Please enjoy these rhyming yoga poems for kids, written by kids yoga and mindfulness teacher from the United Kingdom, Victoria Rietdyk.
Victoria is passionate about incorporating her love of poetry into her kids yoga lesson plans. Do you write your own rhyming poems for your kids yoga sessions? We’d love to hear from you, too!
When my son was growing up, we would make up songs and rhymes and sing songs to match a situation we found ourselves in, along with the occasional ad-libbed rhyme tagged on to the end of a sentence. Thinking about it, we still do this now, and he is in university! It’s good to keep the spirit young.
I also have a love of writing funny poems for family and friends to celebrate special occasions. I somehow managed to find myself using rhyming words when preparing my kids yoga class plans. With just a few little rhymes here and there, I noticed reactions from the kids: smiles, giggles and even another word or phrase that rhymed with my little ditty!
I use several beautiful books for children’s yoga classes, and a host of information is available online to get ideas from. I’m so grateful for the amazing people out there who provide us yogis with lesson plans, ideas, and books to help us share the joy of yoga with young yogis. I love the yoga story books from Kids Yoga Stories written by Giselle Shardlow. They’re truly inspirational.
I found that writing stories myself helped me remember the flow of the story, and using rhyme was even better! The children love them and get so much fun out of them. Making kids laugh and seeing them experience happiness is truly amazing. Rhyme helps children use their creativity and develop their imagination by taking them on imaginary journeys.
Rhymes, poems, songs, sonnet, verse, whatever we choose to call them helps us remember things. It all has to do with mnemonics, tools that can be used to improve and assist human memory. The term “mnemonic” originates from the Greek word for memory and is also thought to be related to Mnemosyne, a Greek goddess whose name means “remembrance.”
So, mnemonics (ni-mon-iks) for yoga! Nimonik Yoga! Yoga Nimoniks!
Rhyming also helps develop phonological awareness. Children learn to associate sounds with symbols and create links to words, making it much easier when learning to read, write, and spell.
Yoga already uses these tools by sequencing postures, with the wonderful sun and moon salutations, that children love. Applying rhyme to honour the sun and the moon along with movement helps young yogis remember the rhythm of the sequence and the name of the postures, too.
4 Rhyming Poems for Kids Yoga
1. Sun and Moon Yogi Rhyme
Thank you to the sun:
“Our breath is really deep as our fingers reach up very high (Upward Salute or Extended Mountain Pose),
and as we breathe out, we say thank you to the sun in the sky.” (Standing Forward Bend)
Thank you to the moon:
“Be thankful to the moon who lights up the sky at night (Crescent Moon),
making the darkness such a beautiful sight.” (Goddess Pose or Horse Stance)
2. Jungle Yogi Rhyme
“The jungle tribe warriors prepare for the day ahead,
with painted tribal colors of blue and red.” (Warrior 2 Pose both sides, pretending to use bow & arrow)
3. Ancient Egypt Yogi Rhyme
“We travel by camel across the Egyptian sand (Camel Pose),
taking us on an amazing adventure across this historic land.” (Kneeling Pose, with hands pretending to hold a camel)
4. Outer Space Yogi Rhyme
“After all the excitement, it is time for the astronaut to rest. (Reclining Butterfly/Cobbler’s Pose)
He takes a deep breath, smiles, and knows he is very blessed.” (Savasana/ Relaxation)
Rhyming words will help the children learn a poem and a whole new set of yoga sequences that I hope they can keep with them for a very long time.
Can you and your children create your own rhyming poems for kids yoga? We’d love to hear your ideas!
About the Author
Victoria Rietdyk lives in a lovely part of Lancashire, UK. She is the proud mum to a handsome young man and two cheeky little pooches. She’s happy to be able to share the joy of yoga with children.
Find Victoria on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Get Your 3 Posters Here
PIN IT FOR LATER
May We Suggest
