Yoga for Early Learners

By Karen Achtman, Kids’ Yoga Teacher and Former Special Education Teacher

When people think of yoga, the first images that come to mind often are of different poses or someone sitting with their eyes closed meditating. So then, people wonder how kids can do yoga when they often can’t sit still for a long time. However, yoga is so much more than just the poses. One of the first things I tell people about kids' yoga is that it looks much different than a typical adult class. It is often fast-paced to keep up with kids’ attention spans. There is a lot of high-energy music, props, and different activities or games, and class can still end with relaxation. But relaxation looks different too-kids may sit or lay down, but some may need to fidget or move; relaxation is often shorter as kids are learning how to be still.

Introducing kids to yoga in fun, interactive ways has many benefits. These include:

• Moving the body
• Body awareness
• Problem-Solving
• Flexibility
• Cooperation
• Taking Turns
• Creativity
• Having fun!

As teachers, there often isn’t time to do a full yoga class, but there are ways to sprinkle in aspects of yoga throughout the school day. Some ideas include:

• Movement breaks: Do some exercises or stretches to get kids out of their seats! There are even some short videos kids can follow along to move through different poses. You could also just have a fun dance party or play freeze dance!
• If you have a calm corner, you can put in some breathing shape exercises or breathing balls to help kids take some deep breaths and slow down their nervous systems.
• Read a story: There are many books that take kids through a yoga sequence or some poses. You can also take any picture book (Eric Carle books are great) and make up poses for the different people or actions.
• Incorporate into academics: Kids can make geometric shapes or alphabet letters with their bodies, do animal poses in science, or write a song to remember concepts. Ideas are endless!
• Do an obstacle course: This would be a great activity for the gym or the hall. Kids can play hopscotch, jump through hoops, walk on a line or balance beam, etc. This is great for balance, following directions, taking turns, and movement!
• Coloring: Another great activity for a calming break or to put in a calm corner. Coloring can be mindful, relaxing, and a mental break! Kids can also color mandalas, which are often circles filled with geometric shapes.
• Partner activities: Kids can do partner poses and you can set up teamwork activities, such as cup stacking, board games, or Mirror Mirror. While these don’t seem like yoga, they require kids to balance, focus, cooperate, take turns, and problem-solve together!

Some helpful resources:

• Bari Koral has great kids' yoga music as well as YouTube videos to follow along.
• Kira Willey has great kids' yoga music as well as mindful books.
• Susan Verde and Miriam Gates wrote great children’s yoga books with sequences that can be followed.

Enjoy doing some yoga in your classrooms! I would love to hear how you’ve added yoga throughout your day. Feel free to comment or email me with additional questions or ideas!

Karen Achtman is a former Special Education Teacher. She graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in Inclusive Elementary and Special Education. She also earned her master's degree from National Louis University in Curriculum and Instruction and Teacher Leadership; many of her research and projects centered around social-emotional learning. Currently, Karen is teaching kids yoga classes through her business Pandaste Yoga.

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