3 Ways to Create Playful, Engaging, and Creative Kids Yoga Classes (Interview)
Yoga is an invaluable tool for helping children and adults find balance, calm, and focus in their daily lives. But how do we get buy in from children?
To talk more about how to make yoga engaging, playful, and creative for children, I chatted with Jaime Andrews from Kidding Around Yoga, who shared insights and practical tips for making yoga both appealing and suitable for children.
3 Tips to Creating an Engaging, Playful, and Creative Yoga Class
Here’s what we learned about fostering a playful, nurturing yoga environment for our youngest yogis:
1. Classroom Energy Management: Reading the Room
In the interview below, Jaime highlights the significance of reading the room when you begin a class.
Every group of children is different, and tuning in to their collective energy is critical. If they’re lively, direct that high energy into dynamic yoga sequences. If they’re more subdued, easing them into the practice with a calming story or breathing exercise works wonders.
This adaptive approach ensures each child feels included and engaged. Jaime’s use of yoga stories is a perfect strategy to merge literacy and movement, allowing children to learn intuitively and playfully.
2. Toolkits for Calm: Incorporate Engaging Props
Jaime’s second tip for creating playful and creative kids yoga classes is the use of props to maintain children’s attention.
She discussed the calming jar, which mesmerizes the kids as the glitter settles, teaching them patience and mindfulness implicitly. Additionally, props like the Hoberman sphere visually illustrate the concept of inhalation and exhalation, promoting deep breathing without the need for constant verbal cues.
The singing bowl is another favorite, intriguing children with its sound and inviting curiosity into their quiet practice. These props are beneficial for not only engaging the children but also helping them associate fun with the calming aspects of yoga.
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3. Embracing Flexibility and Individual Journeys in Yoga
Jaime emphasizes the importance of allowing children to engage with yoga at their own pace. Creating an inclusive space doesn’t mean enforcing participation, it means respecting where each child is on their journey.
Jaime shared a story about a young student who initially struggled with engagement, highlighting that patience and gentle encouragement eventually led to her active participation.
Understanding and respecting individual needs, sometimes requiring a teacher to step back and reflect on the situation, are important in fostering a supportive environment for yoga practice.
Yoga for Every Child
Jaime’s approach points to the transformative power of yoga when adapted for children. Kidding Around Yoga isn’t just about perfect poses—it’s also about play, movement, and helping children connect with themselves and the world in a way that’s natural and joyful for them.
The conversation with Jaime Andrews, from Kidding Around Yoga, highlights the value of patience, creativity, and an open heart in teaching. As we implement these techniques, we not only create a fun and nurturing yoga environment for children, but also help plant the seeds for a future generation that can use these practices to navigate the complexities of life with grace and ease.
Watch “How to Make Your Kids Yoga Class Playful, Creative, and Fun” Interview here:
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