• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Kids Yoga Stories | Yoga and mindfulness resources for kids

Yoga cards, mindfulness resources, yoga books, yoga resources for kids.

  • Home
  • START HERE
  • BLOG
  • SHOP
  • FREE Resources
  • FAQ
  • ABOUT
    • Our Team
    • Contact Us
    • Guest Posts
    • Media Kit
    • Sign Up for Newsletter
    • Printing Instructions
    • Download Troubleshooting
    • Kids Yoga Monthly FAQ
    • Privacy Policy
  • KYM Login
  • Show Search
Hide Search

5 Circus Yoga Poses for Kids (+ Printable Poster)

Giselle · May 18, 2020 ·

circus yoga ideas for kids | Kids Yoga Stories

Bring the circus alive by acting out performers’ tricks with this circus yoga sequence for kids.

I’ve never been entirely sure how I feel about animals being in a circus, so when I found out about a traveling circus put on by teenagers without animals, I couldn’t wait to take my daughter! And as I expected, she was entranced by the lights, music, and the incredible performances of the young people. She watched in awe as the performers did amazing tricks like juggling, walking on tight ropes, and riding unicycles.

Afterwards, we talked about how the performers had to become experts in balance, flexibility, strength, teamwork, bravery, and focus. They would no doubt use the power of their breath to help them focus on their tricks and keep them in the present moment, without being distracted by the audience. The circus was beyond awe-inspiring, and we’re still talking about it weeks afterwards.

This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

6 Circus Books for Kids

Once I had initially purchased our circus tickets, we headed to the library to find circus books. Here are a few of our favorite circus books:

Circus
by Peter Spier
Children will enjoy looking at the small detailed illustrations that make Peter Spier’s books so special. This book follows a day in the life of a circus performance from setup to teardown. Ages 3+

Fabulous Flying Fandinis
by Ingrid Slyder
Bobby visits his new neighbors, who welcome him into their house that has been converted into a circus, complete with trapeze swings and exotic animals. Ages 3+

Sidewalk Circus
by Paul Fleischman and Kevin Hawkes
This wordless book portrays how the everyday activities of people on the street are similar to the stunts of a circus performance. Ages 5+

Extraordinary Jane
by Hannah E. Harrison
This story for young children follows a little dog, living with the circus animals, who finds that her own ordinary-ness is uniquely extraordinary. Ages 3+

Miss Bindergarten Plans a Circus with Kindergarten
by Joseph Slate and Ashley Wolff
This charming book is about an animal classroom that is planning a circus performance. Young children will enjoy the colorful illustrations and engaging rhyming text. Ages 3+

You See A Circus, I See…
by Mike Downs and Anik McGory
This story is from the perspective of a little boy living a circus life. It’s a great book to inspire discussion about how the perspective of a performer is different from a spectator’s. Ages 4+

Do you have any other favorite circus books for kids? I’d love to hear about them in the comments below!

Our favorite Circus Books for Kids | Kids Yoga Stories
Circus Books for Kids

5 Circus Yoga Poses for Kids

To bring the circus alive at home, in your studio, or in your classroom, try these five circus-inspired yoga poses for children. Then, perhaps your yogis can invent new yoga poses mimicking circus performers that they have seen themselves, read about in circus books, or made up in their imaginations. These five yoga postures are sequenced to invite flow from one pose to the next:

1. TREE POSE
Pretend to be balancing on a tight rope.

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, and balance. Pretend to be balancing on a tight rope. Switch sides and repeat the steps.

Tree Pose for Kids | Kids Yoga Stories
Tree Pose

2. HORSE STANCE
Pretend to be lifting heavy weights.

Stand with your legs apart, feet facing slightly outward. Bend your knees and stand firm as if you’re lifting a heavy weight above your head. Or you could pretend that you have another circus performer standing on your shoulders.

How to practice Horse Stance for Kids | Kids Yoga Stories
Horse Stance

3. LUNGE
Pretend to be doing the splits.

From Horse Stance, come to a standing position. Then, on an exhale, do a swan dive to a Standing Forward Bend. Place your palms flat on the ground. Inhale, and on an exhale, step your right foot back into a lunge, bending deeply into your front left knee while ensuring that your knee is aligned above your ankle. Keep a flat back and open your chest. Pretend to be warming up to do the splits. You could certainly do the splits if that’s available to you. Switch sides and repeat the steps.

Lunge Pose for Kids | Kids Yoga Stories
Lunge

4. DOWNWARD-FACING DOG POSE
Pretend to be getting ready to do a handstand.

Step back to your hands and feet in an upside-down V shape, with your buttocks up in the air. Check that your palms are flat on the ground and that your fingers are spread out evenly. Stay here or take baby steps forward to bring your torso right over your arms in preparation for a handstand. Again, you could do a full handstand if you’re able.

Downward-Facing Dog Pose for Kids | Kids Yoga Stories
Downward-Facing Dog Pose

5. LOCUST POSE
Pretend to be a trapeze reaching for the next swing.

Come to lie on your tummy, lift your chest and shoulders, and look up. Pretend you are a trapeze performer flying from one swing to another. You could also extend up into a full Bow Pose.

Locust Pose for Kids | Kids Yoga Stories
Locust Pose

Can you invent other circus yoga poses? Maybe you could juggle (Mountain Pose variation) or ride on a unicycle (Knees to chest pose with bicycle legs) or do a backbend (Wheel Pose)? We saw all of these amazing stunts:

  • juggling
  • walking on tight ropes
  • handstands
  • lifting heavy weights
  • riding unicycles
  • balancing on stilts
  • somersaults
  • leaping from swing to swing
  • wiggling in hula hoops
  • flips

If it’s appropriate, have the children play around with making up new circus poses and have them share with each other. Make the experience relevant and meaningful to them.

My daughter and I look forward to next year when we can once again catch the opportunity to see hard-working, brave circus performers show us the power of the human body!


Check Our Our Circus Yoga Cards

The circus is coming to town! Bring yoga and movement to your circus goers with these fun and exciting circus-themed yoga cards for kids.

Engage your senses and enter the circus tent while having your children pretend to be an aerialist, acro dancer, or acrobat.

The deck of 54 colorful cards includes:

  • an index card listing the circus keywords in a sequence
  • instructions for 20 circus-themed yoga poses
  • 20 illustrated cards showing the postures
  • 20 matching circus cards
  • yoga teaching tips

The yoga poses in the index are sequenced specifically to invite flow from one pose to the next. This takes the guesswork out of figuring out which pose to do next.

Download Circus Yoga Cards for Kids here.

circus yoga cards for kids | Kids Yoga Stories
Circus Yoga Cards for Kids

Check Out Our 40 Partner Yoga Poses Cards for Kids

GRAB A PARTNER AND SHARE IN THE YOGA FUN WITH 40 PARTNER YOGA POSES FOR KIDS!

Try all your favorite poses with a partner. Practice Seated Cat Pose, Tree Pose, and Downward-Facing Dog Pose, all modified for partners to practice together. An index and pose instructions are included. Instantly download, print, and practice.

Download these 90 digital yoga cards to learn through movement in your home, classroom, or studio. Includes an index card, pose instructions, 40 cards with illustrations of the yoga poses, and 40 matching description cards.

The yoga kids are multicultural from seven countries. Age group: Ages 4+

Purchase 40 Partner Yoga Poses Cards for Kids here.

partner poses for kids, partner yoga for children | Kids Yoga Stories
40 Partner Yoga Poses for Kids

Download your Circus Yoga Poster

Circus Yoga Poses Free Poster | Kids Yoga Stories

5 Circus Yoga Poses for Kids + 6 Circus Books for Kids | Kids Yoga Stories
Circus Yoga Poses for Kids

You Might Also Love

Seasonal Kids Yoga Lesson Plans

Holiday Kids Yoga Lesson Plans

Monthly Kids Yoga Themes

List of 58 Yoga Poses for Kids

Kids Yoga Ideas Using Children’s Books

How to Play Yoga Games with Large Groups of Kids

Collection of Animal Yoga Ideas for Kids

Get Updates from Kids Yoga Stories

For more yoga tips and kids yoga resources, sign up for our weekly Kids Yoga Stories newsletter by adding your email address to the box at the top of the page.

Yoga Kids holding Kids Yoga Stories books
Shop Yoga Books | Kids Yoga Stories

If you liked this post, share it here:

Share on TwitterShare on FacebookShare on PinterestShare on LinkedIn

Filed Under: Free Resources Tagged With: children's yoga poses, circus yoga for kids, circus yoga poses, circus yoga poses for kids, kids yoga themes, yoga poses for kids

Primary Sidebar

FREE POSTERS

free kids yoga pose posters | Kids Yoga Stories

Welcome

Giselle Shardlow Profile Image Welcome to Kids Yoga Stories. To create the yoga books, yoga and breathing card decks, and yoga and mindfulness classroom resources, I draw from my experience as an international teacher, a world traveler, a certified yoga teacher, and a mom to a spirited child. I’ve been practicing yoga practically my whole life, and after I became a mom, I fell in love with the idea of sharing yoga and mindfulness with my daughter. Read more.

Social

  • Facebook 29 K Likes
  • Pinterest 22 K Followers
  • Insta 4 K Followers

Recent Posts

  • Takeaways from School Yoga Bootcamp
  • 4 Yoga Sutras for Beginners: Teaching Yoga Philosophy to Children
  • Mother’s Day Yoga: Calming Partner Yoga Poses to Practice Together
  • How to Find Funding for School Yoga Programs
  • Cinco de Mayo for Kids: Yoga Poses for Kids
  • 5 Woodland Forest Animals Yoga Poses Using a Chair (+ Printable Poster)




POPULAR YOGA PRODUCTS FOR KIDS

Yoga Cards Collection Image
Yoga Cards for Kids
Yoga Book Collection Image
Yoga Books for Kids
Yoga Bundles Collection Image
Yoga Bundles for Kids
Teaching Resources Image
Teaching Resources
Yoga Pose Image
Yoga Pose Images for Kids

POPULAR YOGA RESOURCES

Yoga Poses Image
Yoga Poses for Kids
Seasonal Image
Seasonal Yoga Lesson Plans
Monthly Yoga Image
Monthly Kids Yoga Themes
Holiday Yoga Image
Holiday Yoga Lesson Plans
Kids Yoga Class Ideas Image
Kids Yoga Class Ideas

QUICK LINKS

About Us
Contact Us
Store
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service
Refund Policy

SOCIAL

Link to Twitter Image
Link to Facebook Image
Link to Pinterest Image
Link to YouTube Image

GET FREE UPDATES

Yoga tips and kids yoga resources delivered weekly to your inbox from Kids Yoga Stories!

SIGN UP

Copyright © 2022 · Kids Yoga Stories LLC · All Rights Reserved · Privacy Policy