Practicing Kid's Yoga in the Classroom and at Home

If there is one thing I learned in my years of experience as an elementary school teacher, it's this: Children are capable of much more than we think they are, and if given the right tools, they will excel well beyond our expectations. Ever since I've been teaching school (some 16 years now), I've applied this same understanding to teaching yoga in the classroom. Their imaginative, innocent little selves express such simple truths, that I began to realize I was learning as much from them as they were learning from me. I give them the tools they need, and they use them to express their newfound awareness with such wisdom and clarity that I've developed quite a deep respect for them.

Recently I was teaching yoga for children between the ages of four and seven. They balanced on their bottoms, holding their legs up in lotus pose; flexed their spines in cat and cow, mooing and meowing with great fervor; stretched into cobra, hissing the whole time; and focused as fierce warriors in archer pose. Our more active yoga exercises are always followed by a deep relaxation, on their backs, arms, and legs straight but relaxed.

In one class in particular, I guided the children into a visualization where they imagined they were lying on a warm, pristine beach. I had them take deep breaths, and as they breathed in, they imagined the waves of the ocean lapping shore. When they exhaled, the waves returned to the sea. As I looked around the room at the children, I noticed that each of them had internalized these images in such a way that he or she relaxed more profoundly than in deep sleep. They were all consciously relaxing, bringing their bodies and minds together to gain a peaceful awareness of their own inner space. This is, as you may know, the basis of yoga and meditation. It is also the basis, believe it or not, for a happy and peaceful life experience. The inner experience of yoga gives children a gift they will always have because it's within them all the time.

How can you create a place in your child's life (and in your own life) for yoga? There are many resources for learning yoga, both for adults and children. People who have never even done yoga have successfully used resources like a kids yoga DVD with children. Most of these are simple enough for those who know next to nothing about yoga. Whether you wish to practice yoga in the classroom or yoga for children at home, there are numerous child-friendly ways to go about it.

Written by Kacy Suther. Learn more about yoga for children with a kids yoga dvd. Offers yoga in the classroom, yoga poses for kids, more at yogakids.com