By: Kerry McKenzie
As a yoga instructor, I have had
the pleasure to teach a broad range of ages. One of my favorite classes is a
family yoga class where the students’ ages range from 3 to 50+. Ever wonder how children learn yoga,
especially when they are so young? Imagination and a free spirit help the young
learn in many ways! You can conduct your own yoga session at home by following
what I did in class. You don’t even need a mat. Just use a towel or blanket so
everyone involved has their own space.
At the beginning of the class, as everyone
sets up their yoga mats and mingles, I play, "I Like
to Move" on the ChoosyNation music CD. I encourage dancing
and moving to music to get the “jitter bugs” out.
As a warm-up, I lead the class
through several animal poses like giraffe, kangaroo, eagle, downward dog,
upward dog, cat, cow, cobra, shark, swan, and dolphin. You can even make up
your own! During each pose, I ask the participants what else they think the pose
looks like. For instance, cat could also
be a tiger and cow could be a howling wolf.
Within each pose, we also try to make the animal noises. Practice this especially with those who are
still learning their animals and sounds!
I then walk the group through a
flow of poses, moving in and out of postures using the dragon’s breath
(sticking your tongue out and pretending fire is coming out your mouth on
exhales). The dragon then spreads its
wings, lifts its tail (one leg lifted in down dog), then surrenders as the
belly is now facing up toward the sky. Finally, the dragon comes alive and
flies back home with its wings wide and standing tall. The children in class love to imagine this
and really get into it. I played “Puff the Magic Dragon” with this yoga flow. You could also incorporate a lion pose while
playing “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.”
Another fun thing to do is play a
freeze game using “Choosy Freeze" by Choosy Kids and your yoga mat, towel
or blanket. Start the music and move
about the room. When the music prompts everyone to freeze, jump onto a mat/towel/blanket
and do your favorite yoga pose or make one up. I have learned some cool poses from young yogis.
You can also do partner yoga. For
instance, the adult can do a child’s pose on the floor and then a child can
climb on top of the adult and do child’s pose on top. You can see this in the picture. Children can do boat pose with their feet
pressing together and holding hands and parents can try to crawl under. Then switch the roles. I renamed the pose bridge and we sang “London
Bridges”. This is also in the picture! During the other partner poses the music I
chose was “Lean On Me” and “Stand By Me.”
Yoga is a great way to relax, increase your strengthen and flexibility or a great partner activity! Have you
tried yoga with your children? How old are they? What do you and they like best
about it?
About the Author: Kerry McKenzie, B.A., M.S., has been working in education for more than
13 years. She is a Certified Health Coach, a 500 level
(E-RYT500) yoga teacher and specializes in early childhood motor development.
She has a passion for working with expecting moms, babies, toddlers and
preschool age children and their caregivers at Greenville Health Systems
pediatric clinic, child care centers and in the community. Click here to learn more about Kerry.
