This is a guest post by Bernardette Kalyan-Salgado and is part of our My Favourite Props series.

Scarves are a typical prop for dance classes however I have found them to be very useful in yoga as well.

Body Awareness

Use the scarves during warm up. Waking up the body placing the scarf over the toes, knees, etc. Younger children and those with special needs in particular love the idea of “waking up” the body parts.

Asana

Use the scarves as a prop to hold with several asanas/poses, it is a challenge for older students. Poses such as Warrior (arms up holding the scarf open looking up, focusing on the scarf), Dancer and for balancing poses such as Crow it can be used as a focal point.

Games

Common games such as freeze dance become fun and different with a scarf in hand. It also gives a difference sense of spatial awareness for the child.  Playing games such as “Yogi Says” is also fun, ex. “Yogi Says, place your scarf on your head.”

Scarf Breathing

Laying down placing the scarf on the belly creating awareness for deep belly breaths. Placing them over the face and blowing them upward attempting for lift off.

I find scarves to be such a handy prop. It is easy to be creative with them they can become water, clouds etc. in a story or movement experience. Most importantly they are light in weight if you have to carry them around. Having a set in two different types of material is also very interesting to see the children explore the texture and how it moves differently.

Bernardette is a RYT 200 instructor based in Florida. She combines her background in dance with yoga to create fun Movement Yoga for Children classes.

If you enjoyed this post be sure to check out all the ideas on the our My Favourite Prop page. Learn how to use feathers, hula hoops, stones and stuffed animals to name a few.

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Ah, Dinosaurs! Kids love ‘em and most pre-schools, early education programs and elementary schools include units which study these amazing creatures. So if you have a budding paleontologist in your home or are looking for a fun way to get your kids moving, learning and engaging their imagination here are a number of suggestions for Dinosaur Yoga. A word of warning before beginning: some children get scared of an entire room full of kids roaring and imitating dinosaurs and may end up in tears. Be sure to let everyone know that this is simply pretend and for fun. If someone is not comfortable with the noise level or the fierce nature of the poses encourage them to cover their ears or have the entire group be quiet dinosaurs.

Dinosaur Yoga

Dinosaur Breath: Inhale through the nose and exhale with a roar! Repeat. Vary the volume, length of exhale/inhale.

Pterodactyl: Sitting or standing use your arms as the wings in Flying Bird Breath: raise your wings as you inhale, exhale and lower your wings. Vary the speed of each part of the breath to glide, swoop and dive through the air. My classes often fly through the space, skimming over the water, diving down mountain cliffs, soaring on the up currents, plunging to grab a prehistoric fish from the lake, etc.

Dinosaur Nest: Have students become dinosaur eggs in a nest, huddled together in child’s pose. Depending on the number of children, feel free to have more than one nest. One child per nest gets to be the Maiasaura mother and take care of the nest, going to collect food and feed the young as they hatch. Alternatively have them hatch out of their nest and imitate baby Maiasaura – this is super cute.

T-Rex: Stand with feet shoulder’s width apart, knees bent, hips extending behind you in chair pose. Bend arms at the elbows close to your sides, hands hanging down with two fingers extended for claws. Growl and hunt for prey trying to imitate the tyrant lizard.

Velociraptor: Come into Warrior III by stepping forward with one foot, lifting the back leg off the ground and leaning forward. While balancing on one leg use your arms to try to catch imaginary dinosaurs. Repeat on the other side.

Triceratops: Sit in horse stance with legs wide apart, bending the knees. Make your arms into horn shapes by bending the elbows and aiming them forward at an angle, reach the neck long to create three horns and imagine the bony frill.

Brachiosaurus: Version A – stand in mountain pose and reach arms as high as they can to eat leave off the trees. Version B – step into standing splits by placing one foot in front of the other then raising the back leg as high as possible while lowering the hands to the ground and head toward the knee. Use the raised foot as the brachiosaurus’ head to eat with the toes nibbling the leaves off the branches. Repeat on the other side.

Ankylosaurus: Come into Table pose with the hands under the shoulders, knees under the hips. Imagine your back is covered with bony armor. Extend one leg out behind you and gently swing it back and forth using the foot as a club tail. Switch legs and repeat.

Woolly Mammoth: Imitate a woolly mammoth by crossing the arms, keeping the top arm extended to use as the trunk, bend the bottom arm and bring the fist to your chin to create a tusk. Imagine thick shaggy hair and long curly tusks as you slowly cross the frozen tundra and glaciers. Pretend to pick up items off the floor with your trunk.

Dino Stomps: Lift one leg high, say “boom!” as you stomp the foot firmly onto the ground. Repeat alternating legs. This is a lovely way to ground and connect with the earth. Or play Laurie Berkner’s We Are the Dinosaurs while children act out the song.

More Dino Music:

Visit Dinomusic.com.au for lots of fun options.

Game:

Dinosuar Hide ‘n Seek: Have children hide in child’s pose throughout the space. Teacher (or one student in turn) pretends to be T-Rex looking for a meal (keep it fun & light) and dinosaur stomps among the sleeping dinosaurs.

Craft Suggestions:

• Dinosaur Paper Plate Craft from Kids Craft Weekly
• Dinosaur Feet from Activity Village.

Additional Fun:

I fell in love with these cute Dinosaur jokes on book marks to print and give to kids or simply use to have fun with during class.

Much thanks to all those who contributed ideas including Sandi Posey of Enlightened Child, Amy Bevan of The PranaMama, Lisa Flynn of Childlight Yoga, Aruna Kathy Humphrys of Young Yoga Masters and Jennifer Hess of Karmaspot’s Blog. Love it when we collaborate!

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Routine With Variety Key in Kids Yoga Class

Recently I received this e-mail.

My name is Maureen, I am a pre-school teacher of children ages 2-5 and am bringing my love of yoga to my school this year. I have taught adult yoga for more than 11 years. I am certified through Kripalu and have done many other understudy programs. I am also qualified to teach kids…but with kids this young I am having trouble getting them started. I have tons of games, ideas, props, songs and stories…but I am having trouble, in these first introductory classes…starting the classes. Getting them not so much to be quiet or even pay attention, but how to help them understand what is going on and what we are doing. Today we learned  Namaste and the Namaste song. This was easy for a very first class. But from here on out I don’t really know how to get them ready for the class, how to start the class. Have any suggestions or thoughts that may help me out?

As Maureen has discovered teaching yoga to kids is a vastly different endeavor than teaching yoga to adults. Their attention span is short, they don’t want to sit for any length of time, and there is a wide variety of physical, emotional and mental abilities. It is essential that each class cater to these needs by including an assortment of activities to maintain interest and engage as many senses and learning modalities as possible.

Elements of a Kids Yoga Class Routine

• Class theme: For each class choose a theme. A thematic approach is essential at this age as it provides a mental framework and social/emotional/environmental reference for the yoga session. Link all your activities back to the theme. The book Once Upon a Pose includes 10 fully developed thematic yoga classes with music and literature in both English and French making this an easy task. For more ideas visit the Pre-school/Elementary Topics page.
• Introduction: Use something you feel will set the stage and let the little ones know it is time to start yoga class. For pre-schoolers this could be a song. In this instance Maureen taught them the Namaste song during their first class together. There are lots of great kids yoga CDs that you can choose from. Sing the song at the beginning of each class. Use this to help them know it’s time to go to their mats, join in with the singing and get ready for yoga.
• Breathing: Teach some form of child friendly pranayama. Remember Thich Nnat Hanh’s advice, “Smile, breathe and go slowly.” It is good for children to learn to calm and center themselves. With pre-schoolers this will take repeated and consistent effort. Go slowly and enjoy the journey.
• Asanas: The bulk of the lesson may be spent doing a variety of yoga poses. The Alphabetical List of Poses is a great place to start. The down-loadable FREE  e-book The Pet Store (see right side bar) is a wonderful tool as well. This will show you how to develop a thematic class which includes a variety of asanas. I enjoy allowing the children to generate the ideas spontaneously according to the theme whenever possible. In this way they take ownership of the pose and become more fully engaged in the class.
• Meditation & Chanting: If a simple meditation, such as the Meditation Owl, or a chant, such as Loka Samashta Sukhino Bhavantu, works into your theme by all means teach your class these valuable skills. Don’t be afraid to use Sanskrit even if your young charges don’t audibly repeat the words. The exposure to the exercises, rhythm of the language and feeling these activities generates will touch their hearts and minds.
• Crafts, Games, Books & More: Any number of supplemental activities, such as crafts, coloring pages, games, songs and books, can be used during a kids yoga class. These activities stimulate the senses and involve additional learning modalities. As well, they help to keep the pace moving and provide endless variety. I often hand out simple crafts or coloring pages to my students for them to complete at home if we don’t have time during yoga class.
• Final Relaxation: Savasana with a guided visualization which reinforces the concepts covered in class or a progressive muscle relaxation is the perfect way to end a pre-school class. Keep encouraging them to lie still, close their eyes, and keep their thoughts to themselves. You may have to move children away from a friend or encourage them to relax with a touch, a stuffed animal, an eye pillow, etc. Again this is a learned skill and all children will get better at it with practice.
• Namaste: Always end with the same respect and gratitude that you would in any yoga class.

By following this basic outline yoga instructors are able to supply the routine necessary for young children to understand what will happen each week in yoga class while providing enough variety to keep it interesting and engaging their minds, bodies and spirits. Good luck and enjoy playing yoga!

Be sure to subscribe to our articles via RSS or e-mail. Also check out the many fabulous ideas on YogaInMySchoolTV on YouTube.

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Guest post by Louise Baker

Yoga classes that cater to kids have been increasing in popularity among studios. These classes may be an all ages offering for kids of all ages or broken into smaller age groups. Some classes may offer an experience for parents to join with their children or a kids only yoga practice depending on the instructor or studio.

Yoga For Young Minds

The same calming and relaxing effects that yoga has on the minds of adults can also help with children. Excess energy can be burned off during a yoga practice and it has been shown that a regular practice can not only boost self esteem but calm children.Those seeking a gentle and calming practice for kids may prefer to use passive postures that focus on resting, relaxation and meditation. These forms of yoga can help with memory, focus and learning abilities, especially if the yoga practice includes lessons or tie ins with day to day life to help make the practice a regular part of the child’s life.

Meditation for kids is often shorter than practices for adults due to the shorter attention spans may children have. Classes that offer meditation may use stories during the practice such as naming poses after animals and telling the tales with them then use meditation to reflect on the story. This can often be used to teach important lessons or boost self confidence in children.

Yoga For Young Bodies

Even a passive practice can have a lasting effect on a child’s body. Any regular exercise can not only sharpen the mind but keep the body active and help prevent childhood obesity. By incorporating a yoga practice early, good exercise habits become ingrained and can last into adulthood, giving young children a healthy advantage.

Older children may be able to join a yoga class that is tailored to adults with the permission of the instructor but for younger kids, a dedicated class is preferable as adult classes may often be longer and harder to follow than one designed for children. Classes for young children often last a shorter period of time but may have active portions blended with calmer relaxation to both energize and relax kids. Poses are often modified to make them less challenging, or may utilize props in order to help the children be able to comfortably perform the poses properly.

Popular choices for kid’s yoga poses include animal named poses that offer a moderate challenge and work the body while keeping the class at a steady pace. Sun salutations are also a commonly selected series as it is good for nearly any age.

Louise Baker writes about online degrees for Zen College Life. She has recently also wrote about the best schools online.

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Star pose is a great pose to teach balance and coordinate movement with music. Star pose is ideal for pre-school and school aged children. Children with special needs also enjoy this pose. You can do this pose individually but in this video we’re doing it with a partner. Practicing this kids yoga pose with a partner provides an opportunity for success for individuals with developing balance skills to enjoy a sense of accomplishment. In addition it builds social skills and develops the coordination necessary to transfer weight from one side to the other, increasing strength and core stability. 

Star Pose

Hello, I’m Donna with Yogainmyschool.comand today I’m here with my niece, Nadia. Nadia and I are going to show you how to do star pose. So if you’ve ever wondering what you can do with pre-school children and yoga here is a great activity.

Let’s make a five pointed star with our bodies. First extend your legs nice and wide. Then reach your arms out. Now twinkle your fingers. Next twinkle your toes. And can you sing Twinkle Little Star with me?

Twinkle, twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are,

Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky,

Twinkle, twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are.

That was perfect, thank you so much.

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Stuffed Animals Assist with Children’s Breathing Exercise

Ever wonder how to get your preschooler to slow down for five minutes and take a deep breath?

Swimming Stuffies shows you how using a stuffed animal as a prop can promote deep, calm, relaxed belly breathing. This technique uses a favourite stuffed animal, placed on the belly.

The goal is to have the child use their belly breathing to lift the stuffed animal on an inhale and lower it on an exhale. This action makes the stuffy appear to swim in the waves of the breath. This technique is extremely effective with pre-school and special needs children and is included in the book Once Upon a Pose.

Swimming Stuffies: Pranayama for Kids

This is Greer demonstrating swimming stuffies, a lovely tool for teaching children how to inhale and exhale with belly breathing.

So she is laying in corpse pose and we’ve placed a stuffed cow on her tummy. As she takes a deep inhale the cow will rise. As she exhales the down descends. She slows her breath and allows the cow to ride the waves, to swim in the ocean of breath. Its very calming and relaxing, and a wonderful tool to use to teach children how to belly breathe.

Enjoy swimming stuffies with your kids today. Namaste.

Be sure to check out the other great kids yoga videos on YogaInMySchoolTVon YouTube and let me know what you think.

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