5 Relevant and Creative Ways to Engage Students in Yoga Class (Interview)
Teaching kids and teens yoga can be incredibly rewarding, but engaging students of different age groups can be quite challenging—as we’ve heard time and time again from our Kids Yoga Stories community. See below to watch the interview with Laura of Divine Light Yoga on creative ways to engage students in yoga class!
Children’s attention span and interests vary, and it is important to cater to their needs and preferences while also teaching them about the benefits of yoga. If you’re a teacher or kids yoga teacher struggling to come up with new ideas to keep your children and teens engaged in yoga class, then hopefully these ideas below will help spark an idea on how best to engage and capture the attention of your students.
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5 Ways to Engage Children and Teens in Yoga
Today, we share 5 ways to engage children of different age groups to make their yoga class experience enjoyable—by making the activities age-appropriate, relevant, and relatable.
1.Yoga Storytelling for Young Children:
The use of storytelling during a yoga class is an excellent way to engage young children. Encourage them to visualize the story and use their imaginations to practice different yoga poses. For example, you can go on a pretend trip to the forest with Mia’s Mountain Hike and have children act out the various animals during the story. Or maybe it’s a trip to the farm with Sally’s Visit to the Farm. Check out our wide selection of yoga books for children ages 2 to 7.
2. Music, Movement, and Multi-Media for Toddlers:
Toddlers are constantly in motion; they have a lot of energy and love to explore new things. Incorporating music, movement, and multi-media into your yoga class can help capture their attention and add some fun to the practice. You can use songs, rhymes, visuals, and props with simple yoga poses to encourage toddlers to move and stretch their bodies. Choose themes that are fun and engaging for the children, like animals or nature —and then add an art activity based on that theme to round out the activity and make the class more interactive.
3. Partner Yoga for School-Age Children:
School-age children enjoy learning and exploring new things together. By introducing partner yoga poses, children can build trust, communication, and teamwork skills while still practicing yoga. They can work in pairs or groups and assist each other in achieving different poses. Be sure to engage the children mentally through facts, research, or quizzes that are relevant to them.
4. Mindful Yoga for Preteens:
Preteens can be self-conscious, sensitive, and emotional at times. Mindful yoga practices can help them regulate their emotions and improve their mood. You can introduce mindful breathing exercises, meditation, and visualization techniques that are easy for preteens to follow and understand. Make the practices relevant and meaningful to them. For example, share how their favorite famous athletes or musicians use yoga and mindfulness in their endeavors.
5. Creative Yoga Flow for Teens:
Teenagers love to try new things and explore their creativity. Encourage them to express themselves through powerful yoga flows by allowing them to create their own yoga sequences. You can also incorporate different styles of yoga and music to make the practice more challenging and fun. Empower them to notice what they need in that moment, whether it’s restorative or power yoga, for example.
By implementing these five different ways to engage children of different age groups in your kids yoga or teen yoga class, you are not only helping them to become more engaged and focused, but also teaching them healthy habits for life.
Remember that children learn best when they are having fun and enjoying themselves, especially when it’s relevant and relatable to them. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all lesson plan for yoga, but instead let’s be creative and make the classes an exciting, enjoyable, and meaningful experience for children and teens, so they will be happy to come back for more!
Watch “How to Engage Children in your Kids Yoga Class”
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