Opening – How I explain the rules of yoga storytime: stay on your mat, and keep your hands to yourself.
(Skip to my Lou – from Jim Gill)
Stomping feet, one and two
Stomping feet, one and two
But if my feet were covered in glue
I’d stick to the glue, my darling.
Clapping hands, one and two
Clapping hands, one and two
But if my hands were covered in glue
I’d stick to the glue, my darling
(hands in Anjali mudra, or prayer position)
Are you Ready for Yoga?
Are you ready for yoga?
If you’re ready, then stomp your feet
Stomp your feet and make some noise.
Let’s stomp our feet and make some noise
And do it really fast
Then stop. Stretch your feet up, up, up
And down.
Repeat with arms then both.
Source: Next Generation Yoga at the National Kids Yoga Conference
Extend and Stretch
Frere Jacques
Extend and stretch (sit in sukasana – easy seated pose, or crisscross applesauce- and do seated side bends)
Extend and stretch
Twist and turn (seated twists)
Twist and turn
This is yoga, (hands overhead on “this,” then bring to prayer position on “yoga”)
This is yoga
Om sweet om, (hands in prayer, bow forward)
Om sweet om
Source: I got this from Kids Yoga Guide teacher training, but here is another from Be Grace Yoga
Song: “Stop and Go” by Kira Willey
Book –Slowly Slowly by Toni Yuly
Before I start the book, I give the kids a small bean bag and ask them to place it on their heads. I then instruct them to run from the back of the mat to the top. The bean bag falls off their heads. Then I tell them that mindfulness means paying attention on purpose and causes us to move slower. We then go to the back of the mat and start to move slowly and mindfully, the bean bags balancing (better) on our heads.
you see more – standing forward fold/ uttasana
big beginnings – puppy pose/anahatasana
small steps – turtle pose (kids version)
wind having fun – standing side bends
persimmon tree – – tree/vrksasana
make you fly – butterfly/baddha konasana
slowly – robin’s breath
slowly (with owl illustration) – half moon/ ardha chandrasana – The kids wanted me to start giving them more challenging poses. I wouldn’t try this one with under 4’s.
slowly (with sold sign and birds) – warrior III/virabhadrasana III
slowly -(with raccoon and sun setting) – sink to malasana/garland pose
slowly (with dragonfly) – baddha konasana/bound angle If your kids REALLY want a challenge, try actual dragonfly, but I usually only would try this one with ages 7+.
Song – Kidding Around Yoga’s “Yogi Shake”
Candle Breath
Savasana
Peace begins with me
Hold both hands overhead. On the word “peace,” touch the thumbs and pinky fingers together. On the word “begins,” touch the thumbs and ring fingers. On the word “with,” touch the thumbs and middle fingers. On the word “me,” touch the thumbs and pointers. Repeat this four times, the first time loudly and hands overhead. The second time, bring the hands down a little and speak a little softer. The third time, bring hands lower and whisper. The last time, bring hands to knees and speak words silently to self.
Source: Kids Yoga Guide Teacher Training
Yogibrarian is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.