We often get stuck on negative moments and enlarge their significance. This game teaches children and youth to pay attention to the events of each day and intentionally focus on the positives. It encourages paying close attention, living in the moment and appreciating all that life has to offer. Learning to pay attention to how different moments/events make us feel is an important skill leading to emotional intelligence, improved self understanding and greater compassion and empathy.

Five Good Moments

Suggest to your ‘Negative Nelly’ (my apologies to all the positive Nelly’s out there) that they pay attention today/this week to moments that make them feel good and try to find five different ones. The moment might be a thought that inspires, a view that is lovely and makes them pause, an interaction with someone, etc.  What it is doesn’t matter. What matters is that for at least a  moment it made them feel good. You do the same. When you get together at the end of the day/in class next week, share your five good things with one another.

We do this as a family each evening, each person saying one thing at a time in a circle, and call it “Thankful For.”  Often at the end of a full day the responses are, “I’m thankful for bed, pillows, sleep, etc.” When the offerings get generic and often repeated (my family, my friends, my home) we remind the kids to think of something specific from today (a trip to the park, the colours of the clouds at sunset, the taste of fresh picked berries, etc). We also occasionally switch it up by saying “If I were so-and-so (the family member to their right or left) I would be thankful for…” This is always an interesting exercise and prompts some insightful observations. It also helps teach children to think about others and what happened of importance in someone else’s life that day.

Over the next while YIMS will be providing numerous mindfulness and compassionate living exercises and games so be sure to subscribe (RSS or e-mail) in order to get them delivered directly to your reader or in-box.

photo by Hamed Saber

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Bringing out a bag of colorful soft feathers adds instant excitement to yoga class.   Feathers allow kids to see the breath, add a fun twist to bird poses of any kind, and make for some fun yoga games!  Feathers can even make savasana more special.

Pranayama Practice

Even the youngest of yogis can become more aware of breath and the connection between breath and emotions.  Simply holding a feather in front of your nose during kid-pranayama practice (which might consist of Bunny Breath to energize or Take Five Breath to calm down) makes breath visible.  Try blowing soft enough to move the fluffy part of the feather and then hard enough to move the stiff part of the feather.  Can you see your feather move, fast or slow, depending on how you’re breathing?  How does “fast” breath make you feel?  How does “slow” breath make you feel?  Practice Ujjayi breath by holding the feather under your nose and keeping your lips sealed like an envelope.

Floating Feather Game

Celebrate the power of breath by playing this game with yourself or a friend.  Using only your breath (no fingers or toes), keep your feather afloat.  Don’t let it touch the floor!  Try playing a little feather-volleyball with a friend.

Find the Feather Game

“Find the Feather,” is an intuition game.  Invite one yogi to be the “seeker”, and ask her to hide in the corner of the room, with no peeking.  Then, hide the feather under another yogi’s mat. Invite the seeker back and ask her to guess where the feather is hiding.  Talk about what it means to “go with your gut” and use your intuition.  You’d be amazed how many times the yogi will find the feather on the first or second try!

Bird Asanas

Feathers make learning our bird poses even more fun.  Hand out feathers when working on Eagle pose or Flamingo.  Let the kids be inspired to feel the source of their asanas even more fully given the feathers.  Decorate your pigeon with a feather or two or allow your swan to ruffle its feathers in movement.

Savasana

Feathers are great to use during savasana/ relaxation.  You can give your savasana-students “Feather Massages.”  As always, ask kids if they want to be touched.  (I have students put a thumb up in the air during savasana if they want an adjustment or massage.)  Lightly move the feather across the third-eye area.  Kids will lie really still in anticipation of a feather massage, so this helps in savasana management!  You can also gently place a feather on the belly or chest during savasana so there is an awareness of how breath effects the body when it enters and leaves.  You may even want to place several feathers around each relaxing yogi and lead the class through a “Bed of Feathers” guided visualization.  All of these techniques keep young yogis more still during savasana time.

Let your imagination soar as you and your students invent even more ways to use feathers in yoga class!  Even hanging some feathers in the yoga space can act as a constant reminder of this important, but invisible, part of the yoga practice.  Breathe deep, and let the feathers fly! 

Sarah Herrington is a full-time kids and Vinyasa yoga teacher in Manhattan.  For the past several years she’s taught 25 kids yoga classes a week in the public school and charter school system in NYC.  She has completed trainings through KarmaKids Yoga, MiniYogis and YogaEd, along with the training of teaching daily.  Her kids classes are infused with the joy and fun of yoga, and her Vinyasa classes with the power of intention, mindfulness, and breath.  She can be found online at: http://www.sarahherrington.com

Related posts:

1. My Favourite Yoga Prop – Hoop Yoga They come out for picnics, birthday parties, and backyard summer...
2. Sesame Street Yoga – Bert Shares His Favourite Pose Sesame Street revolutionalized children's television back in 1969 combining education...
3. My Favourite Yoga Prop – Puppets Puppets work especially well in yoga class. Even the shyest...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Hula Hooping is also a great opportunity to teach children about heart rate. As hooping is a cardiovascular activity, have the kids take their pulse before and after hooping so they can see the way a constant rhythmic movement gets the blood flowing. Incorporate pranayama to slow down the breath even while moving. Take a deep breath to 5 rotations of the hoop and exhale to 5 rotations of the hoop. See how slow you can get the breath to go. 

Add some non-competitive group games to the mix:

Related posts:

1. My Favourite Yoga Prop – Parachute A parachute is an ideal prop to involve a large...
2. My Favourite Yoga Prop – Puppets Puppets work especially well in yoga class. Even the shyest...
3. My Favorite Yoga Prop – Feathers Bringing out a bag of colorful soft feathers adds instant...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Yoga Jenga

Take a jenga game and write a different pose on each block. I took inspiration from the 60 poses included in Once Upon a Pose writing the English pose name on one side and the French name of the other thereby creating a bilingual game (the name in Sanskrit, Spanish, German, etc. would be equally as effective – See Language Learning Thru Yoga).

Have a couple of kids set up the game by stacking three blocks across three blocks until a tower is formed.

Choose a child to carefully remove a jenga block.

Perform the yoga pose written on the block.

You can place the block back on to the top of the jenga tower in order for it to continue to build. If you don’t want to repeat any poses during the class simply place the used jenga blocks off to one side. As well we more often than not simply run out of time long before the tower comes down.

Choose another child and repeat until all children have had a turn, class is over, or the tower falls over.

Visit the Yoga Games page for more engaging yoga activities to use in your class. Also join us on Facebook and check out our YouTube Channel where there is always lots of great content to keep your kids and teen yoga classes fun and inspiring.

Related posts:

1. Useful and Fun Yoga Games – Swami Says Like the playground favourite 'Simon Says', however this time the...
2. Useful and Fun Yoga Games – Add One A great memory yoga game that engages kids minds and...
3. Useful and Fun Yoga Games – Heart’s Hide ’n Seek This game focuses on increasing intuition, awareness, and sensitivity to...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Yoga Poses with Parachute

Space children evenly around the edge of the parachute. Perform various yoga poses while holding on with one or two hands. Some fun poses include: mountain pose, tree pose, warrior I and II, dancer and chair pose.

Popcorn

Place a number of balls (pingpong balls, tennis balls, beach balls, etc.) on top of the parachute. Everyone makes waves with the parachute and bounce the balls like popcorn. See if you can keep them all on the parachute or, alternatively, bounce them all off.

Mushroom

Everyone crouches down on the ground holding the parachute. On the count of three everyone stands up and raises the parachute above their heads. When the instructor says “Go” everyone brings the parachute down behind them to the ground and they sit under the parachute on the edge. You can tell a joke, riddle, or story while under the parachute.

Cat & Mouse

Pick two kids to be cats and two kids to be mice. Cats stay on top of the parachute, crawling trying to find the mice, who are crawling under the parachute. All other children are holding the parachute making waves to conceal the mice. Once the mice are found, it is time for new cats and new mice. Remind the cats that pouncing will end their turn.

Shark Attack

Chose 2-4 lifeguards and 2-4 sharks. Have the remaining children sit on the ground with their legs extended under the parachute and make waves with the parachute. The sharks crawl under the waves and try to drag children into the sea by pulling gently on their feet. When a child feels a shark attack he/she must yell for a lifeguard to save him/her. If the lifeguard gets there in time they can pull them out from under the parachute and they remain shaking and making waves. If the shark is successful the child becomes a shark. Remind children to not pull legs or arms very hard and to be careful under the parachute to avoid crashes.

The Grand Ole Duke of York

A song with actions

The Grand Old Duke of York
He had ten thousand men
He marched them up to the top of the hill (Parachute Up)
And he marched them down again (Parachute down)
And he marched them to the left (Walk to the left)
And he marched them to the right (Walk to the right)
And he marched them up (Parachute Up)
And he marched them down (Parachute Down)
Oh what a silly sight (Shake the parachute really fast)

The Yogainmyschool.com Yoga Games page has a complete listing of fun and interactive games that will take your yoga class from good to great!

Related posts:

1. My Favourite Yoga Prop – Hoop Yoga They come out for picnics, birthday parties, and backyard summer...
2. My Favourite Yoga Prop – Puppets Puppets work especially well in yoga class. Even the shyest...
3. My Favorite Yoga Prop – Feathers Bringing out a bag of colorful soft feathers adds instant...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Spanish Language

Teach some of the pose names in Spanish. (Since I don’t speak fluent Spanish I used my iTranslate app. Very handy.)

tree=árbol, mountain=montaña, warrior=querrero, boat=barco,etc.

This will help children to broaden their cultural horizons and appreciate the marvelous diversity which makes up the world. For more information on second language learning in the yoga classroom listen to this interview with Beth Reese of Yogiños.

Burrito Roll (Sushi Roll)

This is a great sensory activity which makes kids feel safe and secure and stimulates the proprioceptors (the neurons which relay the information of one’s own body position and movement).

Have child lie across the end of a yoga mat with their head off one side.

With their arms down by their sides, roll them up in a mat (include a favourite stuffed animal if desired).

Unroll them.

Sometimes kids like to do this themselves by grasping the mat up near their neck and rolling and unrolling repeatedly as they desire. I have one autistic student that does this whenever he feels the need during class which will often inspire the rest of us to join him.

Mexican Hat Dance

Have all the children make a giant circle while holding hands. Place a sombrero in the center of the circle. Begin to play some Mexican inspired music and have the children walk to one direction around the sombrero. When the name of a child is called, that child leaves the circle and dances around the sombrero until another child’s name is called when they rejoin the circle. Continue until all children have a chance to dance in the center.

Buenos Amigos

Provide each child with a paper and pencil. Have each child write as many nice things about their classmate (amigo) to their right as they can in a given amount of time (5 mins). Suggest kind things about how they act, think, play, work, etc. Give the paper to the amigo to take home.

You could also include a craft like paper plate maracas or colouring page of children in traditional mexican costumes.

What are some ways you enjoy celebrating Cinco de Mayo with your kids yoga classes?

Related posts:

1. Useful and Fun Yoga Games – Yoga Jenga Most of us are familiar with the game of physical...
2. Useful and Fun Yoga Games – Ball Pass Ball Pass develops core and leg strength, balance, and co-ordination....
3. 54 Fun Family Activities for Summer Yoga Style After having successfully completed another school year you can't wait...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Ball Pass

You will need a rubber spikey ball, beach ball, basketball-sized Nerf ball, or other soft ball that the feet can grasp.

Have everyone sit in a circle.

Pass the ball from person to person using only your feet! The person receiving the ball has to “catch” it with their feet, and so on around the circle.

Young children and children with adaptive needs may have poor muscle tone and have difficulty with this task. They can play by rolling the ball with their feet to the next person. The idea is to build core & leg strength rather than to pass and catch perfectly.

Encourage the children by saying “Just do your best! Lets have fun!”

Older children can play by “throwing” and “catching” (with feet) to anyone within the circle.

Expand the game (for children 6 and up) by pairing auditory processing with the movement much like musical chairs: play music while the ball is being passed. Randomly stop the music, and when the music stops, everyone has to “freeze” including the person with the ball. Music starts, play continues.

Increase difficulty and sensory processing by adding a second ball, possibly of a different size, weight, colour and texture, to be passed around the circle.

The game is over when time is up or children start getting distratcted.

Thanks to Bodylogique a creative and adaptive yoga program which encourages children and families to stay healthy and have fun.

Related posts:

1. Useful and Fun Yoga Games – Add One A great memory yoga game that engages kids minds and...
2. My Favourite Yoga Prop – Hoop Yoga They come out for picnics, birthday parties, and backyard summer...
3. Useful and Fun Yoga Games – Swami Says Like the playground favourite 'Simon Says', however this time the...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

1. There will be tears – The trigger could be being overtired, or not getting to lead the game, or feeling overwhelmed, or that somebody ran into them during Yoga Tag, or they are frustrated at not being able to do their favourite pose precisely when they wanted. Tears are part and parcel of kids learning about their emotions and how to handle life. After school yoga classes are especially prone to this response as kids have already put in a full day of learning, may not have had an adequate after-school snack (low-blood sugar often causes emotional melt-downs), or may simply need a little TLC whereas the rest of the class wants to burn off excess energy.

2. Classes are noisy – Laughter, chatting, roaring, barking, singing, energetic chanting and more are part of a yoga class for kids. Once a Grade 5 teacher asked me how to get her students to be quiet during yoga. My response: “Don’t.” Kids need to express themselves using all their senses and they will at every opportunity. I believe that happy noise is productive to learning. One rule, however, when the instructor talks everyone else listens. That way explanations and instruction can be given, and then activities can be fully interactive. So have fun, make some noise!

3. You will be interrupted – Imagine half the adults in your yoga class expressing out loud the first thought that comes to mind every time the teacher begins to explain a pose or activity. Imagine being half way through a story only to be asked, “Can I go to the bathroom?” Imagine hearing all about someone’s fish that died on the weekend, a favourite TV show, the type of cake that was served at a friend’s birthday party, or the nasty comment that Mommy said to Daddy when he came home late from work…again. Now you are at a kids yoga class.

4. Classroom management is an essential skill – You will need to possess some classroom management skills to keep Bobby from constantly playing with the gong, Sue from cuddling with her best friend, Joey on task, and Beth from using her yoga mat like a sled. Kids generally know how to behave but will take advantage of any opportunity for chaos. Every kids yoga instructor needs to find their own style of classroom management so that the environment stays conducive to learning and growth. Remember you are in charge.

5. When you mess up, you’ll be told– Adults are generally rather polite when instructors make minor mistakes, stumble over their words, or fall flat on their faces. Kids – not so much! They love pointing out your shortcomings, faux pas, and inconsistencies. Instructors have two options: 1) achieve perfection 2) develop a sense of humour. Since perfection is a far way off for me, I find laughing about my blunders a lot more fun. In addition, the way in which adults respond to error helps kids to see how to handle their own mistakes in positive, life affirming ways.

6. Classes are similar to herding cats – Each group has a variety of ages, physical, mental and emotional abilities, and maturity levels. Add to that the fact that kids’ attention spans can be measured in minutes and you have an interesting challenge on your hands. Establishing a class routine and making sure the themes are kid friendly will lengthen the amount of time kids will spend on any one given activity. Kids yoga instructors, however, had better always have a few fall back activities & yoga games in mind to keep everyone engaged and having fun.

7. It’s not about you – Kids love classes which focus on THEIRinterests. WebKinz, Hannah Montana, Star Wars, Creepy Crawlies, Princesses, Spiderman, and more all come to yoga class. When the instructor incorporates a yoga inspired activity which plays off the students’ favourite things then you know you’ve got a great thing going. As well each holiday from Valentine’s to Halloween provides fodder for fun. So don’t be surprised if you spend time wondering how to incorporate leprechauns or superheros into your next yoga class.

8. Props, props, & more props– For an adult yoga class most instructors use a mat, an mp3 player, and if you are lucky an eye pillow. Iyengar classes will add a strap, a block, a blanket, and possibly a chair. For any given kids yoga class, take that basic list and add books, puppets, feathers, scarves, pompoms, parachutes, stuffed animals, musical instruments, hula hoops, card decks, hoberman spheres, rocks, balls, bean bags, craft supplies, colouring sheets, and more. Be sure to have some storage space available.

So there you have it: the inconveniences, traumas & reality of teaching yoga to kids.

There is a flip side however. If you take pleasure in providing tools for kids to be happy and healthy the rest of their lives, enjoy genuine sharing, approach life with curiosity and creativity, want to end each class with a sense of satisfaction, and love to receive spontaneous hugs, then teaching yoga to kids is for you.

Be sure to subscribe (RSS or e-mail) to Yoga In My School to receive fantastic content to keep your yoga classes for kids and teens fresh and interesting. If you are on Facebook, become a Fan of Yogainmyschool.com and receive additional links and updates.

Related posts:

1. 8 Dirty Truths About Teaching Kids Yoga (German Version) We here at Yoga In My School are thrilled that...
2. Teaching Kids Yoga Not Your Typical Yoga Class Kids yoga classes differ from adult classes in many ways....
3. Mandala Magic – Teaching Kids About Meditation Mandala means circle in Sanskrit. A circle within a circle...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Heart’s Hide ’n Seek

Ask everyone to close their eyes and have them raise their arms out in front of them, reaching with their finger tips. They will slowly walk around, eyes closed, and try to feel for the other kid’s finger tips. The game is to be quiet, if they meet someone keep their eyes closed and don’t talk, they only touch gently.  Can they feel the person’s energy through their fingertips?  Then they can whisper “Hello”  or “Namaste” and then move on to find someone else. 

The teacher needs to watch the kids because everyone has their eyes closed.  But it is fun to see if the kids can feel their way around the room without using their eyes.  They can use their heart and intuition.  Feel instead of see. 

Many kids will have trouble keeping their eyes closed and being quiet, but it is still a fun challenge to try it and they can build up to going longer times.  And it also has to be an empty room so the kids don’t get hurt.

Visit the Yoga Games page for a complete listing of yoga games that will take your lessons from fun to fabulous.

If you enjoyed this post subscribe via RSS or e-mail. Also be sure to download your FREE copy of THE PET STORE (see right sidebar) for an easy and interactive kids yoga lesson in English and French.

Related posts:

1. Useful and Fun Yoga Games – Freeze Dance/Statues When teaching yoga to children you always need a number...
2. Useful and Fun Yoga Games – Yoga Jenga Most of us are familiar with the game of physical...
3. Kids Valentine’s Day Yoga Class Creating thematic yoga classes can be a lot of fun,...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Swami Says

This game is played like the playground favourite ‘Simon Says’, however this time the Swami is in charge.  The ‘Swami’ calls out instructions such as, “Swami says Cat pose.” Everyone performs Cat pose. If the ‘Swami’ calls out instructions without “Swami says” then everyone should disregard the instruction.

I never play so that kids are ‘out,’ instead simply remind them to listen carefully and reward their great auditory and yoga skills. Usually we all have a good laugh and continue on. Speeding up the poses ‘Swami’ calls out will make this much more difficult as will simply using the  suggestion “Swami says Do this” while performing the pose desired. The later also works really well with younger kids or those new to yoga who don’t know the names of the poses yet but do know how to do them. Another tricky suggestion, once your class is good at this, is to say one pose but perform a different pose. Ohhhh, I knew you’d like that.

Have fun and play a yoga game today!

If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe via RSS or e-mail and get a monthly yoga game and so much more delivered directly to you.

Related posts:

1. Useful and Fun Yoga Games – Sea Shells Running, listening, and doing yoga combine into a super fun...
2. Useful and Fun Yoga Games – Add One A great memory yoga game that engages kids minds and...
3. Useful and Fun Yoga Games – Ball Pass Ball Pass develops core and leg strength, balance, and co-ordination....

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.