By Small Talk Speech Pathology

Thursday 17 May 2012

Yoga for Kids + FREE Printables

Source
The term "yoga" comes from a Sanskrit word meaning "union." Yoga combines physical exercises, mental meditation, and breathing techniques to strengthen the muscles and relieve stress. 


Top 5 benefits of childhood yoga:
  1. Healthy outlet to balance their lives
  2. Ideal way to naturally unwind and obtain physical activity at the same time
  3. Paves the way for a life-long tradition of health and fitness
  4. Children of all ages and sizes and varying degrees of athletic abilities can practice yoga
  5. Non-competitive form of exercise

ABCs of Yoga for Kids has developed some beautiful resources such as this poster to assist you in introducing yoga to your children. Click HERE for more information.


Below are an example of the lovely images. Click to enlarge.
Plank Pose
Warrior Pose
Also available are these beautiful yoga pose colouring pages. 


Visit the blog Yoga for Kids for frequent updates and tips.

Free Printables:

Click HERE for more free printable yoga pose colouring pages.
Click HERE for free printable PDF yoga pose cards.

10 Yoga Tips for Parents & Kids

1. Kids (and parents) should not eat right before doing yoga. It is best not to have a full stomach when practicing the postures.
2. Pick a quiet place to do yoga with your child. Preferably practice on a yoga mat or soft carpet. Using a yoga mat helps ground kids and gives them a personal space to do the postures.
3. Do the poses with your child.
4. Enjoy being with your child, and try to be in the moment rather than letting your mind wander to things you need to get done.
5. Start in the Candle pose by kneeling on the floor with your hands in prayer position in front of your heart. Take several breaths in and out through your nose before advancing to other poses.
6. Remember to always breathe in and out of your nose when practicing yoga postures.
7. Keep the tone light and fun, and never push your child to do more than they are capable of.
8. Give your child positive reinforcement to help him or her learn and improve.
9. Your final posture should be the Do Nothing Pose, where you and your child lie on your backs with your arms alongside your body and your palms facing towards the ceiling. If you have an eye pillow or small towel to cover your eyes, it helps to keep the light out.
10. Play a soothing children’s lullaby when doing the Do Nothing Pose. One of my favorite songs is “House at Pooh Corner” by Kenny Loggins. See if you and your child can lie still for the duration of the song. See how relaxed and rejuvenated you both are when you are done!


Yoga Precautions for Children

Children tend to have looser joints and great enthusiasm. As a result, they may be unaware when they are stretching beyond what is safe. Parents without yoga backgrounds who are interested in incorporating yoga should seek proper guidance and instruction. Parents practicing independently with their children should be aware that upside-down poses (such as headstands) pose great risk to children who have limited body awareness. According to yoga instructor Baron Baptiste, only children over 8 should try upside-down poses and only with adult supervision.


Read more here or click here for more 
safety tips.



Namaste,

Lauren and Vanessa







12 comments:

  1. Very interesting article! Thank you for sharing my work!

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  2. It's our pleasure. We love finding beautiful resources to share with our readers. Thanks for visiting From The Heart Up. L & V

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  3. This is very interesting! Many parents out there will surely benefit from this post.

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  4. Fantastic post! Its very informative and useful to used, thanks for sharing this one. Yoga is a powerful ecumenical system for helping children stay focused, centered and peaceful,benefits of yoga are innumerable and the most common is that it enriches the life with healthy body, positive energies, sharp mind, focused brains and peaceful soul.

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  5. beautiful! Thank you.This is so very important for the kids.

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  6. I already own the ABC's of Yoga for Kids, thank you for the free downloads, I will share these with the children I teach yoga to at the K-8 public school.

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  7. I love these coloring pictures, is it ok to use for a yoga class that my friend and I will be teaching?

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  8. I love these coloring pictures, is it ok to use for a yoga class that my friend and I will be teaching?

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  9. Your article has proved your hard work and experience you have got in this field.
    jennifernicolelee.tv

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  10. Neither one of the links are working. They are taking me to a different page that is in a different language. From there you can't find the printable.

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  11. The way you are teaching yoga to kids is amazing. I literally loved your method. We have started such website to teach Yoga poses for kids and elder people.You guys can make a visit to our website and learn some typical Indian yoga poses.
    https://searchayurvedic.com/yoga-for-kids/6-yoga-poses-for-kids-loved-by-93-of-toddlers/

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  12. i have read this artical that is very helpful for the chillderen and for their parents,Three Person Yoga Poses is help for backbones. Thanks for you to uploading this Artical.

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