ Best for: overstimulation, fatigue, before bedtime
B. Child Pose
Child’s Pose is well known for creating a deep sense of comfort and safety, allowing emotions to soften and settle naturally. Here is how to guide it:
From hands and knees, invite your child to slowly sit back onto their heels. The forehead can rest on the floor, a cushion, or folded arms.
You can describe it as “becoming a small, safe ball.”
❤️ Best for: emotional overwhelm, need for comfort
B. Butterfly
Butterfly, or Baddha Konasana, helps calm the body while keeping the mind gently awake and present.
Invite your child to sit down and bring the soles of the feet together, letting the knees gently open to the sides.
Encourage slow, relaxed movements of the legs, like butterfly wings softly opening and closing. Breathing can stay calm and natural.
You can add slow breathing or a calming story while holding the pose.
❤️ Best for: calming the body while staying alert
C. Shaking to Uttanasana
This combination of movements helps release built-up tension and brings a feeling of grounding and calm.
Invite your child to stand and gently shake the body (arms, legs, hands, and shoulders).
Let the shaking be free and playful, releasing any extra energy.
Then slowly invite them to fold forward, letting the head and arms hang down toward the floor.
❤️ Best for: agitation, stress, transitions
3. Yoga Tools
A. Essential oils or flowers
It’s no myth that essential oils can gently bring us back to the present moment, sometimes even transporting us to a place that feels calm and familiar. A soothing scent can quickly help the nervous system relax and feel safe.
Choose a gentle, child-friendly essential oil, such as lavender, orange, or chamomile.
Invite your child to smell it softly from a distance or from a cotton ball.
Always ask if the scent feels pleasant and comforting.
While certain scents are especially supportive in specific moments (lavender or chamomile for calming, for example), don’t hesitate to invite your child to smell real flowers too. Not only does this bring them fully into the present moment, it also deepens their connection with nature and can spark a quiet sense of wonder.
❤️ Best for: anxiety, stress
B. Using your 5 senses
This simple practice helps bring attention back to the here and now, offering grounding and reassurance when emotions feel big.
Invite your child to gently connect with the present moment by exploring their senses :
You can gently guide your child to notice something they can see : a color they like, a shape, or an animal.
Something they can touch, such as a texture or the feeling of the ground beneath them.
Something they can hear, like a passing car or a bird.
Something they can smell, noticing any scent in the air.
And finally, something they can taste, perhaps the lingering taste of the last thing they ate.
❤️ Best for: anxiety, panic, emotional shutdown
A Gentle Reminder
These yoga tricks are not meant to control children’s emotions ; but to support their natural ability to self-regulate.
The most important ingredient isn’t the technique itself, but the presence and calm energy of the adult offering it.
Small moments, practiced regularly, can make a big difference.
If you’re a teacher or a parent wanting to bring yoga more regularly into children’s lives, explore our different offerings, from kids’ yoga books to kids’ yoga courses. Everything is designed to support you gently and confidently on this journey.
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! 🚀
Connect with us!
Welcome Friends!
Yogi Beans is a yoga and wellness company for children. Come make the world a brighter place with us!
Teach Kids Yoga with Confidence & Joy!
10 Best Themes for your Kids' Yoga Classes
Children are full of creativity and curiosity, and to keep them engaged, we need to match their sense of wonder!
Class after class, finding fresh and imaginative kids’ yoga themes can become a real challenge. Children are full of creativity and curiosity, and to keep them engaged, we often need to match their sense of wonder!
For over 20 years, Yogi Beans has been guiding new and aspiring kids’ yoga teachers on their professional journey. As one of the leading kids’ yoga schools, we make sure our trainees receive the most playful, effective, and developmentally appropriate tools to confidently lead their classes.
That’s why we’ve gathered 10 of the best kids’ yoga themes to inspire your upcoming sessions. From seasonal adventures to everyday discoveries, these ideas will help you bring mindfulness and fun into every pose. Let’s spark imagination, one theme at a time!
I. Why Choose a Theme for Your Kids' Yoga Class?
A themed class isn’t just a cute addition; it’s what turns yoga into an immersive and meaningful experience for children!
Kids learn best when their imagination is activated. Stories, characters, and playful narratives help them engage with their bodies, their breath, and the world around them in a way that feels natural and exciting. With the right theme, every posture becomes a moment of discovery!
Here’s why themes make such a difference:
Keep them engaged: Kids stay curious and excited when the class feels like an adventure.
Support learning: You can connect yoga with educational topics like nature, geography or science.
Encourage self-expression: Stories and role-play allow children to embody characters and feelings.
Make mindfulness fun: Breathing exercises and relaxation become part of the narrative.
Build meaningful connections: Children can relate their own environment, at home or at school, to the yoga concepts you introduce.
Increase participation: For reluctant or anxious kids, using a favorite theme can be the perfect way to welcome them into the class.
A well-chosen theme can completely transform the atmosphere in the room, keeping little yogis grounded, giggling, and open to trying new things. It invites them to move with purpose, breathe with joy, and develop awareness of themselves and others… all while having so much fun they don’t even realize how much they’re learning.
II. The 10 best themes you should try once
At Yogi Beans, we believe a thoughtful theme can turn a simple yoga class into a rich and memorable experience, for both children and their teachers. For more than 20 years, we’ve been supporting young yogis and training future kids’ yoga instructors with playful, effective, and developmentally informed tools.
If you’re looking for more inspiration, or guidance on your professional journey, explore our certification and mentorship programs designed just for kids’ yoga teachers.
Now, let’s dive into 10 creative themes to try with your young yogis:
1. Outer Space Kids’ Yoga Theme
Blast off into a cosmic adventure! An outer space theme encourages children to explore the universe through movement, from stretching like a star to balancing like astronauts floating on the moon. To take this theme even further, you can tie in the value of the unknown, and how going into outer space is stepping into something mysterious and new. You can introduce breathing exercises like taking slow “Star Breaths” before launch, and finish with a peaceful “cosmic nap” while imagining sparkling constellations above. This theme is perfect for sparking curiosity and learning fun space facts along the way.
✨ Adventure Highlight :
Kids usually love pretending to launch into space with a fun “Rocket Pose” countdown. (You can find this pose, and many more, in our book 108 Awesome Yoga Poses for Kids!) Start in Chair Pose with arms reaching up and palms together like the tip of a rocket. Count down from 10, and when you reach 1… blast off! Let them zoom around the room to release energy, then call “Freeze!” and guide them back to stillness so they can recenter and feel grounded again.
2. Earth Kids’ Yoga Theme
An Earth theme invites kids to connect with nature and become protectors of the planet. Each pose can represent an element : tall mountains, flowing rivers, strong trees, and gentle wind. Breathing practices can teach respect for the air we share, while mindfulness activities encourage gratitude for the ground beneath our feet. This theme blends environmental awareness with grounding, stabilizing yoga movements.
✨ Adventure Highlight :
Try a “Thank You, Earth” Pass. Invite the children to sit together in a circle and pretend a soft ball is our planet. As they carefully pass it around the circle, each child shares one thing they love about Mother Earth. You can guide them by saying:
“We care for the Earth just like we care for this ball, noticing it, handling it thoughtfully, and making sure everyone gets a turn to hold and appreciate it.”
3. Kindness & Friendship Yoga Theme
Kids learn powerful social-emotional skills when they practice kindness on and off the mat. Through group poses, partner breathing, and heart-centred mindfulness, children discover how connection feels in their bodies. You can introduce discussions around friendship, emotions, and compassion, making yoga a safe space to build confidence and empathy. This theme supports teamwork and helps friendships blossom.
✨ Adventure Highlight:
Enhance this class by introducing a Loving-Kindness meditation. You can play our beautiful Loving-Kindness Meditation on Insight Timer during Savasana and invite the children to relax deeply, letting the gentle words fill their hearts and minds.
4. Garden Kids’ Yoga Theme
This colorful theme lets children grow like flowers, crawl like bugs, and sway like tall grass in the wind. A garden class invites sensory exploration, imagining textures, colors, and creatures. It’s a great opportunity to talk about growth, patience, and caring for living things.
✨ Adventure Highlight:
Share one of our favorite quotes:
“Your mind is a garden, your thoughts are the seeds. You can plant flowers or you can plant weeds.”
Then ask your students what they think it means.
What thoughts help beautiful flowers grow?
And what thoughts might turn into pesky weeds?
It’s a simple, memorable way to help kids understand that their thoughts influence how they feel, and how they show up in the world.
5. Gratitude Kids’ Yoga Theme
A gratitude theme teaches kids to appreciate themselves, others, and the world around them. Each movement can highlight thankfulness, hands at heart for appreciation, open arms for receiving good things, and grounding poses for recognizing support. Journaling or sharing circles can be added to help children identify moments they are grateful for. It’s a beautiful way to nurture positive mindset and self-esteem.
✨ Adventure Highlight:
Finish the class with a gratitude circle. Each child writes one thing they are thankful for on a card. If they want to, they can place their card in the center of the circle or in a “gratitude bowl.” Then go around and invite each child to pick a card and read it aloud, so the whole group gets to listen, reflect, and share in the gratitude together.
6. Animal Safari Yoga Theme
Let little yogis unleash their playful side as they prowl through the savannah! Animal poses, like lion, cobra, and giraffe, become storytelling moments that encourage children to embody strength, flexibility, and courage. This theme is energetic and perfect for building motor skills, releasing energy, and having lots of giggles while learning animal facts!
✨ Adventure Highlight:
Kids love to roar like a lion. Introduce Lion’s Breath by inhaling deeply through the nose, then opening the mouth wide, sticking out the tongue, and letting out a big “ROAR” on the exhale. You can tell children that Lion’s Breath is a helpful way to let strong feelings out, and it can make their anger feel a little bit smaller.
7. Ocean Discovery Yoga Theme
Dive deep into movement inspired by the sea! Kids can float like jellyfish,, glide like dolphins, and stretch like starfish. Ocean sounds and wave-like breathing help calm the nervous system and reinforce rhythm in movement. This theme also opens conversations about protecting marine life and keeping our oceans clean, all through a soothing underwater adventure.
✨ Adventure Highlight:
Kids love pretending to go surfing in the ocean. Invite the mat to become their surfboard and practice flowing from Warrior 2 into Reverse Warrior, imagining they’re riding a wave. Music from The Little Mermaid, Moana, or even the Beach Boys (“Wipe Out!”) can add to the fun and bring the whole ocean adventure to life.
8. Superhero Kids’ Yoga Theme
Activate courage and confidence with a superhero yoga class! Each child discovers their unique “superpower”, like bravery, kindness, or creativity, and expresses it through strong, empowering poses. Breathing becomes a tool for managing big feelings, while mindfulness turns into a moment to recharge. This theme helps kids feel capable, bold, and ready to take on the world.
✨ Adventure Highlight:
Core-centering poses like Plank Pose, balancing poses, and simple arm balances help children build inner strength and connect with their personal power. This practice provides a significant boost to their self-confidence by strengthening their body from the inside out.
9. Transportation Yoga Theme
Planes, trains, bicycles, and boats, a transportation theme keeps the class dynamic and highly imaginative. Kids move through different levels of space: high-flying balances, grounded wheels, and rocking boats. You can integrate directional awareness, forward, backward, fast, and slow, making this theme excellent for spatial learning and coordination skills.
✨ Adventure Highlight:
“Airplane Pose” is always exciting. Start by practicing takeoff with your back foot still on the floor. Then lift into flight, find your balance, and gently land your plane by bringing both hands down to the floor while keeping your leg lifted - an added challenge kids love!
10. Weather & Seasons Yoga Theme
This theme teaches children that change is natural, in nature and within themselves. Poses can reflect sunny stretches, gentle rain, swirling wind, and cozy snowflakes settling to the ground. Seasonal breathing and visualizations help children connect with cycles, transitions, and emotions. It’s a gentle way to explore mindfulness and resilience through movement.
✨ Adventure Highlight:
Take an internal weather forecast and invite the kids to notice and share their weather inside. Are they feeling sunny, foggy, stormy, or calm? Use this moment to remind them that, like real weather, our thoughts and feelings are impermanent and always changing. Clouds move through the sky, and thoughts move through our minds they come and go.
We hope you enjoyed reading this article, and maybe even shared a little giggle or two while imagining some of these fun themes! As you’ve probably discovered, a thoughtful kids’ yoga theme can make a huge difference in engagement, focus, and joy.
If you’re ready to take your teaching to the next level, Yogi Beans is here to support you! Our Kids’ Yoga Teacher Certification and mentorship programs provide the tools, guidance, and inspiration you need to become a confident, creative, and impactful kids’ yoga teacher.
Bring magic, mindfulness, and movement into every class!
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! 🚀
Connect with us!
Welcome Friends!
Yogi Beans is a yoga and wellness company for children. Come make the world a brighter place with us!
Teach Kids Yoga with Confidence & Joy!
Play with contrast
One of the most helpful tools for getting kids to cooperate during class is to play with CON/TRAST
Bean TIP: Play with Contrast
One of the most helpful tools I’ve discovered for getting kids to cooperate during class is to play with CON/TRAST. If you want kids to stand still in Mountain pose, for example, first let kids wiggle around and jump. If you want kids to be quiet while repeating a mantra in their head first let them say it out loud in a BIG VOICE.
Using contrast not only engage kids and fosters cooperation in learning, it’s use as a mindful anchor of attention can help reduce an overly heightened stress response in thoughts and feelings. This suggestion comes from Susan Kaiser Greenland in her book Mindful Games: Sharing Mindfulness and Meditation with Children, Teens, and Families.