5 Fruit and Vegetable Yoga Poses for Healthy Body and Mind
In a world where sugary snacks often take center stage (It’s a constant struggle in our house!), finding fun and creative ways to introduce children to the vibrant world of fruits and vegetables is more important than ever!
Why not blend movement, mindfulness, and healthy eating into a playful yoga experience?
By incorporating fruit and vegetable yoga poses into your children’s yoga classes, you can inspire healthy habits while making learning about nutritious foods an adventure!
Here are some exciting ways to introduce these yoga postures:
- Celebrate Nutrition Month (March): Encourage healthy eating habits through movement.
- Healthy Body & Healthy Mind Theme: Show how nutritious foods fuel our bodies.
- Farm-to-Table Lesson: Discuss where food comes from and connect it with a visit to a garden or farm.
- Mindful Eating Exploration: Feel the texture and taste of fresh produce before striking a pose.
- Interactive Summer Yoga Camps: String fruit necklaces, then act out each fruit with yoga!
- Healthy vs. Sugary Snacks Discussions: Compare options during candy-heavy holidays like Halloween or Easter.
- Kitchen Center Adventures: Bring yoga into preschool play stations with food-themed fun.
Pair these activities with our Sweet Treats Yoga Cards, Fruit Yoga Cards, and Vegetable Yoga Cards for an engaging comparison of healthy vs. sugary foods. Then turn it into a yoga game by playing “Yogi Says” or “Strike a Pose” to get kids moving and excited about wellness!
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5 Fruit and Vegetable Yoga Poses
Get in the mood to be healthy as you flow through these five postures inspired by fruit and vegetables, which are specifically ordered to invite flow from one pose to the next. Practice barefoot or on a non-slip surface and be mindful of your surroundings. Most of all, have fun with movement!
1. Pretend to be a banana.
How to practice Crescent Moon Pose: While standing, reach your arms up high over your head, bringing your palms together. Tilt your upper body to one side. Come back to center. Tilt your body to the other side. Pretend to be a banana.
2. Pretend to be a broccoli.
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. Switch sides and repeat the steps. Pretend to be a stem of broccoli.
3. Pretend to be a cucumber.
How to practice Locust Pose: Lie on your tummy, with your arms down along your side, lift your chest and shoulders, and look up. Pretend to be a cucumber.
4. Pretend to be an orange.
How to practice Child’s Pose: Press back to sit on your heels, slowly bring your forehead down to rest on the floor in front of your knees. Rest your arms down alongside your body and take a few deep breaths. Pretend to be an orange.
5. Pretend to be a carrot.
How to practice Half Shoulder Stand: Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor, arms resting alongside your body, and chin tucked in. On an exhale, push your palms down and lift your legs straight up, making an L shape with your body. Stay in this position or squeeze your belly and raise your hips. Then bend your elbows and place your palms on your lower back for a half shoulder stand. Pretend to be a carrot.
10 Picture Books about Fruit and Vegetables for Kids
Fiction Books about Fruits & Vegetables
Anywhere Farm
by Phyllis Root, illustrated by G. Brian Kara
This delightful story shows children that a farm can grow anywhere—whether in a pot, a plot, or a forgotten lot. It’s a wonderful way to introduce a garden-themed yoga sequence and inspire conversations about growing your own food.
Fruit Bowl
by Mark Hoffmann
In this playful story, a tomato tries to prove it belongs in the fruit bowl—and hilarity follows! Use this book to spark curiosity about fruits vs. vegetables, then practice matching yoga postures to each item mentioned.
Linh’s Rooftop Garden
by Thu Bui, illustrated by Phùng Nguyên Quang & Huỳnh Kim Liên
Linh transforms a small rooftop into a lush garden, bringing her community together and celebrating her Vietnamese heritage. A beautiful story to inspire garden-themed yoga postures and a discussion on diverse food traditions.
Eating the Alphabet
by Lois Ehlert
An oldie-but-a-goodie, this A-to-Z book features fruits and vegetables from around the world. This is a perfect way to move through the alphabet with yoga postures—children can act out the foods with creative movement and learn new vocabulary.
Rah, Rah, Radishes! A Vegetable Chant
by April Pulley Sayre
This energetic chant celebrates the joy and color of fresh vegetables at the farmers market. Read this one with lots of movement—chant along, then act out the vegetables using yoga postures.
Yummy Yoga
by Meera Lee Patel
This yoga book pairs real photos of fruits with yoga postures that resemble each one—encouraging playful movement and healthy eating with smoothie recipes. It’s a fantastic choice for preschool and early elementary yoga sessions.
Amara’s Farm
by JaNay Brown-Wood, illustrated by Samara Hardy
Join Amara as she searches through her farm to find pumpkins, encountering a variety of fruits and vegetables along the way. This lively seek-and-find story invites children to stretch, bend, and move like the different plants and foods they discover.
Nonfiction Books about Fruits & Vegetables
The Vegetables We Eat
by Gail Gibbons
This nonfiction book by a well-loved author/illustrator breaks down the types of vegetables and how they grow, from roots to leaves to flowers. Pair this with matching yoga postures to help children understand where food comes from and how it supports their bodies.
The Fruits We Eat
by Gail Gibbons
This colorful and informative look at the fruits we eat every day discusses how they grow, are harvested, and reach our tables. It’s a great resource to support food-based movement themes and encourage mindful eating discussions.
Plants Feed Me
by Lizzy Rockwell
Simple text and illustrations explain how plants provide nourishment for our bodies in all kinds of delicious ways. Use this book as a gentle lead-in to a yoga session focused on gratitude for the food we eat.
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