Welcome back to our chair yoga poses series! This month’s theme features safari animals!
These five safari animals-inspired yoga poses could be done:
- during a transition time in the classroom
- during a subject change in your homeschool classroom
- at home when you’re stuck indoors
- when you would like to practice yoga in a small space
Begin your pretend visit to the safari with 123 African Safari, a yoga book about numbers. Imagine all the things you’ll see and do while on safari. Engage the children’s five senses as they bring the safari to life with their minds and bodies.
Clear the space, grab a chair, practice barefoot, and unleash your imagination!
5 Safari Animals Yoga Poses Using a Chair
1. Warrior 1 Pose: Pretend to be a wildbeest
How to practice Warrior 1 Pose: Stand tall with legs hip-width apart, feet facing forward, and straighten your arms alongside your body. Step one foot back, angling it slightly outward. Bend your front knee, bring your arms straight up toward the sky, and look up. Use the chair for support under your front leg if necessary. Pretend to be a wildebeest. Repeat on the other side.
2. Triangle Forward Bend: Pretend to be a zebra
How to practice Triangle Forward Bend: Stand tall with legs hip-width apart in front of your chair, feet facing forward, and straighten your arms alongside your body. Take your right foot back, keeping your ankle bent at a thirty-degree angle. Place your hands on the front of the chair, ensuring that your back is flat and that you are looking straight ahead. Then slowly bend forward as if your hips are a hinge, keeping a flat back and a long neck. Check that your spine is straight. Pretend to be a zebra. Repeat on the other side.
3. Dancer’s Pose: Pretend to be an ostrich
How to practice Dancer’s Pose: Stand tall in Mountain Pose behind your chair. Then grab the back of your chair with your right hand, stand on your right leg, reach your left leg out behind you, and place the outside of your left foot into your left hand. Bend your torso forward, with your right hand on the chair for balance, and arch your leg up behind you. Pretend to be an ostrich. Switch sides and repeat the steps.
4. Wide-Legged Forward Bend: Pretend to be an elephant
How to practice Wide-Legged Forward Bend: Stand tall with legs hip-width apart in front of your chair, feet facing forward, and straighten your arms alongside your body. Then, step your feet out wide, bend your upper body, and take your hands to the back of the chair. Bend your arms and rest your forehead on the front of your chair. Feel the gentle stretch in your legs. Pretend to be an elephant.
5. Cat Pose: Pretend to be a cheetah
How to practice Cat Pose: From a sitting position with your feet flat on the ground, round your back and tuck your chin into your chest, stretching your back. Pretend to be a cheetah.
Download the Safari Animals Yoga Poster
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