Preschool Yoga

Preschool teachers, are you looking for a creative way to help your preschooler develop physical, social, and emotional skills? If so, then yoga may be the perfect solution for your classroom! Through fun yoga poses and breathing exercises tailored specifically for young children, preschool yoga provides an exciting outlet for kids to learn about their bodies in a relaxed and comfortable environment. Not only does it help with physical development but also promotes healthy habits mentally, emotionally and socially.

Yoga can benefit pre-schoolers both at home and in the classroom setting. For teachers and occupational therapists working with young children, teaching yoga and learning about yoga is crucial as it explains why incorporating yoga into lesson plans adds tremendous value to their students’ lives that goes far beyond just stretching muscles.

Benefits of Yoga for Preschoolers

Yoga is an incredibly beneficial practice for preschoolers, helping them to balance and strengthen their physical bodies while teaching them valuable skills in self regulation and social emotional balance. It is a great tool to help your preschoolers to calm down when those big feelings arise. Adults can benefit by reducing their stress and learning breath work.

Through yoga classes or breaks, preschoolers can learn important concepts including balance, coordination, focus, gross motor skills, and self awareness.

As they move through poses such as sun salutations, mountain or cobra pose, children are also strengthening their core muscles and learning balance in ways that are often difficult to teach through modern methods of play or instruction.

Through yoga activities at school such as partner poses with their bodies in groups, preschoolers can foster a sense of cooperation with others as well as build social and emotional intelligence needed for developing healthy relationships with peers.

Yoga provides plenty of space for creative expression for young minds making it an ideal activity for encouraging presence and mindfulness like no other form of exercise can do.

A preschool teacher can incorporate movement with learning with yoga lesson plans. Preschoolers can work on learning shapes, alphabet sounds, animal actions and more! Yoga sessions can help teach breathing techniques and calming techniques too!

What Does the Research Say About Preschool Yoga?

Scientists have studied how yoga for kids helps children. They found that yoga can help with executive function skills, social-emotional skills, focus, mindfulness, and make kids more active.

A recent study discovered that children who participated in a yoga and mindfulness program had significantly higher total protective factor (TPF) subscores on the Devereux Early Childhood Assessment over time than children who did not receive yoga and mindfulness programming.

The children ages 3-5 engaged in activities for 20 minutes once per week for 32 weeks, while the control group had no yoga.

Children ages 3-5 in the yoga intervention group got better scores in initiative, self-control, and TPF. They also had fewer problems with behavior (Bazzano et al, 2023).

Previously, another study with preschoolers indicated that yoga helps and there were significant effects of the mindful yoga intervention on self-regulation (Raza et al, 2019).

Ways to Get Your Little Ones Engaged and Interested in Yoga

Yoga is a fun, easy way to help little ones become more focused and relaxed. In fact, research has shown that children can benefit from yoga in a variety of ways – from improved physical strength, reviewing social emotional learning, and better self regulation.

Parents and teachers can get their kids interested in yoga, and make it fun by creating age-appropriate poses and games. With younger kids, music can be added to keep the experience lighthearted and engaging. You could also use props like colorful bolsters or blocks for balance and stability during poses. These might help to make certain poses easier for children who are new to yoga.

Reward them for their efforts – try giving stickers as incentives or tell them stories about the animals represented by each pose they attempt! With some guidance and creativity, you’ll have your little ones hooked on yoga in no time!

Tips for Teaching Safe and Fun Postures to Kids

Teaching kids safe and fun posture techniques is an important aspect of promoting healthy habits in children of all ages. It is vital to keep sessions short, engaging, and appropriate to the age level being taught.

Asking open-ended questions and encouraging physical activities are great ways to make sure kids are learning and having fun all at once!

Providing play elements like music, toys, games, or stretching bands can also be rewarding. The class should include repetition for best results.

Encourage breath work for your young people to learn important calming strategies and self-regulation. When teachers and therapists model this behavior as well it can help with co-regulation when your like ones struggle.

Fun Yogic Games You Can Play With the Kids

Playing yoga games with your kids is an entertaining way to introduce them to the healthy habit of exercise and practice focus. Start by having your child stand up straight with their feet together, eyes closed, and hands resting at the sides. Lead them through some breathing exercises and explain that this practice helps them focus and centers their energy.

Here are a few simple ideas:

1. Animal Yoga – Have your kids imitate different animals while practicing yoga poses. Ask them to move slowly or quickly. This can help with body awareness. Practice making different animal sounds too! This is a great game during circle time.
2. Balloon Yoga – Fill a few balloons with air and give each one to a child. Ask them to hold the balloon between their hands and then do various yoga poses like cobra or tree pose as they keep the balloon balanced. This game will not only help improve coordination but it’s also great for concentration and mindfulness.
3. Musical Yoga – Play some light music and instruct your kids to move their body in time with the beats as you call out different yoga postures for them to practice. Dancing along with music can bring even greater joy into their yoga practice!

How to Integrate Storytelling Into Your Preschool Yoga Session

Incorporating storytelling into your preschool yoga session can have a positive impact on your students. Not only will the stories encourage children to use their imaginations, but they’ll also help facilitate connection to the physical poses.

Ask your preschoolers to use physical movements resembled in the story and assign characters and props. Be creative! For example, if you’re reading a story about a bear taking a nap, ask them to take slow, deep breaths resembling a snoring bear moving in and out of sleep.

Integrating stories during times of transition and while doing pose work will make your preschool yoga session more dynamic and engaging. It may become therapeutic for some students as they develop an understanding of how to connect mindfully with their body, breath, emotions and imagination.

There are so many yoga themes to pick from such as Farm Yoga, Animal Yoga, or Spring Yoga. The Preschool Yoga Bundle is an excellent option to get started with kids yoga.

What Supplies Do You Need to Get Started with Preschool Yoga

Starting preschool yoga with your little one is an exciting adventure! Along with yoga books and videos that can help get you acquainted with the basics, there are some child-friendly tools that can make it even more successful.

Most importantly, a yoga mat will give your child the cushioning and support they need for comfortable poses. Blocks and blankets to prop up legs, arms, and heads can make certain poses easier for children and create a sense of comfort during their practice. You do not have to have a yoga mat though – a soft beach towel will do when you first get started.

You may also want to bring stuffed animals or use fabric or cloth as costumes which can help enhance your sessions by adding playfulness into the practice. For example, put a stuffed animal on the child’s stomach to reinforce teaching belly breathing. They can watch the toy rise and fall with their breath work.

Music specifically tailored to relaxation and meditation helps them stay focused while they flow through their postures. With just these few supplies, you’ll be on your way to an amazing educational preschool yoga experience!

Summary on Preschool Yoga

Teaching preschool yoga is all about having fun, exploring movement, and learning to relax. It’s a great way to encourage physical activity, foster self-confidence, and share some special time with the little ones in your life. With an open-minded approach and a few simple supplies like comfortable clothes and a yoga mat or blanket, you can introduce yoga postures to your little one.

Make sure to emphasize the basics of safety and patience when you practice yoga during yoga class or yoga breaks. Don’t forget to have fun with it! Games, kid yoga videos, and stories are wonderful tools that can make yogic activities enjoyable both for you and your kids.

References

Bazzano, A. N., Sun, Y., Zu, Y., Fleckman, J. M., Blackson, E. A., Patel, T., … & Roi, C. (2023). Yoga and Mindfulness for Social-Emotional Development and Resilience in 3–5 Year-Old Children: Non-Randomized, Controlled Intervention. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 109-118.

Razza, Rachel A., Dessa Bergen-Cico, and Kimberly Raymond. “Enhancing preschoolers’ self-regulation via mindful yoga.” Journal of Child and Family Studies 24.2 (2015): 372-385.