Calm Down Yoga Poses for Kids (+ Printable Poster)
As the holiday season creeps closer, my mind is busy with not only travel plans and holiday preparations, but also ways that I can help my daughter and me to stay relatively calm and peaceful during these crazy (but fun) months.
Today, I wanted to share with you an incredibly popular post that I wrote for Childhood101 some time ago.
People around the world have said that this Calm Down Yoga for Kids downloadable poster is invaluable for kids AND adults!
Below is an excerpt from the post written by Childhood101, an immensely popular parenting resource for families worldwide created by an Australian mom and former Early Childhood Teacher, titled “Managing Big Emotions through Movement.”
Follow the link below to download the Calm Down Yoga for Kids poster.
Imagine that your child has a friend over for a play date. They are busy playing together, when suddenly your child’s Lego structure gets knocked down. From your child’s facial expression, you see that she is about to explode. You catch her eye and give her the signal.
Then she darts away to her “calm zone,” where you hear her counting down from five, while going through five yoga poses for kids. There’s a break of silence, and then after a little bit, your child comes back down to resume play. You look at each other and wink.
Sounds blissful, right? But it is possible.
Helping children to regulate their emotions doesn’t necessarily happen overnight. Science tells us that the parts of the human brain that are critical to handling emotions aren’t fully developed until into we’re in our twenties, but we can take little steps when children are young to help them manage their feelings.
Managing Emotions through Yoga Poses for Kids
Let’s look at the Move to Calm strategy. Depending on the age and needs of your child, you might practice only one yoga pose (like Child’s Pose) and count down from five while in that pose. But let’s say your child is ready to choose five yoga poses. She could make up her own sequence by looking at our Yoga Poses for Kids page for inspiration or by following this yoga flow sequence.
1. “I am strong.”
How to practice Warrior 2 Pose: Surf on your surfboard. Stand with arms straight out, bend front leg while keeping back leg straight. Did you catch a wave? Pretend to be a surfer.
2. “I am kind.”
How to Practice Tree Pose: Stand on one leg. Bend the knee of the leg you are not standing on, place the sole of your foot on the opposite inner thigh or calf (just not on your knee), and balance. Pretend to be a tree making oxygen. Switch sides and repeat the steps.
3. “I am brave.”
How to Practice Chair Pose: Stand tall in Mountain Pose with your feet hip-width apart, bend your knees, and pretend to be a skier.
4. “I am friendly.”
How to Practice Downward-Facing Dog Pose: Step back to hands and feet, lift your buttocks high, and pretend to be a dog.
5. “I am wise.”
How to Practice Hero’s Pose: Come back to rest upright on your heels, take your arms out behind you, and twist your upper body like an owl. Turn one way and then the other.
I Think You’ll Like This Happiness Yoga Story
Anna and her Rainbow-Colored Yoga Mats is a story about happiness, acceptance, and friendship. This yoga story follows Anna, a new child at school, who finds happiness on her yoga mat at recess time. She meets a boy named Nick, who joins her as she travels the world on imaginary yoga adventures. This book is based on Yoga Sutra 1.33: If you want to be happy, then you have to be happy for those around you.
May We Also Suggest
“I got the cards yesterday and we used them this morning! The kids loved choosing the cards and it was really helpful for them to see the pictures of the kids doing the poses along side the item or animal! The owl pose was the last one we did actually and the kids pretended to be owls around the house for like half an hour afterwards, they were great! I love that they came in a pouch to hold them and the cards seem very durable. Having the poses printed on cards makes it feel like a family game, I love what it’s done for our morning routine!” – Laura
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