When you are introducing yoga to kids, especially toddlers, it’s crucial to choose asanas that are easy to follow and without any complicated twists and bends. These 5 poses are great for building the foundation, the language of “Yoga” and also build strength and flexibility.
if you are just getting started, here are some tips –
☘️ Start with simple poses
☘️ Make it fun – how to you move matters!
☘️ Introduce jargon early on – introduce them to actual names of the poses and their meaning
☘️ Remind them to breathe – I have noticed swara holding her breathe many times, it’s common for adults too.
☘️ most importantly, just be gentle and don’t expect success and perfection from the moment you start!
We follow these poses in the sequence as mentioned, we start with seated position, then warm up the spine and then move into a gentle inversions and end with a relaxing pose.
1 Butterfly pose / Baddha Konasana
We start with this simple seated pose and do two variations of it to make it fun!
- Begin in a cross-legged seated pose (Sukhasana)
- Remember to keep your spine lengthened
- Now, bring the soles of your feet together, allowing your knees to fall to the sides
- To make the pose more gentle, slide your heels farther away from your body
Let’s make it fun –
- “Flap” your butterfly wings by moving your knees up and down
- You can also combine this activity by singing a fun song – – “Fly fly butterfly, fly fly fly fly so high!”
- Then we go back to seated position (Sukhasana) and repeat “flap” the wings – this time with a smaller butterfly!
2 Cat and Cow Pose / Marjaryasana and Bitilasana
From Butterfly pose, we move to the easy sequence of Cat and Cow – a perfect to combination to awaken the spine and create a gentle flow.
Let’s try it –
- Start on your hands and knees – make sure wrists are under your shoulders and knees under your hips. (table-top position)
- Keep the spine neutral
- Begin with Cat Pose: inhale to lower your belly down toward the mat, lift your gaze, and arch your back
- Move into Cow Pose: exhale to push through the palms of your hands, round your back, and drop your chin
- Following the sound of your breath, move through the poses 5 to 7 times
Let’s make it fun –
- You can encourage them to make Cat / Cow sounds as they are moving through these poses.
- Even a simple trick as saying “Cat” and “Cow” makes it more playful than doing this flow silently.
it takes a little bit of practice to get used to arching and rounding the spine, so be patient as they are exploring the movement through their back.
3 Low Lunge Pose / Modified Anjaneyasana
Now that the spine is warmed up, we can get into a balancing pose. Even though this pose looks simple, this is challenging when you are just starting with Yoga practice.
- From a table-top position, step one foot forward between your hands – making sure knee is over your ankle.
- Stay high on the ball of your back foot, keeping your back knee on the ground
- Engage your core to lift your torso
- Raise your arms over your head, your palms facing center
- Hold for 2-3 breaths
- Repeat on the other side.
4 Downward Facing Dog / Adho Mukha Svanasana
This is my daughter’s favorite pose. It’s a nice gentle inversion and has many benefits.
- From a table-top position, tuck your toes and lift your hips
- Press into your palms and straighten your legs as much as you comfortably can
- Align your ears with your biceps
- Lift your hips toward the sky
- hold this for 2-3 breaths
- Lower down the knees on the ground to get back to table-top position
Let’s make it fun –
Ask them to imagine making a rainbow with their body
I have seen many toddlers getting into this pose very naturally, they won’t need lot of cues. But it’s important that they know how to get out of this pose safely – the best way is to lower down the knees on the ground and getting back where they started – the table-top position.
5 Child pose / Balaasana
Child’s pose is a great pose to end this sequence – it’s easy to follow, it relaxes and calms the nervous system.
- From all fours (another common term for table-top position), bring your two big toes together to touch and widen your knees to the outer edges of your mat
- Sit your hips back toward your heels
- As your hips sink back, allow your torso to move closer to the mat, bringing your forehead as close to the mat as possible
- Actively reach your fingertips to the top of the mat with your palms face down
Let’s make it fun
- Ask them to imagine their bodies are becoming smaller and smaller – to create that deeper relaxation and grounding.
- You can also give their spine a gentle massage while they are resting in this pose.
If you have any questions, feel free to post below in comments.
Love,
💖 Radhika